Composite counterstorytelling as a technique for challenging ambivalence about race and racism in the labour market in Ireland

Abstract

In this study, the statement ‘race is no longer an issue’ is used to examine how 32 migrants of Spanish, Polish and Nigerian descent understand the significance of race in labour market mobility in Ireland. Their responses showed that Black and White workers talk about race differently. It also revealed an ambivalence about race among the White workers. This article employs counterstorytelling technique to analyse and present these differences through stories which humanise the lived experiences of migrants navigating the Irish labour market. The article commences with a discussion of how whiteness provides unacknowledged privilege. This is followed by a discussion of critical race theory’s counterstorytelling as an analytical tool for examining social relations. The participants’ narratives and current realities are then synthesised and woven into dialogues to construct composite portraits that invite readers into the world of migrant workers. The two stories constructed in this article portray how stories can open conversation about race and racism. Story A contains stereotypes that are used to explain the lack of racial diversity in the workplace, while story B challenges the complacency about how race and racism impact on the disparity in outcome among different groups. Finally, the article highlights the importance of counterstories in labour market research.

Keywords

Composite counterstorytelling racism whiteness labour market migrants Blacks

Introduction

The only reason you say that race was not an issue is because you wish it was not. We all wish it was not. But it’s a lie. (Adichie, 2014: 359)

When I present data on the higher unemployment rate of Black Africans in Ireland (43–63%), compared to White Europeans at 8–17% (depending on their nationality of descent) (CSO, 2016), the sometimes violent repudiation of this information is disconcerting. Eddo-Lodge (2017) articulates ‘that feeling of having your voice and confidence snatched away from you …’ and the emotional disconnect, disbelief, bewildered look and oftentimes defensiveness one encounters when talking to some White people about race (p. ix–xi). White denial is the ‘the ubiquitous politics of race that operates on its inherent invisibility’ (p. x). This raises questions not only of how we report about race and racism, but also how we hear and respond differently to these stories. Whites, from their vantage position in all spheres of Irish society, often challenge this data with stories of Black deficit, as they seek any explanation other than race and racism. Meanwhile, most Blacks and their White allies agree that the system might be disadvantaging Black workers in their labour market pursuits. The media appearances where I speak about racism in Ireland see some of the harshest threats and criticisms I have encountered, and it comes from a cohort who argue that race is not an issue in Ireland. This is despite the higher rate of employment-based discrimination reported by Black Africans in Europe (EUMIDIS 11, 2016), higher unemployment in the Irish labour market (McGinnity et al., 2017), harsher prison sentences of migrants (Guiney, 2018), harsher and more punitive border regulation, or the fact that the labour market participation of most Black Africans in Ireland starts with a downward mobility which can last for up to two to eight years depending on their route of entry into Ireland (Joseph, 2019). Considering some of the major changes which have taken place all over the world, this is understandable. For example, most organisations and businesses name themselves equal-opportunities employers, European countries have active antiracism/anti-discrimination policies, and the most powerful politically elected position in the world was held for two terms by Barack Obama, a person with Black African ancestry.

While these positive changes can make us question whether race still matters, the depth of marginalisation and unseen experiences of the other, which can be uncovered through storytelling, suggest that these changes are limited. Stories give voice to marginalised and often silenced people. In critical race theory (CRT), giving voice to silenced groups is important, and it can make research subjects part of the research. CRT storytelling method, when well-managed, creates an opportunity for groups to develop their story and to counter the dominant narrative. Stories are powerful and ‘have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanise’ (Adichie, 2009). When stories are presented from a single perspective, ‘they make one story become the only story’ (Adichie, 2009). In many social and historical positioning, ‘Whites and People of Colour tend to hear and tell very different stories about race/racism’ (Bell, 2003: 4). There are however benefits in outgroups telling stories and others listening when they do (Delgado, 1989).

This article is concerned with how Black and White migrant workers understand the significance of race in labour market mobility in Ireland. It is based on a study where 32 migrant workers of Spanish, Polish and Nigerian descent were asked to respond to the statement ‘race is no longer an issue’. It revealed different views from the Black and White workers and an ambivalence about race and racism among the White participants. This article presents these differences through dramatised stories which humanise the lived experiences of migrants navigating the Irish labour market. I employ counterstorytelling technique as the basis for both analysing and presenting the findings. Considering that ‘there is no single true, or all-encompassing description’ (Delgado, 1989: 2416), the participants’ narratives and current realities are synthesised and woven into dialogues to construct composite portraits that invites readers into the world of migrant workers. The article commences with a discussion on whiteness and how it provides privilege which is often unacknowledged and treated as invisible. This is followed by a section on counterstorytelling as an analytical tool for examining social relations in our society. The two stories constructed in this article portray how stories can open up conversation about racism. Story A contains stereotypes that perpetuate inequality and are used to explain the lack of racial diversity in the workplace, while story B challenges the complacency about how race and racism impact on the disparity in outcome among different groups.

