summary of results - zara – zivilcourage und anti …€¦ · · 2014-11-27summary of results...

Get together without Barriers

www.withoutbarriers.org

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

WP3

D3.4

Andreas Schadauer

Judith Wiesinger ZARA – Zivilcourage und Anti-Rassismusarbeit

Dr Başar Öztayşi

Gizem Bıçakçı Akalın Istanbul Bilgi University

http://www.inset-advisory.com/

http://scholarsatrisk.nyu.edu/_images/workshop/logo_istanbul.gif

© Copyright 2014, G@together

Work Package: Needs and interests of job seekers (WP3)

Work package leader: ZARA

Deliverable name: Summary of results

Deliverable number: D3.4

Delivery date: August 29, 2014

Author(s): Andreas Schadauer ZARA

Judith Wiesinger ZARA

Dr Başar Öztayşi IBU

Gizem Bıçakçı Akalın IBU

Checked by: Dr Ahmet Süerdem IBU

Benedikt Springer INSET

Claudia Schäfer ZARA

Acknowledgement: The research for this report was conducted in the course of the project

“Get together without Barriers” funded under the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI). For more

information please refer to: http://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/

Document Information

2


1. Introduction __________________________________________________________

2. Executive Summaries of Deliverables _____________________________________

2.1 Identification of disadvantaged groups in Vienna and Istanbul _________________

2.2 Report about job search practices, barriers and needs of disadvantaged groups __

2.3 Requirements and suggestions towards the platform program report ____________

3. Synthesis ____________________________________________________________

4. Literature/Further Reading ______________________________________________

4

6

7

11

17

21

24

Table of Contents

3


1. Introduction

4


1.

About G@together Get together without Barriers, in short G@together, is an international research project including

partners from Istanbul and Vienna that brings together job seekers and employers in urban

areas. G@together aims at supporting cities in becoming more competitive and innovative

business locations by seizing existing potentials of qualified yet potentially disadvantaged

groups with regards to labour market participation.

The project consortium researches, develops and displays measures that foster equal

opportunities and inclusion on urban labour markets. Potential exclusion criteria for job seekers

are analysed in an exemplary manner. In Vienna, we focus on residents with an (ascribed)

migration history facing barriers in fully realising their qualifications and skills on the labour

market. In Istanbul, we investigate on the issue of gender equality thus targeting qualified

women.

Against this background, the goal of G@together is to develop an innovative online job search

platform that meets the requirements of private and public employers as well as qualified yet

potentially disadvantaged job seekers in order to counter the phenomenon of “brain waste” and

to foster equal opportunities and non-discriminatory procedures at the first stage of the recruiting

process.

About this report This summary report is the conclusive deliverable (D3.4) of the project’s work package (WP) 3.

The aim of WP3 was to identify the needs, interests and attitudes of qualified but disadvantaged

job seekers. We examined how in research literature and public statistics labour market

positions are reflected and assigned to the different sociodemographical groups (D3.1).

Focusing on two groups – job seekers with an (ascribed) migration history (Vienna) and women

(Istanbul) – we shed light on the difficult situation of searching for a job and, in the part on

Vienna, how it is even worsen by experienced discrimination (D3.2.). The sociomaterial

character of job search addressed in D3.1 is followed by an examination of the mentioned job

search platforms used by the interviewees and their experience with and expectations toward

those platform (D3.3).

The report at hand synthesises the key findings of WP3 by presenting brief executive

summaries on the three substantial deliverables (chapter 2) and relates the achievements to the

overall aims of G@together (chapter 3). We also included some recommendations of recent

scholarly literature for further reading for the interested public that has been used in the course

of WP3 (chapter 4).

Istanbul Bilgi University (IBU) conducted the research and wrote the report on Istanbul, while

ZARA with the support of INSET was responsible for Vienna. IBU is responsible for and

guarantees the validity of the information and data used for the report on Istanbul. ZARA and

INSET are responsible for and guarantee the validity of the information and data used for the

report on Vienna.

Introduction

5


2. Executive Summaries of Deliverables

6


Introduction Deliverable 3.1. has two main tasks. First, it should give an overview of the labour markets in

both cities with regard to the positions of the different groups of higher qualified employees.

