Ethnic anti discrimination work in La Paz, Bolivia : A study of the perceptions and beliefs of the employees regarding the ethnic anti discrimination work at a public university.

Abstract: This thesis is based on a qualitative research made on a public university in La Paz, Bolivia. The aim was to examine the beliefs and perceptions of the employees regarding the ethnic anti discrimination work at the university. As the Bolivian anti discrimination law and the constitution of 2009 has been made to improve the rights for the indigenous groups in Bolivia,we also wanted to hear if the laws have been implemented in their daily work.Seven interviews were done with the help of an interpreter, and a mix of goal oriented and snowball selection was used. Through the interviews, we found out that the ethnic anti discrimination work at the university is almost non-existing. It also showed that not much has been done to follow the law and the reforms of the constitution. This can be seen as nonperformative.Even though there are regulations about discrimination, the university is not actively working on the implementation of them. The opinion if an anti discrimination work was needed varied among the employees, as some respondents said that discrimination did not even exist at their faculty. To improve the ethnic anti discrimination work many of the respondents pointed on the need of a change in the culture. One important discussion has been about the lack of communication, information and education. These facts together with the change of culture can be seen as the most important factors to make progressions within the ethnic anti discrimination work at the university.