Equal Strength: From one closed door to another

Project team members: Abel Ghekiere (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Billie Martiniello (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Daniel Capistrano (The Economic and Social Research Institute), Jeremy Kuhnle (University of Lausanne), Stefanie Sprong (Utrecht University), Pelin Atay (DeZIM), Héctor Cebolla Boado (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Mathew Creighton (University College Dublin), Valentina Di Stasio (European University Institute), Mariña Fernández-Reino (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Johanna Hildebrandt (FU Berlin), Ketevani Kapanadze (Faculty of Law, Charles University), Vasilena Lachkovska (University of Lausanne), Bram Lancee (University of Amsterdam), Isabel Lázaro Bueno (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Josef Montag (Faculty of Law, Charles University), Bori Simonovits (Budapest Institute, Faculty of Education and Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest), Stephanie Steinmetz (University of Lausanne), Ely Strömberg (University of Amsterdam), Álvaro Suárez-Vergne (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Sanne van Oosten (Oxford University), Veronika Vass-Vigh (Budapest Institute), Susanne Veit (DeZIM), Eva Zschirnt (University of Amsterdam), and Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

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EqualStrength investigates cumulative and structural forms of discrimination, implicit bias, and prejudice against minorities in nine European countries. The project comprises three main work packages: coordinated field experiments, a population survey, and surveys and interviews with members of minority groups.

Using harmonized correspondence tests, we measure discrimination in three closely connected life domains—employment, housing, and childcare. A majority population survey (EqualStrength Majority Survey) assesses explicit prejudice, stereotypes, and implicit biases toward Muslim, African, and Roma minorities using survey experiments and embedded Implicit Association Tests (IATs).

In addition, surveys and interviews with members of ethnic minority groups examine how discrimination is perceived and experienced, and how these experiences relate to well-being, belonging, identification, and attitudes toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.

EqualStrength makes an important contribution to measuring prejudice and discrimination from an intersectional, cumulative, and cross-national European perspective:

• Lack of systematic European comparisons of cumulative discrimination
• Shortage of datasets integrating explicit, implicit, and behavioral measures
• Insufficient research on intersectional effects across multiple life domains

Black people, Muslims, and Roma face discrimination and prejudice across many areas of life. These experiences accumulate over the life course and contribute to persistent disadvantages across generations. EqualStrength examines these dynamics from an intersectional and cross-national perspective, using a wide range of innovative methods—including field experiments, survey experiments, and qualitative and quantitative data collection—to incorporate both majority and minority perspectives.

Field experiments:
Harmonized correspondence tests were conducted in nine European countries to measure discrimination in employment, housing, and childcare. The field phase took place in 2025, with more than 1,000 applications sent per country and domain.

Population survey:
Explicit and implicit prejudices and stereotypes toward Muslim, African, and Roma minorities were measured in a cross-national survey combining survey experiments and IATs. Data collection (21,632 participants) took place between March and June 2025.

Survey and interviews with minorities:
We examine how ethnic minorities perceive and experience discrimination and how these experiences relate to well-being, belonging, identification, and attitudes toward DEI policies. Data collection includes online surveys in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Spain, as well as qualitative interviews with Roma in Czechia and Hungary. In addition, respondents evaluate various DEI measures in companies (e.g., blind recruitment, targeted outreach, diversity training, inclusion committees, or tie-break rules) within an experimental design. Data collection will take place in autumn/winter 2025.

Initial findings show that Muslim, Black African, and Roma minorities are systematically disadvantaged across multiple life domains. Field experiments indicate lower chances of obtaining childcare places and discriminatory treatment in the labor market; data collection in the housing domain is still ongoing.

Among the majority population, implicit bias is widespread, while explicit prejudice is more strongly gendered and particularly directed toward Muslim and Roma minorities. Regional analyses show that prejudice and discrimination are more pronounced in rural and economically disadvantaged areas.

National equality policies such as MIPEX are not directly associated with actual levels of discrimination, pointing to the limits of legal protections without effective implementation. The minority survey provides initial insights into diverse individual experiences of discrimination.

• https://equalstrength.eu/