The unarticulated barrier, a study of unintentional racial- and discriminatory practice and how it can affect internationals' access to the Danish labour marked
Author
Lykke, Emilie
Term
4. term
Publication year
2019
Submitted on
2019-01-02
Pages
86
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvorfor mange højtuddannede eller erfarne internationale har svært ved at få fodfæste på det danske arbejdsmarked, med fokus på et svært at sætte ord på, underliggende forhold – det uartikulerede 'noget'. Gennem kvalitative interviews med internationale og kommunale medarbejdere, herunder virksomhedskonsulenter, anvender specialet social praksisteori og fænomenologi til at sætte levet erfaring og hverdagspraksis i centrum; i stedet for at lede efter enkle årsagskæder behandles racialiserede erfaringer som virkelige og virkningsfulde i praksis. Analysen har tre dele: (1) begrebsliggørelse af det 'noget' via kulturel racisme (når kulturelle normer bruges til at ekskludere), hverdagsracisme (rutinemæssige krænkelser og forskelsbehandling) og banal nationalisme (selvfølgelige skel mellem 'os' og 'dem'); (2) en analyse af, hvordan virksomhedskonsulenter erfarer, fortolker og reproducerer dette i deres professionelle og personlige roller, herunder hvordan de opfatter internationale; og (3) en undersøgelse af anerkendelsens betydning – hvordan manglende anerkendelse af kompetencer og person fører til en begrænset følelse af tilhørsforhold. Resultaterne viser, at det uartikulerede 'noget' kan forstås som essensen af de raciale relationer mellem danskere og 'andre' i Aarhus anno 2018 blandt personer med sammenlignelige karakteristika. Det er svært at pege præcist på, men mærkes af internationale som kulturel og hverdagsracisme, afstand og manglende anerkendelse. Majoritetens rutiner og institutioner opretholder disse relationer gennem racialiserede og diskriminerende praksisser, herunder strukturel diskrimination, præferencebaseret diskrimination (favorisering) og undervurdering af udenlandske kompetencer. Selvom processerne ofte er subtile og uden for bevidsthed, former de adgangen til arbejde. Derfor bør integrationsindsatsen ikke primært handle om, at 'de andre' tilpasser sig, men om at ændre danske systemer og hverdagspraksisser, der reproducerer disse relationer.
This thesis examines why many highly educated or experienced internationals struggle to access the Danish labour market, focusing on a hard-to-name underlying factor—the unarticulated 'something'. Using qualitative interviews with internationals and municipal staff, including business consultants, it applies Social Practice Theory and Phenomenology to centre lived experience and everyday practice; rather than seeking simple causal chains, it treats racialized experiences as real and consequential in practice. The analysis has three parts: (1) conceptualizing the 'something' through cultural racism (using cultural norms to exclude), everyday racism (routine slights and unequal treatment), and banal nationalism (taken-for-granted 'us/them' boundaries); (2) examining how business consultants experience, interpret, and reproduce it in their professional and personal roles, including how they perceive internationals; and (3) exploring the role of recognition—how limited acknowledgment of skills and person leads to a reduced sense of belonging. Findings indicate that, in the 2018 Aarhus context among people with similar profiles, the 'something' amounts to the essence of racial relations between Danes and 'others'. It is difficult to pinpoint but is felt by internationals as cultural and everyday racism, distance, and lack of recognition. The majority’s routines and institutions sustain these relations through racialized and discriminatory practices, including structural discrimination, preferential discrimination (favoritism), and undervaluing foreign competences. Although often subtle and outside awareness, these processes shape access to work. Therefore, integration efforts should not focus mainly on newcomers’ adaptation but on changing Danish systems and everyday practices that reproduce these relations.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
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