A recent study has found that a French Muslim job applicant has 2.5 times fewer chances of being hired than a Christian, the online daily Mediapart reported Thursday.
The authors of the study, which was carried out by the Science-Po university and the Franco-American Foundation, concluded that "all things being equal, immigrant Muslim citizens face obstacles to integration via job access much higher than their Christian counterparts."
In the study, job applications were sent to hundreds of firms under the names Marie Diouf and Khadija Diouf. The personal data given on their applications, including age and marital status, were identical except for religious background, DPA reported.
"Marie" worked for a Catholic organization, while "Khadija" was a former employee of Islamic Aid. The surname "Diouf" was used because there are thousands of Senegalese refugees living in France who come from Christian or Islamic communities.
The researchers found that "Marie Diouf" received an invitation for a job interview from 21 per cent of the firms to which she applied, while "Khadija Diouf" was invited for an interview by only 8 per cent.
"This demonstrates mass discrimination," sociologist Daniel Sabbagh concluded.
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