Second, it should illustrate the context and relevance of the groups addressed and focused on

in the following qualitative research (see D3.2. and D3.3).

The Viennese

labour market still

does not offer

equal opportunity

for all participants

Besides all labour market policy attempts and measures the

Viennese labour market is still fragmented and segregated. This is

widely reflected in the labour market statistics and the research

literature. Summarised into sociodemographic groups, not all

labour market participants are described as having equal chances

to best utilize their qualifications and skills. Common labour market

indicators associate certain groups with higher unemployment

rates, lower income and restricted access to certain employment

positions.

Not all of those variations can be explained by different starting

positions and lower skills on the side of the participants.

Discrimination due to non-work related features is a persistent

problem at the labour market according to the experience of

several NGOs, the ombud of equal treatment and the few studies

on discrimination at the labour market conducted in Austria.

Age, transition from

education to the

labour market, long

term

unemployment and

disabilities

Regarding age, both ends of the age spectrum more and more

come into focus of labour market analysis and assistance

measures. On the one side the transfer from education into the

labour market poses a difficult situation for many participants.

Focusing on higher qualified (ISCED level 5 and 6) labour market

participants in our analysis this encompasses especially the

transfer from university education into the labour market leading to

a higher unemployment rate of the younger (20-29 with a rate of

10.7% in Vienna) compared to the other age groups (30-39 6.5%,

40-49 4.5% and 50-64 4.4%). Here especially female graduates

seem to have difficulties shifting fluently from education to

employment (with 13.2% for female vs. 6.1% for male respondents

between 20-29 years).

7

Identification of disadvantaged groups in Vienna

and Istanbul (1/4) 2.1

Key Findings: Vienna To reach this Deliverable’s objectives we conducted a comprehensive literature review and

focused secondary analysis of the microcencus labour force survey 2013, of which the majority

of the here presented numbers stem from, on the positions of disadvantaged groups at the

Viennese labour market. Following the projects main objective, the analyses focuses on higher

qualified labour market participants, which in the statistical secondary analysis translated into

respondents with post-secondary or tertiary education.


On the other side, advanced age is associated in the labour market

statistics with longer unemployment durations and higher risk of

becoming long term unemployed (with a mean of 29 months of

unemployment in the age group 50-64 vs. 7.8 for 40-49, 5.1 for 30-

39 and 3.8 for 20-29 for all higher qualified). The few studies on

the labour market position of participants with physical or mental

impairments also suggest a higher risk of becoming long term

unemployed. Latter poses an additional difficulty as long term

unemployment can be considered a stigma leading to further

discrimination and having a negative impact on the self-

contentment as well as physical and psychological health.

The possibilities of

taking advantage of

one’s qualification

is unequally

distributed among

the binary recorded

gender.

The labour force participation rate for female respondents of the

labour force survey increases with qualification (from 56.5% for

primary, 69.2% for secondary to 82.5% for post-secondary and

tertiary education in Vienna). However, the possibilities to take full

advantage of the qualification seems to be more limited for female

compared to male respondents of the labour force survey. On the

one hand, the calculated unemployment rate within the higher

qualified is higher for female than for male respondents (7% vs.

5.4%). On the other hand, female respondents are

overrepresented among the auxiliary occupations (with 57.8% of

females within this category compared to 51.9% of females in the

labour force survey) and higher occupation (57.7%) and

underrepresented among the highly skilled positions (50.2%) and

managerial positions (29.9%), which also seems to be a rather

stable pattern as it is mirrored within the different age groups. This

is in line with the general assessment of the Austrian labour market

as being strongly segregated by gender (with a calculated

segregation index of 0.53 for 2010). Vertical and horizontal

segregation are regularly surveyed and reassessed and recently

also expanded toward unpaid work, which further increases the

degree of segregation. Discrimination at the labour market may

explain some or even most of this persistence, research on this

topic however is scarce (only one correspondence testing study on

gender has been conducted yet and this more than a decade ago).

It still matters

where you, your

parents or what

others think you

come from.

In Vienna the (ascribed) origin of the employee, the (ascribed)

origin of their parents and/or their qualifications influence the

chances to best utilise one’s qualification at the labour market as

reflected in the statistics. Especially (ascribed) ties to the so-called

New Member States and to countries outside of the European

Union showed a strong negative impact on the common labour

market indicators.