Whiteness as unacknowledged privilege

With the widespread acknowledgement that race is an illusion that is socially constructed, skin colour and nationality of descent still influence socioeconomic outcomes (EUMIDIS 11, 2016). Although skin colour has been described as ‘the universal calling card of difference’ (Jacques, 2003) and race commonly applied to distinguish, classify and label groups, Whites rarely openly acknowledge that the possession of white skin colour advantages and oftentimes protects them in society. One of the earliest scholars to endorse the view of whiteness as protected and unacknowledged privilege was Peggy McIntosh. She described whiteness as ‘an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was “meant” to remain oblivious’ (McIntosh, 1988: 291). Just like being male did for men, whiteness has been argued to privilege Whites and put them at an advantage while disadvantaging non-Whites. Ruth Frankenberg also researched this concept from her positioning as a White woman and from interviewing other White women. She viewed whiteness as having three linked dimensions. First, as a location of structural advantage of race privilege, second, as a ‘standpoint’ from which White people look at themselves, others and society, third, as a set of unmarked and unnamed cultural practices (Frankenberg, 1993: 1). Since the early 1990s, whiteness has been framed as a racial and social category characterised by a privileged position in society, typically at the top of the economic and racial hierarchy. The scholar W.E.B. Du Bois in his examination of what it meant to be White in America, though he never used the term white privilege, inferred it in his writings as he notes that many Whites in America began to expect to be treated in certain ways because of their whiteness and the structural privileges being granted to them (Du Bois, 1965: 5).

Whiteness has also been described as the ‘unmarked marker’–unmarked insofar as it is identified with a ‘neutral’ universalism while serving as a criterion against which all other groups are marked and racialised (Dyer, 1997: 3–4). This is evident in the everyday speech and imaging of People of Colour, while at the same time, there is a marked absence of reference to whiteness as is prevalent in media and movie representation where Whites are just people and non-Whites are referred to for example as ‘Black man; or Chinese neighbour’ (Dyer, 1997). Whiteness in this way is presented as the norm that might be classed and gendered, but not raced. The ‘invisibility of whiteness as a racial position’ assumes that White people are just people, which is not far off saying that other colours are something else (Dyer, 2000: 541). Gillborn (2008: 162), blames the ‘invisibility of the world’ and its whiteness on the racialised nature of politics, policing, education and every other sphere of public life being so deeply ingrained that it has become normalised–‘unremarked, and taken for granted’.

Unlike other racial categories, whiteness is not racialised. Rather, ‘White people in white culture are given the illusion of their own infinite variety’, while in the representation of non-Whites, stereotypes are used to present them as fixed (Dyer, 2000: 544). Frankenberg (1993) later adds that whiteness is invisible mostly to White people, while it is quite visible to the other or non-White groups. She argues that non-Whites, from their inferior position on the social hierarchy, are keenly aware of the colour and privileges of whiteness and that to claim that ‘whiteness is invisible’ is to ‘repeat the gestures of hegemony’ (p. 73). In order to be identified as White, it is crucial to be White (Harris, 1993).

CRT storytelling

‘There is a war between stories. They contend for, tug at our minds’ (Delgado, 1989: 2418).

