Ruud Koopmans at the Jour Fixe of the SOCIUM.

On Monday, 14th November 2016, Ruud Koopmans from the Berlin Social Science Center, was a guest at the Jour Fixe lecture series of the SOCIUM. Koopmans reported on his recent study which included interviewing 7000 people in six European countries (France, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland). His result, a hotly debated topic: The problems of employment of Muslims and its lacking integration into the labor market have less to do with social discrimination but more with social and cultural factors.

First of all, Koopmans pointed out the lack of language skills, traditional religiously-defined values and fewer interethnic contacts, which complicate the participation in the labor market for Muslim immigrants in Europe. The most obvious is the labor market participation of Muslim women, where the traditional understanding of gender roles is opposed.


Contact:
Prof. Dr. Celine Teney