8

Age, transition from

education to labour

market, long term

unemployment and

disabilities (cont.)




Transferring higher education acquired abroad to the Viennese

labour market still seems to pose a lot of difficulties

(unemployment rate of 12.73% with qualification acquired abroad

vs. 4.73%). In addition being born outside of the European Union

also has a negative impact on the recorded unemployment rate as

well as the positions gained within the higher qualified (e.g.

unemployment rate by place of birth in Vienna: Austria 4.4%, EU15

4.8%, New Member State 8%, Outside the European Union

13.3%).

A recently published correspondence testing study affirms that

discrimination is an existing problem on the Viennese labour

market, especially against job applicants with pretended roots in

Nigeria who had received twice as many rejections compared to

ascribed Austrian applicants. Not covered by this study however is

discrimination due to wearing a headscarf which is seen as a big

problem by NGOs and the ombud of equal treatment.

Key findings: Istanbul For the analysis of the labour market in Istanbul data from two sources have mainly been used:

Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) and Turkish Labor Agency (ISKUR). Istanbul is the biggest

city in Turkey with a population of 13,854,740 and still growing. According to the population

forecasts by TUIK, in 2023 the population will grow to 16,568,500 people.

Higher Education

leads to reduced

unemployment

rates

In 2012 the labour force participation rate in Istanbul is recorded as

51.1% and the unemployment rate is reported as 11.3%. Most of

the non-institutional population in Istanbul has an education level

of “lower than high school” with an employment rate of 38.5%

within this education group. The highest employment rate with

70.8% is recorded in the group labelled as “higher educated”. The

distribution among the economic sectors shows a dominance of

the service sector (more than 50%), followed by the manufacturing

sector (one out of three) while just around 6% work in agriculture.

Household duties

as main reason to

not participate at

the labour market

With 43% both in Turkey and Istanbul, the main reason given for

not joining the labour force is defined as “occupied with household

duties”. As division of domestic labour is still very “traditional” and

to the disadvantage of women, this mainly concerns the female

labour market participants and is reflected in the labour market

statistics.

9

It still matters

where you, your

parents or what

others think you

come from. (cont.)




No clear definition

of disadvantaged

groups at the

labour market

There is no single definition of “disadvantaged groups” in Turkey.

Hence we identified them by analysing the legal processes, project

reports and documents, as well as conducting interviews with

experts and representatives of different relevant organizations. At

least two influential classifications could be identified. First, jobs

seekers with disabilities, ex-convicts and terror victims can be

considered as disadvantaged in the labour market. Second,

women, young people, long term unemployed and discouraged

workers are among potentially disadvantaged groups.

Regulations

supporting

participation vary in

their approach and

effectiveness

In Turkey, the integration of disabled people is empowered by

certain regulations. Organizations with more than 50 employees

are obliged to employ a handicapped person for every 33

employee. The situation is similar for ex-convicts and terror

victims. As supporting measures, ISKUR organizes special training

programs and work on job placements. For other groups there are

no special legal regulations, but several projects to support

members of these groups have been launched.

Definition of target

group

In accordance to the aim of the project, the focus group for Istanbul

has been defined as “higher qualified women re-entering the labor

market after an interruption due to maternal or childcare reasons

and over-qualified female employees looking for a job due to

restricted career prospects”. This approach is rather unique in

Istanbul as the existing reports generally summarize female

employees within one group without any further distinction.

Existing studies and statistical reports encourage this

differentiation within the female employees. For example, higher

educated females are more stronger integrated into the labour

market showing a higher labour forcer participation rate within the

labour force statistics and hence face different problems.

Only 15.2% of the surveyed women worked before marriage and

nearly 40% of all women never worked at all. In 2012 the labour

force participation rate of female employees has been highest in

the age group 25-29 reaching 40%. It declined in the age groups

30 plus. This could reflect the negative effect of marriage and

childbearing on the labour market participation rate.

10

Marriage and

childbearing



Length of job

search

The length of the job search is an important indicator for the

analyses of the labour market. In 2012, according to the numbers

provided by TUIK, 3 out of 4 unemployed job seekers could find a

job within a year.