CRT is a theoretical and methodological framework which attributes racial inequalities to structural as opposed to individualised causes (Delgado and Stefancic, 2012). It is evidenced by an ontological position which is best defined by its main tenets. These tenets provide both an analytical and conceptual framework to help uncover the ingrained societal disparities that support a system of privilege and oppression. Counterstorytelling is an essential tenet of CRT which has been used in education research (DeCuir and Dixson, 2004; Gillborn, 2006; Solórzano and Yosso, 2002) and law education in the United States (Bell, 1992 in Faces at the Bottom of the Well). Storytelling in CRT aims to ‘expose race neutral discourse, to reveal how white privilege operates within an ideological framework to reinforce and support unequal societal relations between Whites and People of Colour’ (Hunn et al., 2006: 244). Storytelling has been argued to be ‘a political act which can defend or contest social arrangements through how we portray the past, ourselves and our fellows’ (Roy, 1999: 9). Stories, which are a powerful means for creating meaning as well as challenging myths, have been handed down generations from various sources including the bible, enslaved men, women and children, history lessons, national museums and many of our folktales. In other words, ‘we participate in creating the things we see by the very act of describing it’ (Delgado, 1989: 2416). Two main types of stories are written by CRT scholars, stock stories which are ‘stock explanations that construct reality in ways favourable to it[ingroups]’ (Delgado, 1989: 2438) and counterstories which are outgroup stories that seek to unseat the status quo. Counterstories ‘enrich the imagination and teach that by combining elements from the story and current reality, we may construct a new world richer than either one alone’ (p. 2414–2415). While stories are attractive to all groups and they create their own bonds, represent cohesion, shared understandings and meanings (p. 2412), the type of stories told are influenced by the storyteller’s group.

Whites in the Western world are stratified at the top of the racial and economic ladder, thus are the ingroup. They often tell stock stories from how they see the world, oblivious of how whiteness advantages them. Interestingly, ingroup stories typically privilege the dominant group and demonise the marginalised by speaking from a standpoint that normalises the experiences, views and needs of the dominant group (Delgado and Stefancic, 2012). These stories distort and silence the experiences of the dominated (Hunn et al., 2006). As Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995: 47) write, ‘… discussions of race and racism continue to be muted and marginalised’. This is true in the postcolonial, post truth and Trumpian era with race often decentred in the face of other forms of oppression such as sexism and classism. Racial complacency, which continues to be a major stumbling block to racial progress, persists because of the comforting stories ingroup members tell. These stories make current social arrangements seem fair and natural, such that ‘those in power are said to sleep well at night and their conduct does not seem to them like oppression’ (Delgado, 1989: 2413–2414). Outgroup stories on the other hand are said to ‘circulate within outgroups as a kind of counter-reality’ and therapy which can bring them healing and embolden them in knowing that they are not alone (p. 2412). These kinds of stories, called counterstories, when well-constructed can be effective in showing new perspectives, shattering complacency and challenging the status quo (Delgado, 1989). While Whites tell stock stories, Blacks/outgroups and their allies tell counterstories.

From reading Delgado (1989), there are five features to consider when developing an effective/authentic counterstory. First, the story should provide a version that challenges the stock story. Second, the story should be constructed in a way that invites readers to suspend any judgment, read the points contained in the story and then decide what they [dis]believe. Third, bearing in mind that a counterstory is to counter a dominant narrative, for a story to be an effective/authentic counterstory, it has to directly challenge the corporate story of the majority institution (the perspective of the story they share about themselves) in a way that ‘mocks’ the institutions belief that they operate a meritocratic system. Fourth, an authentic counterstory should not attack too frontally the audience it hopes to affect. This can be tricky, but it is important not to lose the readers. The fifth feature can help bypass that challenge by focusing the attack on the mindset of individuals rather than on individual acts. The idea here is to debunk a mindset, not a person (Delgado, 1989).

A brief example to help us understand stock stories vs. counterstories is the way the African continent is categorised as ‘third world’, and Donald Trump the 45th President of the United States describes Africa using an unprintable word. A counterstory can draw from history when there was a ‘scramble’ for Africa by the Western world powers. We then question, how do very enlightened and rich governments scramble for something that has no value? Why did slave owners have to be paid to give up enslaved Blacks if Blacks added no value? Placing these opposing perspectives side-by-side immediately meets the five points listed above about an authentic counterstory, while demonstrating that there are hidden stories and different perspectives depending on who is telling the story.

Composite counterstories

Composite counterstories ‘represent[s] an accumulation, a gathering together, and a synthesis of numerous individual stories’ (Hunn et al., 2006: 245). It is not simply a narrativised writing style but a research method which has gained credibility among CRT scholars in education. It ‘critically examines theoretical concepts and humanises empirical data while also deriving material for counterstory’s discourse, setting, and characters from sources’ such as ‘statistical data, existing literature, social commentary, and authors’ professional/personal experiences concerning the topics addressed’ (Martinez, 2014: 69). Like all counterstories, CCS speaks against the ‘master narrative’—a narrative that is based on the social and cultural history of the dominant race. It aids in demonstrating the ways in which People of Colour have a shared history with racism, discrimination and white supremacy. Delgado’s (1995) work in the Rodrigo Chronicles demonstrates how CCS differs from other counterstories in that ‘the various characters do not have a one-to-one correspondence to any one individual, rather they are representative of various political ideologies and are written as composites of many individuals’ (p. xix). This composite character, which is the defining characteristic of CCS, ‘allows the dialogue to speak to research findings and creatively challenge racism and other forms of subordination’ (Yosso, 2006: 11). CCS has been deployed successfully in education research to highlight the discriminatory employment experiences of Black minority ethnic scholars and students and would have a similar fit in labour market research.

