According to an article written by the European Comission, there are about 10 to 12 million Roma people living in Europe, out of which, 6 millions are part of the European Union. The last population census taken in Romania 10 years ago, shows that Roma accounted for about only 3% (621.573) of the total stable population (20.121.641) (Institutul Național de Statistică 2011). Even though these statistics might have changed up to today, the general perception and approach towards their social and labour inclusion haven’t improved as much as it should have.
How do Romanians perceive Roma people?
Between the 4thand 9thof June 2020, IRES (The Romanian Institute for Evaluation and Strategy) conducted a survey for the “Together” Community Development Agency Foundation (Fundaţia Agenţia de Dezvoltare Comunitară „Împreună”), on the “Perception of Roma people during the COVID – 19 pandemic”. The respondents were 1006 random people aged 18+, questioned through CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing).
The final results raise real concerns, as many organizations and projects are still struggling to facilitate the social and labour inclusion of Roma people. 20 – 30 % of the respondents consider Roma to be dangerous individuals, that have too many rights and should not benefit from the protection of authorities in cases of discrimination or hate speech. When asked “What is the first word that comes into your mind when you think about Roma?”, very few people (3%) categorized them as kind – hearted/ loyal/ united/ honest, and on a more positive note, 15% saw them as normal people just like everyone else. Even though this brings a ray of hope for the future, the big majority of Romanians still associates them with rudeness, lack of education, laziness, fraud, so overall, people whose presence is considered uncomfortable.
Last, but not least, citizens of Romania generally blame the Government for not taking action to improve the situation of Roma and consider that access to education, to the labour market and health services are essential to change this situation for the better (“Ires_agentia-Impreuna_perceptia-Romilor-in-Timpul-Pandemiei-Covid-19_2020.Pdf” n.d.).
Social Institutions in the employment process
Melinda Dincă and Daniel Lucheș, from the Department of Sociology at West University Timișoara, Romania, conducted a research in 2018, entitled “Work Integration of the Roma: Between Family and Labor Market”. This particular research paper analyzed the involvement of other social institutions (besides the Government) in the Roma employment process, such as “family, education and the residential community” (Dinca and Daniel 2018).
First of all, data collected from the interviews revealed a pattern in the Roma communities: large families, with many children and women who marry at a young age. Statistics show that in Romania, 39% of Roma women get married before reaching 18 years old and 59% see “domestic work” as their main activity (European Union and Agency for Fundamental Rights 2019).
As a consequence, this means taking up time to look after the children, which leads to school dropout, difficulties in getting a job and poverty. In this context, after the evaluation of the responses gathered during the interviews, it became clear that the primary social institution for Roma people is family.
The 24 interviewees explained how this can help them enter the labour market, through multiple methods: a person in the family shares news about a job opportunity which could involve a larger number of people; by making a recommendation to the potential employer about a relative who is looking for a job and could be trustworthy; by keeping in touch with institutions that provide employment help/ by supporting each other’s workplace inclusion.
Moreover, the research highlights the fact that many Roma actually have skills suitable for particular jobs, which were transferred to them from generation to generation, but unfortunately, the lack of formal education in the national system continues to represent the main impediment in getting employed (Dinca and Daniel 2018).
What can be done for the better?
The overall lifestyle of Roma people is different and can not be denied, as it represents a fundamental aspect of their culture, but even so, there are solutions which can be implemented to facilitate the labour market inclusion. Another finding of the same study shows that external connections and individuals such as „social workers, representatives of the local authorities and Non – Governamental Organizations” play a pivotal role in getting a secure job (Dinca and Daniel 2018).
Another research also calls attention to the fact that Romanian employers are willing to offer jobs to Roma people, but have experienced some barriers in the process, such as the lack of formal education. Three of the employers inverviewed said that they have hired Roma, because what really matters is the skills and competences they could put to work, rather than ethnicity.
As a conclusion, some institutions who participated in this research stated that in Romania, there should be some financial incentives to promote the employability of these people, along solutions regarding a better access to education or professional trainings (Simona Torotcoi 2017). SEPAL Project is one of the innitiatives that provides employment opportunities for Roma people, bringing them one step closer to being families with regular living conditions and stable income.
References:
Dinca, Melinda, and Lucheș Daniel. 2018. “Work Integration of the Roma: Between Family and Labor Market.” Sustainability10 (May): 1495. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051495.
European Union and Agency for Fundamental Rights. 2019. Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey: Roma Women in Nine EU Member States. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2019-eu-minorities-survey-roma-women_en.pdf.
Institutul Național de Statistică. 2011. “Rezultate | Recensamant 2011.” 2011. http://www.recensamantromania.ro/rezultate-2/.
“Ires_agentia-Impreuna_perceptia-Romilor-in-Timpul-Pandemiei-Covid-19_2020.Pdf.” n.d. Accessed February 22, 2021. https://ires.ro/uploads/articole/ires_agentia-impreuna_perceptia-romilor-in-timpul-pandemiei-covid-19_2020.pdf.
Simona Torotcoi, European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network. 2017. “Investing in Our Future: What Work(s) for Young Roma,” 70, https://ergonetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Final-Employment-Research-Report1.pdf.