Introduction Deliverable 3.2 reports about the results of the qualitative interviews conducted in Istanbul and

Vienna. In Vienna the interviews have been conducted with higher qualified job seekers born in

one of the so-called new member states and outside of the European Union, their children and

also job seekers just ascribed to these countries. In Istanbul interviews with female job seekers

and female discontent employees have been conducted. It summarizes the organisation of the

job search, negative experiences collected during job search and experiences with

discrimination, with a special focus on changes in the job search strategies over time.

Key Findings: Vienna In Vienna 17 qualitative interviews were organised using different recruiting approaches. The

interviews have been conducted as open narrative interviews based on the principles

summarised under the label Grounded Theory and Situational Analysis which have also been

relied on for the analysis of the interviews.

Job search is a

complicated

routinized and

often also

frustrating and

demotivating

sociomaterial

practice

For the majority of the interviewed job seekers, job search is a

fulltime job in which they have to deal with and manage a

complicated mesh of different (sociomaterial) practices and orders.

It encompasses epistemological, creative as well as social

activities. They have to constantly monitor the many possible

information sources on job vacancies, update and upgrade their

application material, search for and exploit networking possibilities,

and further develop possible skills expectedly demanded by the

labour market. Here, online job search platforms not just enable

access to the labour market but also play an important role as

epistemological tools offering an overview of the labour market.

They very much participate in enacting the labour market the job

seekers are part of. Negative experiences with the different actors

at the labour market during job search has been an important topic

within the interviews and negatively influences the motivation to

search for a job. This complicated situation becomes even more

severe and frustrating with experienced discrimination due to

gender, age and, as especially addressed here, (ascribed) origin.

A variety of job

search strategies:

replying to job

advertisements,

blind applications

and networks

Replying to job advertisements was the most common approach

mentioned in the interviews. Unsolicited or blind applications had

been tried out by some of the interviewees, but also had been

abandoned again quite soon due to low reply rates. Participating in

career networking and information events is also seen as part of

the job search strategy.

11

Report about job search practices, barriers and

needs of disadvantaged groups (1/6) 2.2


Flexibility and De-

qualification: Any

or a specific job

While the majority tends to show flexibility concerning the

acceptance of a certain level of de-qualification and jobs which do

not fit their demands, there have also been interviewees going into

a different direction. One just applied for jobs adequate to his/her

qualification and which are also very similar to her/his previous job

regarding all the other aspects. On the other side, some

interviewees would accept any job they can carry out. When it

comes to workplace all interviewees restricted their search

thoroughly to Vienna. Family but also limited financial resources to

finance a transfer had been the main reason for this.

Figure 1: Summary of the expressed perception of the relevant social worlds and arenas of job

search in Austria (social world/arena map)

Networks of relatives and friends did not play such an important

role and had been mainly mentioned if the interviewees had the

feeling to have a disadvantage due to a lack of social networks

helpful for the job search. However, relatives and friends are

necessary to deal with emotional and motivational backlashes.

12

A variety of job

search strategies:

replying to job

advertisements,

blind applications

and networks

(cont.)




The multiple

disadvantages due

to restricted legal

access

Restricted access to the labour market poses a big problem for the

interviewees, not just regarding the legal additional expenses for

themselves, but also for their self-presentation towards possible

employers. For some it is seen and felt as a flaw attached to and

devaluing their résumé and hence themselves as job seekers. In

some reported instances it even seems to be something to feel

guilty about.

Figure 2: Positional map: requirements towards jobs looked and applied for

13

Emotional distress

during and due to

job search

Looking for a job while being unemployed, as was the case for

most interviewees, is an extremely stressful situation. Most

described their situation in general, but especially their feeling

when being rejected with strong negative phrases and

expressions. Desperation, frustration, or exhaustion are

expressions implemented in the narration about job search. Most

have expressed to be ashamed of being unemployed and are

concerned, that their surroundings, especially their relatives, also

suffer from this situation.




Emotional distress

during and due to

job search (cont.)

Not receiving any appreciation for spending a lot of time and effort

on creating the application material was a negative experience

thoroughly mentioned by the interviewees. Creating an individual

letter of motivation, researching the companies and occasionally

rewriting the vita is, if at all, rewarded with a single line standard

rejection email by the advertising company.

