Opportunities for Employers in Immigrant Labour Market integration: a Case Study of the Canadian Financial Sector

The focus of this study is on the financial sector, and it asks two questions: a) what are financial institutions currently doing in terms of assisting in the labour market integration of newcomers? and b) where are the opportunities for improvement within the financial sector with respect to the employment of immigrants? The study examines current achievements regarding the sector’s successful labour market integration of immigrants, opportunities for improvement, and recommendations as to how the financial sector can become a leader in this domain as well as the benefits of doing so. Some key findings are that there is a gap in terms of the successful integration and inclusion of immigrants in the labour market despite recognition of the business case for diversity. Ingrained biases and beliefs persist, and the communication patterns and ‘rigid’ history of the financial sector are not maturing at the same pace as the global economy.

Opportunities for Employers in Immigrant Labour Market integration: a Case Study of the Canadian Financial Sector

The focus of this study is on the financial sector, and it asks two questions: a) what are financial institutions currently doing in terms of assisting in the labour market integration of newcomers? and b) where are the opportunities for improvement within the financial sector with respect to the employment of immigrants? The study examines current achievements regarding the sector’s successful labour market integration of immigrants, opportunities for improvement, and recommendations as to how the financial sector can become a leader in this domain as well as the benefits of doing so. Some key findings are that there is a gap in terms of the successful integration and inclusion of immigrants in the labour market despite recognition of the business case for diversity. Ingrained biases and beliefs persist, and the communication patterns and ‘rigid’ history of the financial sector are not maturing at the same pace as the global economy.

House of Green Cards

This study contributes to the labor market inequality and organizations literature by investigating the role that government agents play in shaping the employment of immigrants. Using unique data on applications for immigrant permanent labor certification evaluated by U.S. Department of Labor agents, we assess to what extent immigrants of select citizenship groups experience disparities in the labor certification process—one critical stage of the work authorization system leading to the granting of most employment-based green cards. Despite current U.S. laws that forbid discrimination on the basis of nationality, we find that labor certification approvals differ significantly depending on immigrants’ foreign citizenship, even after controlling for key factors. Additionally, because of the U.S. government’s unique process of auditing applications, we are in a rare position to empirically distinguish between statistical and preference-based accounts of labor market discrimination in the labor certification process. In support of the statistical account, we find that certification approvals are equally likely for immigrant workers from the vast majority of citizenship groups when agents review audited applications with detailed employment information. This article concludes by discussing the implications of our results for addressing disparities in the employment of foreign nationals.

Mafia and immigration: analysis of the “illegal street workers” in southern Italy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate on the new forms of the “illegal street workers” involving immigrants in southern Italy. This new concept may include, at least, two kinds of illegal employment of immigrants which is, probably, managed by local criminal organizations; in particular, it may refer to the so-called “posteggiatore abusivo” and “lavavetri”. Design/methodology/approach – This is a new area of research. The methodology used has been based on a collection of interviews with these migrants. Probably, this methodology should be refined, but in this first phase of research, it was helpful in order to understand the existence of a criminal network that controls and manages these illegal street workers. For this reason, this paper could be, simply, considered as a starting point for a new investigation in the near future. Findings – The first part of the paper will examine the main features of these three types of work; in particular, in order to do it, we will try to find out who are these workers, how they found this illegal work and, above all, what kind of working relationship exists between them and the criminal organizations. The second part will analyze what are the legal measures regulating this particular category of illegal work and which could be the innovative solutions in order to fight against them. Originality/value – This paper offers insights into the new forms of crime involving immigrants managed by local criminal organizations and still inadequately studied.