Aim

To employ composite counter-storytelling techniques to unveil and creatively present the difference in how Black and White migrant workers understand the significance of race in labour market mobility in Ireland.

Method

Background

In a broader study, I compared the labour market outcomes of migrants of Nigerian, Polish and Spanish descent living and working in Ireland (Author, 2018).¹ It became obvious that skin colour was one of the variables that produced significant disparity in outcomes between these groups. This was evident from the analysis of two secondary data sources: the 2011 Census which showed that the employment rate of Black Africans was 37% compared to White Europeans at 60% and the 2009–2011 database of the employability programme (639 participants). When the latter was analysed, it showed that when controlling for the highest level of education attained, the Nigerian migrants who all had Black phenotype appeared to fare far worse than all the other groups. They were also seen to mainly start their labour market journey with a downward mobility compared to their White counterparts of Spanish and Polish descent who experienced lateral mobility and were able to obtain better job opportunities in a shorter timespan (Joseph, 2018; 2019).

Participants

Thirty-two participants were purposefully selected based on the following criteria: having a legal residency right to live and work in Ireland; employment either in paid or unpaid work and being from one of the three selected research populations—Spain, Poland and Nigeria (Table 1). These populations were selected because they formed the three largest groups to access the employment programme in that period. First-generation migrants of Nigerian descent were chosen to represent Black African workers in Ireland while the migrants of Polish and Spanish descent represented White Europeans.

Table 1.

Profile of participants for the semi-structured interviews, conducted between October 2014 and February 2015.

Participants	Nigerian descent	Polish descent	Spanish descent
Total	12	10	10
Gender	6 Females, 6 Males	5 Females, 5 Males	5 Females, 5 Males
Nationality at the time of interview	Irish through naturalisation	Polish by birth	Spanish by birth
Marital status	Married 8 Separated 4	Married 4 Single/cohabiting 6	Married 2 Single/cohabiting 8
Age group at time of interview	36–52	26–45	25–34
Employment status	Paid role–9 Unpaid role–2 Self-employed–1	Paid role–9 Unpaid role–1 Self-employed–0	Paid role–10 Unpaid role–0 Self-employed–0
Years in Ireland at time of interview (2014/2015)	9–15 years	2–10 years	1–7 years

Measurement

The stories analysed in this article were drawn from semi-structured interviews in which migrants in Ireland discussed their labour market trajectory and were invited to respond to three statements. The interviews conducted between October 2014 and February 2015 in Ireland were recorded, transcribed and subsequently thematically analysed using a template of analysis. The interview questions used statements developed from a CRT standpoint with particular reference to the scholarship on counterstorytelling–a tenet of CRT. Counterstorytelling is premised on the notion that the views of the dominant, privileged, powerful (those who decide who the other is) and the marginalised or other are different; that the storyteller determines the view(s) expressed in each story (Solórzano and Yosso, 2002). This raised specific questions for the Irish case. First, how the views of migrants differ from the dominant view on colourblindness and the significance of race in labour market mobility. Second, is there a difference among migrant groups on how they understand and talk about race in the labour market? Does this differ by race, skin colour and or nationality of descent? To answer these questions, statements about migrants/migration, which were prevalent in public discourse between 2009 and 2014 in Ireland, were selected. The purpose was to offer these groups an opportunity to articulate a response to those statements in three significant areas. The method is to repeat each statement, one at a time to the research subjects, who are then given time to respond. Note that these were not questions but statements. The three statements utilised in my study were:

meritocracy—‘If you work hard enough you will get a job’;

relationship between the natives and newcomers—‘Immigrants are taking our jobs’;

colourblindness—‘Race is no longer an issue’.

The data utilised in this article are from statement (c), ‘race is no longer an issue’.

Results

All the Black participants in the study demonstrated a race consciousness and stated from the onset that race is an issue that impacts their labour market experiences, progression and outcomes. The White participants at first stated that race had no impact on their labour market outcomes, rather that it was the spoken English language, relevant work experience and skills that impacted on their outcome. When asked to clarity their response, all the White participants later acknowledged that though race was not an issue for them in their labour market mobility, they cannot say that race is not an issue anymore.

