which the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s social group leads to
cognitive anxiety and poor performance on stereotype-related tasks. Hence, the fear of
stereotypes can negatively influence immigrants’ performance, especially in
educational environments where academic accomplishment is a significant measure of
success. According to the analysis of research on stereotype threat, even subtle cues
that activate negative stereotypes, such as asking negatively stereotyped immigrant
students about their ethnic background prior to a task, can reduce performance to the
same extent as blatant cues, such as stating a group’s cognitive inferiority.
Underperformance due to this might perpetuate the negative stereotype, producing a
self-fulfilling prophecy that can be difficult to shake. This underperformance may also
lead to a growing achievement gap between immigrants and their native-born
counterparts.
Similarly, David Pager contends that racial attitudes can negatively influence
immigrants’ and refugees’ access to work opportunities (Devah Pager, 2009, p. 787).
He discusses the results of a study that identifies three types of employment
discrimination: categorical exclusion, in which Black or minority candidates are
immediately rejected in favour of White applicants; shifting standards, in which racial
biases influence applicant evaluations; and race-coded job channelling, in which
minority applicants are directed towards jobs with higher physical demands and less
customer contact, reinforcing racial stereotypes and limiting their opportunities. These
results showcase a significant racial hierarchy in employers’ responses to job
candidates, as White candidates had the most favourable responses, followed by
Latinos, while Black applicants received far less (p. 784). Even when comparing
similarly competent individuals, these discriminatory practices remain, suggesting a
clear preference for White and Latino job seekers over their Black counterparts.
Additionally, the experiment reveals a troubling finding that companies consider
minority status similar to having a criminal record. Minority applicants, especially
immigrants, and refugees, are evaluated on a level with White ex-offenders, making it
29
Made with FlippingBook HTML5