The Impact of Migrant-Hostile Discourse in the Media and Politics on Racioethnic Closure in Career Development in the Netherlands

Abstract

Racioethnic inequality is a persistent trait of labour markets in countries that receive transnational migration flows. Little is known about the societal factors that influence the production of such inequality. Based on research among employees of the Dutch national tax administration, this article identifies the rise of a migrant-hostile discourse that has come to dominate Dutch politics and media since 2000 as an example of a societal factor that aggravates racioethnic closure in career advancement. It shows that tensions among colleagues triggered by public events that express this discourse fuel the career insecurities of migrant employees in particular. This insecurity has negative career consequences for them. The article argues that the study of racioethnic inequality in the labour markets of migrant-receiving countries needs to include a focus on the impact of (changes in) dominant discourses in the media and the political arena on migrants and migration.