People with an ethnic minority background are less likely than the native Dutch to be invited for a job interview, despite having the same qualifications and standard of application letter, according to new research published by the government’s social policy unit SCP.

The researchers found 44% of people who appear to be Dutch in their application were called for interview, compared to 37% of those with a foreign name or birthplace. Apart from the names, the fictitious job candidates were identical.
The more low-skilled the job, the less likely immigrants were to be invited for interview, the researchers found. And the native Dutch applicants were just 3% more likely to be interviewed for a job requiring university and hbo degrees than job hopefuls with a minority background.
Men were more likely than women to face discrimination and the hospitality trade and retail industry were least likely to interview potential new recruits with foreign origins.
The research is based on the result of 1,342 fictitious job applications made between May and December 2008.