Menu
MapConnectionsTopicsBulgariaThe Night (K-TRIO)Marie Skłodowska-CurieFor studentsFor teachersMethodologySurprise me
HEIndividual fellowship2023–2025

DISCEFRN · Does standardization matter? Evaluating the potential of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) for reducing employment discrimination faced by immigrants.

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2023-09-01 → 2025-04-30
EU contribution
€140,607
Participants
1
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Does standardization matter? Evaluating the potential of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) for reducing employment discrimination faced by immigrants.

Reducing ethnic discrimination and promoting inclusive growth remain key priorities of the European Commission and align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, persistent hiring discrimination against immigrants—often linked to host-country language skills—continues across many countries. This project examined the potential and pitfalls of introducing standardized language requirements based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in the hiring process to reduce language-based discrimination and to improve labour market access for immigrants. Using web-scraped data from approximately 90,000 job ads, a survey experiment, and expert evaluations, the project addressed three objectives: (1) assessing whether CEFR-based requirements can reduce language-based discrimination in hiring, (2) identifying which groups and sectors might benefit most, and (3) evaluating the adequacy and scope of CEFR-based requirements that are currently set in the labour market (in Norway).

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Around 57 million people in Europe are foreign-born. Developing strategies for inclusive growth and devising actions to promote immigrant integration through non-discrimination are among Europe’s current priorities. This project will evaluate if the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which is used to standardize host country language requirements for different professions throughout Europe, can serve as an effective tool to reduce hiring discrimination against immigrants. Employers have been shown to discriminate against immigrant applicants based on language-related bias, which can be reduced when language requirements are specified in CEFR terms. Based on a novel design that combines real-world variation in the inclusion of CEFR requirements in job ads with a factorial survey experiment and in-depth interviews among employers, the project will address three objectives: 1) Examining if the inclusion of CEFR requirements reduces differential treatment of immigrant applicants on aggregate; 2) Identifying labor market areas and ethnic groups that benefit most from the introduction of CEFR requirements; 3) Assessing the current implementation of CEFR requirements in relation to uninformed or inadequate use. Results and the collected data set will be distributed among the scientific community (open access), among the general public (science fairs) and among employers and county governors (webinars, roundtable discussions) and can serve as a stepping-stone for developing comprehensive and adequate language requirements for different professions at the (inter)national level. The projects unites expert researchers in sociolinguistics and language test development with an early career researcher (ecr), specializing in immigrant integration and language-based discrimination into an interdisciplinary team. This will provide impactful training to the ecr, who will benefit from methodological training, project management experience, and network ties.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • HOGSKULEN PA VESTLANDET · BergenCoordinatorNorway

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union