Report on the socio-economic contexts of cities Minorities, exclusion and discrimination in Amsterdam.

This report on racialized minorities in Amsterdam highlights the unequal distribution of social life chances based on migration background, skin color, gender, class, and age. It focuses on labor market, housing, education, and health & healthcare domains, noting that Moroccan-Dutch, Surinamese-Dutch, Antillean-Dutch, and other African groups are disadvantaged compared to the native Dutch population. The focus is on youth in the age group 18-35.
The report emphasizes the city’s high level of ethnic and socio-economic segregation, affecting educational and geographic aspects. This segregation creates environments where disadvantaged youth, often from racialized minorities, have limited access to social networks and cultural capital, increasing the risk of structural discrimination. The report also points out that the ‘white norm’ is prevalent in various sectors, including higher management and municipal administration. Second-generation youth with migration backgrounds face socio-economic disadvantages and discrimination. While some progress has been made in labor market, housing, education, and healthcare, many of these youths experience frustration and discrimination, feeling alienated from Dutch society.

The labor market in Amsterdam exhibits significant discrimination, especially in job application processes, with people of Moroccan, Turkish, and Surinamese backgrounds reporting high levels of discrimination. Housing seekers with non-Western names in Amsterdam are regularly treated unfairly compared to those with Dutch names. Men were being more discriminated against than women and their migration background seemed to have played a role. Direct and indirect discrimination in the allocation of housing as well as the reports on discriminatory incidents and complaints about discrimination give an image of the obstacles that racialized minorities encounter on the Amsterdam housing market. The education system shows disparities, with racialized minorities overrepresented in vocational education and underrepresented in higher secondary education levels. Institutional racism, such as under-advising, is a notable issue. Recent overview studies also signal various forms of inequality, discrimination and racism in health and healthcare.
The Netherlands has a tradition of extensive policy research and policy development regarding social issues, including institutional racism and discrimination. Numerous committees, inquiries, and coordinators have been established at national and local levels to address these issues. Public and political support for anti-racist policies is stronger in Amsterdam than at the national level. Amsterdam’s public policy approach has shifted from group-based to a focus on inclusion, emancipation, and non-discrimination, encompassing various forms of difference. In Amsterdam, anti-racism and discrimination efforts have evolved over the past decade. The city has developed its institutional framework for monitoring and reporting discrimination incidents and has increased knowledge and expertise in addressing exclusion. Attention has grown towards anti-Muslim discrimination and anti-Black racism, with civil society organizations and political movements successfully raising awareness. The city collaborates flexibly with civil society organizations and has refocused on combating anti-blackness and challenging the white norm.