Composite counterstorytelling as a technique for challenging ambivalence about race and racism in the labour market in Ireland

In this study, the statement ‘race is no longer an issue’ is used to examine how 32 migrants of Spanish, Polish and Nigerian descent understand the significance of race in labour market mobility in Ireland. Their responses showed that Black and White workers talk about race differently. It also revealed an ambivalence about race among the White workers. This article employs counterstorytelling technique to analyse and present these differences through stories which humanise the lived experiences of migrants navigating the Irish labour market. The article commences with a discussion of how whiteness provides unacknowledged privilege. This is followed by a discussion of critical race theory’s counterstorytelling as an analytical tool for examining social relations. The participants’ narratives and current realities are then synthesised and woven into dialogues to construct composite portraits that invite readers into the world of migrant workers. The two stories constructed in this article portray how stories can open conversation about race and racism. Story A contains stereotypes that are used to explain the lack of racial diversity in the workplace, while story B challenges the complacency about how race and racism impact on the disparity in outcome among different groups. Finally, the article highlights the importance of counterstories in labour market research.

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The Earnings Gap between Black and White Workers in Canada: Evidence from the 2006 Census

Relations industrielles ◽

10.7202/1006342ar ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 66 (3) ◽

pp. 324-348 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Gervan Fearon ◽

Steven Wald

Keyword(s):

Labour Market ◽

Occupational Segregation ◽

Wage Discrimination ◽

Occupational Attainment ◽

Full Time ◽

Black Workers ◽

Decomposition Approach ◽

Black And White ◽

Earnings Gap ◽

White Workers

This paper investigates the earnings gap between Black and White workers in the Canadian economy using 2006 Canadian Census data. Several studies have examined visible minority earnings in Canada (e.g., Hou and Coulombe, 2010; Pendakur and Pendakur, 2011; Yap and Konrad, 2009). Recent research consistently finds that Black workers face one of the largest earnings gaps amongst ethnic groups in Canada (Pendakur and Pendakur, 2002, 2007; Hou and Coulombe, 2010). Nonetheless, the literature lacks an investigation of the combined impact of wage discrimination and occupational segregation on the earnings gap faced by Black workers in the Canadian labour market. Howland and Sakellariou (1993) as well as Hou and Coulombe (2010) highlighted the importance of occupational attainment differences in labour market outcomes. Consequently, this research suggests the need for occupational attainment to be incorporated into models investigating earnings gaps. We address the gap in the literature by utilizing the decomposition method developed by Brown, Moon and Zoloth (1980). This BMZ method extends the traditional earnings decomposition methods advanced by Blinder (1973) and Oaxaca (1973) by also identifying the role played by occupational differences. Specifically, the BMZ method estimates the portion of the earnings gap attributable to differences in productive endowments and to unexplained factors (i.e., the traditional decomposition approach) as well as extending the traditional approach by providing a calculation of the portion of the earnings gap explained by occupational attainment differences. The study finds that approximately one-fifth of the Black-White earnings gap (equaling $2,600) can be attributed to productivity-related endowment differences. Furthermore, the remaining four-fifths of the earnings gap (equaling $9,800) is attributable at the upper-bound level to occupational segregation and wage discrimination. In aggregate, the estimates of occupational segregation and wage discrimination translate into annual earnings losses of approximately $1.5 billion for full-time full-year Black workers in the Canadian workforce.

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Organizing migrant workers

Work Employment and Society ◽

10.1177/0950017005055666 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 463-480 ◽

Cited By ~ 112

Author(s):

Jane Holgate

Keyword(s):

Labour Market ◽

Migrant Workers ◽

Large Scale ◽

Case Study Approach ◽

Study Approach ◽

Post War ◽

The Uk ◽

White Workers ◽

Minority Ethnic

The structural position of black and minority ethnic workers (BME) and migrant workers in the UK labour market is relatively well known. Many workers in these groups find themselves in low-paid, low-skilled jobs primarily because of their ethnicity and regardless of their skills. This racialization of the labour market has been well documented - particularly since the ‘large-scale’ BME immigration in the post-war period. What is less well known is what it is like to work in these increasingly segmented sections of the economy where white workers have abandoned jobs in favour of (slightly) more lucrative work. Adopting a case-study approach, this article follows a trade union’s attempt to organize a sandwich factory of 500 workers, where most of the workforce was made up of BME migrant workers.

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Receptions of the Past: Commemoration, Racism, Desire

Somatechnics ◽

10.3366/soma.2017.0223 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 288-303

Author(s):

Michael Connors Jackman

Keyword(s):

Critical Point ◽

Social Relations ◽

White Privilege ◽

Body Politic ◽

The Body ◽

Race And Racism ◽

Lesbian And Gay ◽

The Past ◽

History Of

This article investigates the ways in which the work of The Body Politic (TBP), the first major lesbian and gay newspaper in Canada, comes to be commemorated in queer publics and how it figures in the memories of those who were involved in producing the paper. In revisiting a critical point in the history of TBP from 1985 when controversy erupted over race and racism within the editorial collective, this discussion considers the role of memory in the reproduction of whiteness and in the rupture of standard narratives about the past. As the controversy continues to haunt contemporary queer activism in Canada, the productive work of memory must be considered an essential aspect of how, when and for what reasons the work of TBP comes to be commemorated. By revisiting the events of 1985 and by sifting through interviews with individuals who contributed to the work of TBP, this article complicates the narrative of TBP as a bluntly racist endeavour whilst questioning the white privilege and racially-charged demands that undergird its commemoration. The work of producing and preserving queer history is a vital means of challenging the intentional and strategic erasure of queer existence, but those who engage in such efforts must remain attentive to the unequal terrain of social relations within which remembering forms its objects.

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German labour market data – Data provision and access for the international scientific community

German Economic Review ◽

10.1515/ger-2019-0127 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 313-333

Author(s):

Dana Müller ◽

Stefanie Wolter

Keyword(s):

Labour Market ◽

Survey Data ◽

Scientific Community ◽

Market Research ◽

Research Data ◽

International Scientific Community ◽

High Quality ◽

Data Centre ◽

Integrated Employment ◽

Data Provision

AbstractThe Research Data Centre at the Institute for Employment Research (RDC-IAB) has been offering high-quality administrative and survey data on the German labour market for 15 years and has become one of the most important locations worldwide for researchers interested in data for labour market research. This article provides an overview of the RDC-IAB, including its data and access modes. The article presents two datasets in more detail: the Sample of Integrated Employment Biographies, a classic dataset, and the Linked Personnel Panel, a new dataset. Finally, this article provides insights into future infrastructure and data developments.

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