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You are here: Home News Dutch News Ethnic groups face discrimination at work

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15/04/2008Ethnic groups face discrimination at work

De Volkskrant reports that only 1 percent of the senior positions at Delta Lloyd are held by people with ethnic backgrounds.

15 April 2008
 
De Volkskrant reports that the number of people with a foreign, or non-Dutch, ethnic background who are unemployed is three times the rate of those of Dutch origin.

Even people with "foreign backgrounds" who have a university degree are twice as likely to be unemployed.

The Dutch statistics office wrote in a 2007 report that the under-representation was "in part" due to discrimination.

Workshop reveals more shocking figures
De Volkskrant describes an Inspiration for Integration workshop set up by the Netherlands' largest employers' organisation VNO-NCW. One of the sponsors is the company Delta Lloyd.

Three workers (of African, Moroccan and Hindi origin) who work on the lower floors and have low-or medium-level jobs were invited to the 30th floor where the managers and other senior staff work.

The paper reports the paleness of the managers and directors forms a sharp contract with the Eastern face, Mediterranean looks and African skin of these 'average' workers.

The paper writes that at Delta Lloyd "people with ethnic backgrounds hold 11 percent of the low-ranking positions, but only one percent of the senior positions".

A Delta Lloyd employee, 33-year-old Shamim Akthar who arrived in The Netherlands from Pakistan when she was an infant and is fully integrated, says "if you want to climb higher, they keep on asking more and more from you. You sometimes see that someone who is relatively new is given preference. And not because of his capacities."

Always a lot of talk
De Volkskrant writes that Delta Lloyd's 'diversity work group' has been disbanded and that only a sounding-board group is left over.

An employee who has been a member of the sounding-board group for years says. "There’s always a lot of talk. We know what we want to achieve, but nothing ever gets off the ground."

The company's management says "We don’t have any structural plans or quota."

But Delta Lloyd says it might consider setting up another 'diversity work group' in the future.

[Radio Netherlands / Frank Scimone / Expatica]



1 reaction to this article

J.Khan posted: 2008-04-17 19:16:15

This is sad but true. It is not only at Delta Lloyd but in every company.

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1 reaction to this article

J.Khan posted: 2008-04-17 19:16:15

This is sad but true. It is not only at Delta Lloyd but in every company.

Add a comment
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