How your birthplace affects your workplace. How your birthplace affects your workplace

Employment statistics consistently show that having a foreign background has an influence on people’s employment prospects. Less is known about the types of jobs workers with foreign backgrounds hold and their working conditions. This policy brief contributes to filling this gap. It compares the experience of workers with a foreign background to that of native workers; it also distinguishes between the experiences of first-generation and second-generation migrants and between those of women and men. The evidence shows that having a foreign background can have a negative impact both on labour market integration and working conditions. However, significant differences emerge between different groups of migrants. The findings highlight the clear need for a nuanced approach to policymaking to ensure a level playing field in the labour market for workers with a foreign background.