DUO for a JOB is launching a new hard-hitting national campaign to denounce hiring discrimination and reiterate a fundamental principle: only skills should govern hiring decisions.
A rigged game from the starting line
With its awareness campaign titled "Who Is It?", the DUO for a JOB association adopts the mechanics of the famous board game to illustrate a harsh reality of the job market. In the game, as in recruitment,candidates are eliminated based on their appearance.
This exclusion is not dictated by a lack of qualifications, but by what they "represent": a foreign-sounding name, a perceived origin, their age, or even their neighborhood's postal code.
The figures speak for themselves: today, with equal skills, a young person from an immigrant background has half the chances of getting a job interview.
When Aminata is eliminated, society as a whole loses
Many young people supported by DUO for a JOB have experienced these prejudices and discriminations. These rejections are significant obstacles to equal opportunities and directly impact their professional careers and mental health. To forgo these talents is also an economic folly, because diversity is a driver of innovation and a real strength for employers.
“After 115 calls and rejections for my internship application, I asked a colleague with a Belgian-sounding name to call the last employer. Suddenly, the 'no' became a 'yes,' and she got the internship. It hurts, you get discouraged. My mentor helped me regain confidence”, says Djenabou, supported by DUO for a JOB.
A call to change the rules of the game
While the situation is alarming, it is not inevitable. DUO for a JOB offers a proven solution.
Through its mentoring program for employment, the association offers a concrete, deeply human, and remarkably effective solution to break down invisible barriers and rebuild connections between generations and cultures.
The campaign will be visible this May on streets, in train stations, buses, and metros in Brussels, Liège, Verviers, Charleroi, Ghent, and Antwerp.
www.duoforajob.be/fr/actualite/quiestce
DUO for a JOB non-profit organization
For over 10 years, the non-profit organization has been creating duos between young job seekers from immigrant backgrounds and volunteer mentors aged 50 or over. And it works: 7 out of 10 young people find their way to employment (job, internship, training) thanks to their duo in Liège, Verviers, Charleroi, Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent.
Press contact
Guillaume Albessard │ g.albessard@duoforajob.org │ +32 487 18 03 40 │Young people and mentors available for testimonials
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