This paper was drafted as a State of the Art report that summarizes the reasons behind the vulnerable labour market situation of Roma in Central East European countries and the potentials of labour market policies to facilitate labour market inclusion. It also summarizes literature on the potential of business sphere in facilitating employment of vulnerable minorities through their focus on employee’s diversity or commitment to equal treatment. !is paper was submitted to the European Commission as an internal deliverable of the Bridge To Business project.
Project Title: EU INCLUSIVE – data transfer and exchange of good practices regarding the inclusion of Roma population between Romania, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain
This joint cross-border project is implemented by Soros Foundation from Romania, in partnership with Open Society Institute-Sofia from Bulgaria, Fundacion Secretariado Gitano from Spain and Fondazione Casa della Carit Angelo Abriani from Italy. The project objective is the development of cooperation practices in the field of Roma inclusion by cross-border transfer of data and exchange of local good practices in order to promote the inclusion of this vulnerable group on the European labour market, as well as to increase the capacity of organizations dealing with Roma integration in Romania, Spain, Italy and Bulgaria.
The present study examines some other pivotal social institutions that play relevant roles in the professional insertion of the Roma: family, education and the residential community. The study uses an interpretative approach, leveraging the institutional ethnography methodology.