Performing to secure cultural hegemony: mediators' impact on the integration process

Agneta Moulettes

doi:10.1108/edi-07-2019-0212

Abstract

PurposeThe article takes its point of departure in the current labor market debate on immigration policy and attempts to explore the way private labor market mediators involved in the integration of immigrants contribute to reproducing cultural stereotypes reminiscent of colonial ideas.Design/methodology/approachFindings are based on respondent-driven interviews with nine labor market mediators (seven women and three men) from eight private labor market agencies in Sweden.FindingsThe findings showed that the private labor market mediators put their trust in the neoliberal system and rely on the colonial discourses when convincing immigrants to assimilate into the dominant culture. At the same time, the findings also show that there is no evidence that the assimilating activities they offer will lead to long-term employment.Research limitations/implicationsGiven that migration across national borders has become a common phenomenon, the author suggests a call for critical reflections on the taken-for-granted notions of both self and others and the influences colonial discourses have on integration.Practical implicationsThe author would suggest a shift of focus from immigrants' cultural adjustment to society's and employers' responsibilities and readiness to adjust to prevailing conditions.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the labor market literature and the diversity management literature by adding insights from public labor market mediators' experiences of the help they offer immigrants to enter the labor market. It shows how mediators make use of dominating discourses to secure cultural hegemony.

Highlights

An expected shortage of labor in the European market due to a decreasing population poses a challenge for politicians, who have to negotiate between companies growing demand for skilled workers, on the one hand, and, on the other, a promise to the voters to limit immigration of nonEuropeans and the influx of refugees
The overall aim of the study was to contribute to previous research on immigration by exploring public labor market mediators’ role in the integration process
The conversation came to focus on the help they offered unemployed immigrants, the challenges they encountered in their interactions with their clients and what they assumed employers expected of them

Summary

Introduction

An expected shortage of labor in the European market due to a decreasing population poses a challenge for politicians, who have to negotiate between companies growing demand for skilled workers, on the one hand, and, on the other, a promise to the voters to limit immigration of nonEuropeans and the influx of refugees. With an overall aim to explore private mediators’ role in the integration of immigrants on the labor market, I will draw on ideas from postcolonial theory, as I see it as potentially insightful lens for bringing cultural stereotypes reminiscent of the colonial discourse to the surface, and explore how these are currently employed. The interview accounts illustrate how they attributed discriminating values to immigrants when they considered their behavior did not meet the expectations from the labor market These situations proved to be most common when specific ethnic groups or nationalities were involved. Instead of questioning if there might be other reasons why his 15 years in Sweden and his recent 80 job applications had not ended in employment, she jumped to the conclusion it was his reluctance to work that hold him back Another example is provided by Hanna, who once again used the Roma and the Somali to illustrate the difficulty to help someone who they believe does not wish to be helped to find a job.

I: But do you think it only depends on them?

Findings

Conclusions