Directly and

indirectly

experienced

discrimination has

a negative impact

Experienced discrimination accompanied many, but not all, of the

interviewed job seekers. Direct and openly expressed rejections

due to an ascribed migration history or certain appearance had the

most immediate impact on the job search. It led to a direct change

of the job search strategy and intensity in two cases and in one

case it additionally led to a strongly reduced job search motivation.

However, impressions deduced by observations during job search

and shared experiences with friends and relatives are also an

important factor influencing the job search and also adding up to

first-hand experiences. For some interviewees, bearing such

features became a constant liability, shaped the cognition of the

own chances and position at the labour market and also made

them to challenge decisions and actions by employers and

companies inviting them for job interviews.

In conclusion, experienced racial discrimination has to be more

strongly considered when discussing and analysing chances and

barriers at the labour market. It not just may contribute to reduced

success of job applications due to higher rejection rates and hence

higher unemployment rates, but also negatively impacts the job

search in several ways. It can dampen the motivation to search for

a job and restricts the strategic options when searching for a job. In

many cases it also led to a complicated shape of job-search self-

efficacy where assurance in the quality of the own application

material and the own skills and qualifications is accompanied by

an unpleasant notion of insufficiency due to externally ascribed

negative characteristics based on non-work related prejudices.

However, the interviewees felt to have been left alone with

verifying, falsifying and dealing with this notion and their

experiences. The establishment of anti-discriminatory measures

like the online job search platform hence would also assure job

seekers that this problem has been recognised and approached

and can contribute in countering those negative experiences with

discrimination.

14




Key Findings: Istanbul In Istanbul 14 interviews with higher qualified women looking for a job have been conducted.

The interviews covered several topics: (previous) work experience, demographic information,

periods of job dissatisfaction, details about unemployment periods, details about job search

periods including the used channels and expectations for the future. The respondents were

reached with the help of the NGO “yenidenbiz” which supports well-educated, experienced and

competent unemployed women. Also private networks have been utilised to find interviewees.

Juggling work and

family life is still

difficult

For the majority of the interviewees, getting children meant a shift

in priorities from work to family. Traveling and overtime, demanded

in many jobs and to switch the job if new opportunities arise

became harder to fulfil. In addition they are more willing to take a

break from the job to focus on their children and sometimes also

felt guilty when doing overtime. However, in the interviews they

expressed that they expected their companies to show more

tolerance towards their family needs.

Childcare as barrier

and the wish for an

alternative work

model

In addition to this change in priority, some of the interviewees also

experienced the problem of having an unsatisfactory position after

having their children. All of the companies the interviewees worked

in preserved their positions, but the responsibilities changed. After

having their children, some of the interviewees preferred or had to

suspend their career. However, some continued to work and tried

to excel in both areas, their families and their jobs. For most

however this lead to a frustrating situation, as they felt to not being

able to fully fulfil both roles. As a result, most of the interviewees

perceive having children as a barrier for their career. A solution for

this, as some pointed out, would be to establish an alternative work

model which enables balancing of work and family life.

15



Help from relatives

and the importance

of head hunters

Updating their CV and their profiles on LinkedIn has been the first

step of the job search process for the interviewees. Their friends,

as most pointed out, had been a big help in doing this. All

interviewees applied or made connections with Head Hunters as

they are seen as critical and important.


Age discrimination,

negative signalling

effects of certain

career paths, and

presumed lack of

job dedication

During the interviews several obstacles complicating their job

search have been mentioned by the interviewees. The first

obstacle is the impression that companies in general prefer to

higher younger employees for positions with less salary.

Suspicious about the possible negative signalling effects of long

stays within one company has been expressed by some

interviewees. They feared that companies might interpret this as

unwillingness to change and to leave familiar surroundings.

Maternity leave and longer periods of job leave in general has

been seen as a major obstacle as they gained the impression that

companies are unwilling to hire employees with longer periods of

job leave. Restricted mobility due to family life is mentioned as

another obstacle. Being able to travel is a prerequisite for many

jobs and even if they are willing to travel they often face scepticism

if they are able to manage to travel with children. All those

obstacles together led to a feeling expressed by most interviewees

of being discriminated at the labour market due to being a woman.

