oa Waarom personeelsselecteurs Mark prefereren boven Mohammed

Why employers prefer Mark to Mohammed

In personnel selection procedures, Dutch employers prefer Dutch candidates to those with a non-western minority background with same educational level, age and work experience. We conducted 106 in-depth interviews to examine why employers and other personnel selectors in the Dutch labour market prefer Dutch candidates. Results show that employers associate workers of Moroccan and of Antillean descent with employment risks, such as trouble on the work floor. As the consequence, these candidates are put in the back of the labour queue. Employers have more positive associations with people from a Surinamese or Turkish background, but, nevertheless, prefer candidates from a Dutch background. Dutch candidates are more familiar and therefore the safer choice. We conclude that the preference for employees with a Dutch ethnic background is the result of risk avoiding behavior, based upon personal experience and images of ethnicity in media and society.