Presentation of the results

Note the following about how this data is presented. For this article, I compose my counterstories as composite dialogues. The generated data is organised by separating the participants’ narratives into stock stories (dominant discourse/ingroup views) and counterstories (minorities/outgroup perspectives). Both stories are then placed side by side offering alternative possibilities for readers to consider (Delgado, 1989). Martinez (2014) describes this format as ‘stock story vs. counterstory’ technique (p. 70). The storytelling method of CRT’s counterstory (discussed above) helps weave the narratives of the participants into dialogues between composite characters based on information from the semi-structured interviews to humanise the generated data and give readers a sense of the participants’ experiences. To this end, you will encounter ‘Martin’ and his team in the stock story. They are representative composite characters developed to portray the political ideologies of members of the dominant group in management roles in the labour market in Ireland. These characters and their dialogue created from the dominant discourse in Ireland are based on information from my interview participants when recounting their experience with their employers, colleagues and recruitment personnel. I also made use of comments from businesses and employers with whom I had dealings on the lack of diversity in their organisations. The second story is a composite counterstory which presents the viewpoints of the marginalised (mostly verbatim transcription of the participants’ narratives). This version of the story also critiques the views espoused in the stock story. In accordance with the counterstorytelling method, the composite stories and characters are representative characters which combined real elements from the stories (participants’ narratives), current reality (the 2017 Garda report), statistical stories (CSO, 2011, 2016 data), the author’s personal experience and professional knowledge as a career development specialist. In this counterstory, you will encounter the character of ‘Ugo’, portrayed in conversation with his colleagues to draw out the context presented in the participants’ narratives in the study, how the responses differed according to the nationality of the participants and some of the additional probing questions I asked during the interviews. All comments from the migrants in the dialogue are real, not fictitious and are direct (unedited) quotes derived from my research interviews. This is in accordance with CRT’s counterstorytelling tenet whereby the voice of research subjects is encouraged in order to enable silenced groups to interpret their experience/s.

Story A: A stock story discussing the low numbers of staff of Black African descent in the organisation

In Ireland, which provides the setting for this story, race is one of the nine grounds on which a person may not be discriminated against according to the Employment Equality Act 1998. With over 15% of its workforce being of migrant descent, Ireland has come to be described as a multicultural society. Although there has been interest in diversifying the workplace, extant evidence shows that the top tiers of both the public and private sectors of the Irish labour market still remain predominately white (Joseph, 2018). The Garda (police force) Representative Association (GRA), which has around 10,500 members, in 2017, reported that there was not a single person of African or Caribbean origin in the force. Though the whiteness of the labour market is not unique to the Garda, this particular situation was chosen in this article to introduce the composite characters because the breaking of the news report in the Irish media triggered renewed conversation across the public and private sectors about the lack of diversity in the workplace. Blacks in Ireland were also not surprised by the news. Many of them shared outgroup stories across various social media platforms and among themselves. The news report presents an opportunity to introduce both the ingroup and outgroup stories on the disproportionate numbers of people of Black African descent (PBAD) in employment in Ireland compared to their White counterparts.

The Stock story

Setting

The Human Resource Manager, the General Manager and the Diversity and Inclusion Manager are meeting to discuss diversity in the organisation. As an equal opportunity employer, recruitment is carried out following a very strict set of rules to ensure equal opportunities for all candidates. The General Manager, Martin O’Connor, the convener of the meeting is a White Irish male from a middle-class background. He lived in the UK for 12 years before returning to Ireland. The diversity manager, Trina Shepard, is a White Irish female with a Master’s in Gender Studies. She previously worked as a gender equality advocate before she joined the organisation. Tom Boyd, the Human Resource Manager, is a White, upper class Irish male who attended an all-White, all-boys’, fee paying school in Ireland. On hearing the news about the lack of diversity from the GRA that morning, Martin knew that under close scrutiny, staff diversity in his organisation would not fare much better.

‘Thank you for prioritising this meeting at such short notice. How many immigrants do we have working with us, Tom?’ asked Martin.

‘If we add the French, British and Germans, 15 per cent of our staff are of immigrant background’, Tom replied.

‘That’s approximately 45 immigrants? That’s good! How many Eastern Europeans?’

‘Three … One male in security and two females–one office assistant and the other a temp who covers the front desk’, said Tom.