16




Introduction For the task of formulating sound recommendations for the online job search platform (D3.3) to

be developed, we conducted an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing job

search platforms mentioned by the interviewed job seekers. Following a systematic approach

that comprised three consecutive steps we documented the general features of the platforms

mentioned in the interviews, conducted exemplary job searches on each platform, set up an

account and created a CV at each platform thereby recording requirements as well as additional

options. In addition experiences with online job search platforms and expectations towards an

anti-discriminatory job search platform had also been addressed within the conducted

interviews.

Key Findings

Job search

platforms

implement

constitutive

elements which

reproduce a certain

“application

habitus” and may

even enhance

barriers for certain

job seekers

Job search platforms implement constitutive elements for the

labour market (categories, classifications), which may require

previous and advanced knowledge of the Austrian labour market.

This may pose (at least initially) a hurdle for job seekers browsing

for a qualification-adequate job without this familiarity of the

Austrian labour market.

In addition, job search platforms reproduce a certain standard

“application habitus” which requires including non-skill related

information such as a picture, full name, age and citizenship.

Particularly in situations with large numbers of applications (and

hence limited time resources for screening), the focus of

employers in pre-selecting applicants may not entirely be on

qualifications and skills but on non-skill related information thus

potentially leading to exclusion.

Finally, some online job search platforms may even enhance

barriers for certain groups of job seekers e.g. by requiring

information on the availability of a work permit or by giving

employers the option to search for candidates with a maximum

age. Addressing these findings is a major part of the platform

concept to be developed.

17

Requirements and suggestions towards the

platform program report (1/4) 2.3


Recommendations

for designing the

job search platform

Based on the analysis of the job search platforms several

recommendations could be formulated:

• Allow to submit customised and personalised applications for

any vacancy

• Allow to personalise the own application without undermining

anonymisation e.g. by:

o description of skills beyond qualification and

professional experience

o profile description or short statement about oneself

o three main characteristics

o open field to be able to talk about interests, additional

qualification, etc. similar to the “third page” of the

application material

o making sure that applicants can highlight their most

important professional experiences and competencies in

the online application form

• Classification of occupation, economic sector, branch, job type,

etc.:

o Separate between classification of occupations (ISCO)

and economic sectors (NACE) and either use one or

both classifications separately

• Orient towards existing good practices e.g. implementation of a

“recall list”, “follow ads and companies”

• Option to display job vacancies of companies dedicated to

diversity, address certain groups of job seekers, use motivating

phrases, offer barrier-free workplaces, etc.

Different evaluation

of active and

passive use of job

search platforms

In Vienna, the experience with platforms used passively, which

mainly includes searching for job vacancies, has been thoroughly

positive. Searching for job vacancies using those online tools have

been incorporated in the daily job search routine and are a reliable

source for their epistemic demand to get an overview of the labour

market they are interested in. The classifications used by the

mentioned job search platforms have not been narrated as posing

a problem, except for one interviewee. Also that the platforms

adequately “represent” the “official” labour market has not been

questioned by the interviewees.

Online tools which offer or demand to be actively used by the job

seekers did not have that much credit expressed in the interviews.

Most uploaded their vita and other application materials onto

different platforms, but without any useful reply or recognised

interest. An exception has been business networking sites like

Xing or LinkedIn. Being present at those sites is seen as an

important aspect of job search.

18




Negative

experience with job

search platforms in

Istanbul

In Istanbul, two online job search platforms have been mentioned

by the interviewees: Kariyer.net and Yenibiris.com. However, most

of the interviewees didn’t hold those platforms in high regard. They

criticised that those platforms aimed at a broader mass and mainly

covered low-profile-jobs. In their experience the information added

to those platforms are also not verified and controlled. Hence, few

actually used those platforms and had been highly dissatisfied. On

the other hand, all of the respondents have an account at and use

the online social platform LinkedIn, but mainly for networking and

for staying in contact. Although none of the interviewees could

report about having come in contact with a possible employee or

found a job using LinkedIn, they nevertheless appreciated what

LinkedIn has to offer.

The expected

values of

anonymised

applications for job

seekers

Anonymised applications are seen as positive measure to

counteract experienced discrimination by all interviewees.

