Second generation Afro-Swedes – Various factors behind Structural Racism in the Swedish labor market

Abstract: This qualitative study aims to reach further understanding of how social workers at the Swedish Public Employment Service perceive structural racism in the Swedish labor market for second-generation afro-swedes. The study is conducted in Sweden. The first part of the research focused on the main reasons second-generation Afro-Swedes risk social exclusion from the Swedish labor market, while the second part focused on discriminatory employment and the third part covered strategies to tackle structural racism and to improve social inclusion of second-generation Afro-Swedes. The Theoretical framework of social exclusion was used to analyse the study findings. Through semi-structured interviews, four social workers expressed their views of various factors of structural racism second-generation afro-swedes experience in the Swedish labor market. The result shows that second-generation Afro-Swedes experiencing structural racism in the Swedish labor market are likely to experience social exclusion in the Swedish community. It was shown that factors such as cultural incompetency, discriminatory employment and education play significant roles in structural racism and social exclusion.