‘Effectively, we have two Eastern European staff out of … 300?’

‘Well … technically, one as the security staff is contracted out and Miroslav is not directly our staff’, Tom said.

The frown on Martin’s face mirrored his displeasure.

‘I have met some African migrants with good education and communication. How many do we have working here?’ Martin asked.

‘One’, answered Tom. ‘…He’s a cleaner on the maintenance team’.

‘We are saying we don’t have diversity in this organisation?’ Martin directed his question to Trina.

‘I wouldn’t say that. We have almost equalled the number of women to men in the organisation. We have women on the board, with more women in management positions than the previous years. We have also organised LGBTQ week to enhance our inclusivity’.

‘What about racial balance?’ asked Martin.

‘The truth is we cannot force them to apply for the roles we advertise. They do not apply. Even when they do, we always have people who have more work experience than them’, Trina added.

‘We are not able to find any Black person in Ireland with … what? … Three … five years administrative experience to get an admin role with us? No Black African person with 10 years management experience? I am surprised at that’, said Martin.

‘It’s not as simple as that’, Tom re-joined the conversation. ‘Most of their experience is from outside Europe and you know the way it is … we cannot compare that experience with someone whose work experience is from Ireland, Europe or the U.S’.

‘Does that mean experiences outside those regions are discounted?’, Martin asked to clarify.

‘To some extent’, Tom answered. But it’s not just that. If we consider education from outside the EU, Irish education will definitely rank higher. It is difficult to compete with that’.

With a weary look on his face, Martin stated. ‘What you are saying is that the way we recruit disadvantages people who are non-European or have their education and experience from outside the EU or U.S?’

Tom and Trina exchanged looks and made no comment.

‘… We recently employed Jackie Duggan? What was her record?’ Martin asked.

‘Jackie came well recommended’, Tom answered. ‘She had both Irish and international experience. … She worked in Africa for ten years managing operations. She spent another three years in the U.S before returning to work in Ireland for the last three years’.

‘If Jackie was a Black African, would it be fair to say that in our record, she would only have three years’ experience then?’

‘…But she is not. She schooled in Ireland before traveling to work in Africa in a management role. Her credentials are very good. She managed over 200 staff. We are lucky to have her’, Tom replied.

‘I do not argue that point Tom. I am trying to understand why a White Irish woman and a Black African person working in Africa are evaluated differently’.

Looking at Tom and Trina, Martin asked the question which had been niggling at him since he heard the news that the Garda force in Ireland was predominantly white.

‘…Are we saying race is an issue in this organisation?’

‘It isn’t Martin, and it will be unfair to say that. We give everyone the opportunity to apply and we set the same criteria. Reducing the standard for one group will disadvantage others’, Tom replied. After ten years as HR Manager, Tom felt Martin was criticising his performance.

‘Trina, you have been proactive in increasing gender representation in the organisation. How did you manage that?’ Martin again directed his question to Trina.

‘Well…’ Trina responded hesitantly. ‘There are more Irish women with good levels of education and experience to choose from. It was easy to target them when we had openings. I made sure we advertised widely. I contacted people and asked them to spread the word among their networks’.

‘Have we done any of these for the Black African, Asian or Caribbean community in Ireland?’ asked Martin. ‘…Have we run any black history month events like we have done for the LGBTQ, Pride week or disability week? Do we have any structures in place to ensure the playing field is level for all groups? Ireland’s 2016 census shows that many Africans avail of our education system, so they seem to have retrained in Ireland’.

‘When we address issues like disability, gender or sexuality, everyone is covered, whether they are White or Black. We address everyone’s issues that way’, Trina added.

‘So race is not an issue?’ Martin asked again.

‘I think all the other issues cover everyone, they are all women, or with disability or from a particular social class or sexual orientation. Those have been our priorities rather than separating one race out for special treatment’, Trina added.

‘We already do that, don’t we? … separate non-EU applicants out for special treatment. The difference is that we don’t see it as such’, said Martin.

‘It isn’t really. They don’t have the required experience. They have to integrate and get education from Ireland that we recognise. They need Irish work experience as well as good communication skills and they will be able to compete’, Trina replied as she looked towards Tom for support.