However, on their own they did not see any possibility to realise

anonymised applications. The idea to implement anonymised

applications into a job search platform is seen as interesting and

as a promising approach. One interviewee also speculated that it

could be expended and also include additional information whether

companies are open to different kind of job seekers. As the

interviews with job seekers as well as with employers in Vienna

suggest, employers may have insufficient knowledge about and/or

no or discouraging experience with applicants without full labour

market access. Thus, the idea of including corresponding

information at the platform may be adopted in order to close this

knowledge gap.

19




Recommendations

for an online job

search platform

from the point of

view of the job

seekers

Based on the analysed interviews with job seekers several

recommendations could be formulated:

• allow to search and find all available vacancies (like any other

jobsite)

• have an intuitive and user-friendly layout and interface

• Use intelligible and credible classifications to standardise,

structure and filter the job vacancies.

• Guarantee a broad pool of job vacancies and participating

enterprises

• Give an overview of public assistance measures and

consequences if certain quota are not realised

• Inform the employer about the legal situation of employees with

restricted access:

o What does it mean, what is necessary, etc.

• The platform should guarantee and realise anonymised

applications on a technological and social level:

o the online job search platform should offer and

implement anonymised application forms into its main

template

o cover the entire application and recruiting process until

the first job interview (applications, selecting, inviting)

o make sure that the online application form displays the

duration of former occupations and no year dates

o In addition, the platform should also organise the

anonymised application process for all applications and

applicants to avoid being singled out

• Implement credible or authentic encouraging wordings

20




3. Synthesis

21


WP3 referred to several important topics. It analysed the positions and chances of the different

labour market participants and identified several groups of participants with hindered access to

and less chances at the labour market in both cities. Especially in Istanbul this proved to be

rather complicated but also lucrative as no clear definition and broadly accepted notion of

disadvantaged groups existed beforehand. We further analysed the needs, interests,

experiences and expectations of job seekers in Istanbul and Vienna. We therefore defined two

groups of labour market participants for the empirical inquiry to focus on:

• higher qualified women re-entering the labour market after an interruption due to maternal or

childcare reasons and over-qualified female employees looking for a job due to restricted

career prospects in Istanbul,

• and higher qualified job seekers born in one of the so-called new member states and outside

of the European Union, their offspring and also job seekers just ascribed to these countries in

Austria

In addition within WP3 we also analysed the strengths and weaknesses of the existing online job

search platforms from the point of view of the job seekers.

Based on the findings derived from the qualitative interviews as well as desk research, we could

develop functional requirements for the concept of the G@together platform from the perspective

of employees. The completion of WP3 marks milestone M3 of the project and is a sound basis for

WP5 (technical concept design).

The interviews revealed a seldom acknowledged notion of job search. Job search, as described

in the narratives developed within the interviews, is a highly demanding activity. It demands

discipline, strategy, organisation, and its finesses have to be learned during job search itself. Due

to this, the description of job search as full-time, or depending on the circumstances, at least part-

time job is more than accurate. Job search is also described as a complicated sociomaterial

routinized activity incorporating many different actors, organisations and sociotechnological

actants. Each attached to different social worlds the job seekers have to manage to deal with.

Job search is however not just complicated but also often frustrating. Rejections, being ignored,

and the often felt stigmatising character of being unemploymed are stressors often damping the

motivation to keep searching. Directly and indirectly experienced Discrimination due to an

(ascribed) migration history, gender, and as it is mentioned by several interviewees in both cities,

age, further intensifies this unpleasant situation. Discrimination has been experienced in many

forms: as open rejection which most of the time goes hand in hand with humiliation, as openly

expressed or indirectly experiences denying of necessary skills or willingness to fully dedicate to

the job, as an expressed scepticism whether they are able to do the job, as shared experiences

of friends and relatives, as structural exclusion due to restricted access to the labour market and

as observation of general broad societal notions towards them e.g. in media.

22

3. Synthesis


For the focus group in Istanbul discrimination at the labour market goes hand in hand with a

traditional division of domestic work leaving female employees with a double burden to handle.

In their accounts, the labour market does not adequately consider this problem and they wish for

a different work model which allows to better incorporate work and family life.

The negative consequences of experienced discrimination on the job search also became

prevalent within the interview narratives. Several interviewees adapted their job search strategy

to avoid humiliating situations during job search. Also the motivation to further search for and the

self-efficacy to find a job in the near future is strongly reduced due to those experiences. All

three together led to a reduced job search intensity which also reduces the chances to find a job.

