Latinos in the United States and in Spain: The impact of ethnic group stereotypes

• In Event: 1255 - Section on Latina/o Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 5. Stereotypes, Racism, and Social Justice

Abstract

This is the first harmonised correspondence study on the recruitment behaviour of employers in the US and in Spain. By comparing the call-back rates of Latino minority and majority group applicants, we are able to measure the level of discrimination that Latinos experience in these two national contexts where Latinos represent one of the largest immigrant group. Due to their proximity in terms of culture and language, Latinos are expected to experience less labour market discrimination in Spain than in the US. This is supported by our findings, as the level of discrimination against Latinos in the US is high and statistically significant, while we find no evidence of statistically significant discrimination against Latinos as a whole in Spain. In line with prior research on the intersection between ethnicity and gender in stereotyping, we find gender differences with regard to discrimination in both countries, though in opposite directions. While Latino males are more discriminated than Latino females in the US, Latino females experience more discrimination than their male counterparts in Spain, who are not treated differently from Spanish native men. Our results indicate that ethnic group stereotypes are country-specific and different for males and females of the same ethnicity. Moreover, we find partial evidence that ethnic group stereotypes can be counteracted when favourable information on the two key dimensions of social judgement, namely warmth and competence, is provided.

Authors

• Marina Fernandez-Reino, Centre on Migration, Policy and Society

• Ruta Yemane, Berlin Social Science Center (WZB)