* * *

In the above dialogue, Trina and Tom’s account represents a stock story told by ingroup members from their vantage position, as a fixed truth of the world rather than how they see it. Similar to the stock stories in Delgado’s writings, Trina and Tom’s stories also suggest that their practices are meritocratic and race-neutral. They select specific facts to explain the differential labour market outcomes without mentioning race, racism, racial discrimination or racial inequality. They also do not give room for other explanations for the outcomes of Black workers. Rather, they silence the experiences of the other. Their shared stories create a bond and cohesion between them. For example, comments like, ‘…you know the way it is’, invites Martin to share their belief and take sides through their ingroup stories. They however become uncomfortable at his inference that their practices might be disadvantaging PBAD. This ‘White fragility’, which is the lack of racial stamina (DiAngelo, 2011: 56), functions as a defence mechanism which can potentially hinder transformative dialogue. In order to regain their equilibrium in the dialogue above, notice how both Trina and Tom intensified their sharing of more stories which portray a deficit in the marginalised group without questioning their beliefs or facts. By so doing, they defend the superiority of whiteness and thus become defenders of whiteness and white supremacy.

From the stock story, three story-line ingroups employ to defend the hierarchal social arrangements of Whites at the top and Blacks at the bottom become evident. First, is distancing from the marginalised group. Martin and his team distanced themselves by categorising their staff of migrant descent as immigrants, thus outsiders. This provides them justification for the under-representation of outgroup members in the organisation. It obscures the absence of certain minorities groups, in this case, PBAD. It makes the 15% migrant workforce in the organisation seem diverse. Race, as we see in this case, is subsumed under the diversity umbrella, while other categories like class, sexuality and gender are advanced. This allows institutions remain unaccountable for their lack of or limited racial diversity in the workplace. The second strategy is to share stories of a migrant deficit in the labour market (Joseph, 2019). These stories often contradict their previous views, for example, ‘…we cannot force them to apply’, vs. ‘…they do not apply’, ‘…they do not have enough experience’ vs. ‘…their experience is from outside Europe’. The third storyline is that ingroups tend to share stories that present their practices as meritocratic. For example, from the dialogue above, we have comments such as; ‘…We give everyone the opportunity to apply’, ‘…we set the same criteria’, ‘…we cannot reduce the criteria for one group over the other’ and ‘…we are trying to avoid the reverse disadvantaging of Whites’.

A combination of these three storylines told by ingroups helps them remain complacent about race despite immense inequality in society. If you have ever questioned any organisation about their lack of or limited racial diversity, you would have heard a form of these stories in various combinations. In sharing such stories, ingroup members and organisations become defenders of white supremacy without acknowledging what they are defending. Martin on the other hand is a potential ally—a White ally. He hones in on and questions the contradictions of his colleagues, but does not progress or take any action for change. While this might appease his conscience which was awakened by the Garda report, the lack of action makes him a bystander which means the situation for PBAD in the organisation remains unchanged.

Story B: Another response to the same media news: A counterstory from a worker of Black African descent challenging his White colleagues about how race impacts on labour market outcomes

Setting

Two White co-workers, Diego from Spain and Amelia from Poland, had both heard the news that the Garda are seeking a more diverse workforce because none of its almost 10,500 staff is of African or Caribbean origin.

‘It is always about Blacks!’ Amelia burst out as Diego sat opposite her in the canteen.

‘What do you mean?’ asked Diego.

‘Ignore me. I’m just complaining out loud’, Amelia said with a rueful look on her face.

‘What’s happened to get you in this mood?’ laughed Diego.

‘The Garda wants a more diverse workforce because there are no Blacks on the police force. How many Polish or Spanish people are on the force? They are always complaining when there are no Blacks in places’.

‘I know! Once there are Blacks, they feel there is diversity, no matter how many we are from other countries’, Diego said agreeing with Amelia.

‘I mean, they have to apply and be qualified for those jobs to get it. They cannot just give them a job because they want diversity … can they?’ Amelia stopped speaking as she noticed Diego shifting uncomfortably on his seat.

‘Hello Ugo’, Diego called out loudly to someone behind Amelia.

‘Hello Amelia, … Diego. I don’t want to interrupt if you’re having a private conversation’, Ugo said as he pulled out a chair to join them.

‘No, it’s nothing. We were just talking about the recent news report that there are no Black Garda in Ireland’, Amelia said by way of filling him in.

‘About time they said that don’t you think?’ Ugo said. ‘If my knowledge serves me well, the 2016 Census says there are about 57,000 Black Africans in Ireland and we don’t have even one Black Garda. That is a shame really. It is the same in all of the civil service and many businesses are still predominantly White’.