The consequences of experienced discrimination on job search is not as strongly addressed in

the relevant literature as our research would suggest necessary.

The experience of the offered job search platforms differed strongly between the interviewees

conducted in Istanbul and Vienna. In Istanbul, the two most prominent job search platforms have

been evaluated strongly negatively by the interviewees, aiming too much at a broader mass and

including too much unverified information. In Vienna the situation is different. Job search

platforms are seen as important tools to search for jobs and as epistemic devices offering an

overview of the labour market. Networking tools like Xing or LinkedIn however have been

considered favourably.

For a new platform aiming at these groups this leads to two different challenges; convincing

previously disappointed users that it doesn’t make the same mistakes and convincing previously

content users that the differences to the established platforms are worth it. The direction towards

and implementation of different anti-discriminatory measures can be an interesting distinguishing

criteria for both groups of users. Especially as both measures mentioned in the interviews,

motivating formulations and anonymised applications, have been welcomed by all interviewees.

Together with the recommendations deduced from the interviews with the job seekers and the

analysis of the existing job search platforms, this laid a profound foundation for the development

of the technical concept design to be developed in the second year of the G@together project.

23

3. Synthesis


4. Literature/Further Reading

24


4.

Gächter, August (2010) Die Verwertung der Bildung ist in allen Bundesländern das größere

Problem als die Bildung selbst Available from:

https://www.zsi.at/users/153/attach/p1509ober.pdf (accessed 16 December 2013), Vienna.

Gürsel and Uysal (2010) İSTİHDAMDA DEZAVANTAJLI GRUPLARIN İŞGÜCÜNE KATILIMINI

ARTIRMAK, Betam Available from http://betam.bahcesehir.edu.tr/tr/wp-

content/uploads/2012/07/İstihdamda-Dezavantajlı-Grupların-İşgücüne-Katılımını-Artırmak1.pdf

(accessed 06.10.2014)

Heslin, Peter A., Bell, Myrtle P. and Fletcher, Pinar O. (2012) ‘The devil without and within: A

conceptual model of social cognitive processes whereby discrimination leads stigmatized

minorities to become discouraged workers’, Journal of Organizational Behavior 33(6), 840–862.

Hofer, Helmut, Titelbach, Gerlinde, Weichselbaumer, Doris, et al. (2013) Diskriminierung von

MigrantInnen am österreichischen Arbeitsmarkt Endbericht, Available from:

http://www.sozialministerium.at/cms/site/attachments/0/0/9/CH2247/CMS1318326022365/diskri

minierung_migrantinnen_arbeitsmarkt.pdf (accessed 17 June 2014). Institut für Höhere Studien

(IHS)/Johannes Kepler Universität Linz.

Kroft, Kory, Lange, Fabian and Notowidigdo, Matthew J. (2012) Duration Dependence and Labor

Market Conditions: Theory and Evidence from a Field Experiment Working Paper, Available

from: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18387 (accessed 11 February 2014). National Bureau of

Economic Research.

Schadauer, Andreas and Springer, Benedikt (2014) ‘Socio-technological job search and

recruitment in a segregated labour market: Inclusion, exclusion and opportunities’, in

Proceedings STS Conference Graz 2014, Available from:

http://www.ifz.aau.at/ias/Media/Dateien/Downloads-IFZ/IAS-STS/IAS-STS-Conference/STS-

Conference-2014/Social-justice-and-Diversity/Schadauer_Springer_paper. Graz

Simeon, Lisa, Taran, Patrick and Gächter, August (2007) ‘Situation Testing’ - Discriminiation in

access to employment based on ILO Methodology Available from:

http://www.jus.uio.no/smr/english/about/programmes/serp/docs/ILO.pdf (accessed 2 January

2014). Switzerland: International Labour Organization.

Weichselbaumer, Doris (2003) ‘Gleiche Qualifikation - unterschiedliche Behandlung? Drei

österreichische Studien zur Arbeitsmarktdiskriminierung von Frauen’, WISO - Wirtschafts- und

sozialpolitische Zeitschrift des ISW 2(26), 13–30.

Literature/Further Reading

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