‘Are you saying that a person’s skin colour affects them getting into those kinds of jobs?’ Amelia asked.

‘That’s exactly what I am saying’, said Ugo.

‘How? I don’t think that I have ever been given something in Ireland just because I am a White person’, said Amelia

‘Would you say that your race influenced you getting a job in Ireland’, Ugo asked Diego.

‘No. … I don’t think it affected me. In 2005, when I came in, there were many jobs. There was no problem to get a job without qualification or even with limited language skills’.

Amelia re-joined the conversation feeling exasperated by the direction of the conversation, ‘I honestly don’t think it is being from a certain country. It is more about your personality. If someone is really shy, they will be in the background but if someone is loud and opinionated and is not afraid to say what they think, no matter where they are from they will be heard by the other person. … Of course it has something to do with how they characterise you…’

‘…I don’t think my race affects me getting a job. … Maybe my accent and my English. I think the Irish people here, they love the Spanish people’, Diego added.

‘I can say that Polish people are treated very well and they have very good opinion of us as we are quite hard working people. There are only two of us Polish here. The Irish like us’, Amelia added.

Ugo could not control the frown that furrowed his brows as he interpreted Amelia’s comment as an inference that Nigerians are not hardworking while the Polish are.

‘…I understand what you are trying to say about Nigerian people. Don’t get me wrong. I think Black people are treated really bad[ly] wherever they are basically. I don’t think that Irish people treat Nigerians with the respect they should be giving to them’, Amelia added.

‘It is interesting that you say the Irish like the Spanish and Polish, yet you say your race did not influence your job opportunities in Ireland. Do you know that when I arrived in 2002 as a Nigerian, I could not get a job? I could not even apply for jobs because it took me three years to get Stamp 4 [the visa eligibility to work in Ireland]. After that, they said my education was from Africa. I then spent three years retraining, after which I had to spend another two years working in volunteering roles to be able to get Irish work experience and references and not just my landlord or GP! It took me eight years to be able to get employment in Ireland. … Not because I didn’t have experience or prior third level and Master’s education, … but because my education was from outside the EU. It seemed my credentials were African, just like me. … How long did you wait before you could apply for work in Ireland? Ugo challenged Amelia and Diego to ignore the differential treatment people got for being White Europeans vis-a-vis Black Africans’.

‘I understand what you are getting at, but I still feel that race or nationality does not have a big impact on getting work. … Language, … maybe’, Amelia added with a note of finality.

‘I think not having experience from Ireland was the worse’, said Diego shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Ugo wanted them to see their double talk and how they were ignoring unearned privilege. So he asked them, ‘Indulge me and tell me again how you got your first jobs in Ireland’.

‘…We were in the EU when I came to Ireland. Getting a job for me depended on my skills and education. My nationality didn’t change anything’, Amelia answered.

‘In Ireland, race does not affect my job prospects because we have everything like Europe. We don’t need special documentation’, said Diego.

‘…But that’s exactly my argument, that your race and nationality advantaged you over people like me. Not because we were not smart, unable … or as some think, unwilling to work, but because of the country we were born. Did you do anything special to be born a European? Think of the fact that you had immediate access to apply for jobs in Ireland just because you were both EU citizens. You don’t see that as advancing because of your race and nationality of descent? You mention how the Irish like the Spanish and the Polish and they think you are hardworking … You do not see that as getting positive regard just because of your race?’ Ugo challenged their ambivalence about how race advantaged groups.

‘I know, what you are saying’ Diego reiterated ‘…but that is the way the system is. They cannot just allow everyone into the country can they? I feel that people from all nationalities have the same chance to get a good job if they have good experience, good English and qualification’.

Ugo was getting a bit flustered at this stage as his argument didn’t seem to be getting through. Looking directly at Diego, he said, ‘Tell me again about how you got your first job in Ireland’.

‘Look…’ Diego said, looking almost as flustered as Ugo, ‘I know I told you that the Irish people love the Spanish, but I think that when I got the Shop Assistant job, it was because of my skills. In the internship, they also hired me because I speak Spanish so I can work with the Portuguese and Spanish markets’.

‘…if I remember clearly, for the shop assistant job, a friend of yours who was returning to Spain introduced you to the manager and you started working immediately. What about the Internship?’ interjected Ugo.

‘Yes, that’s true’. Diego said, as he launched in to give the full story. ‘A friend of mine left his job and I just went to his work place and said I was looking for work, and I got the job. But I was always looking for something in my field. I attended three or four interviews in waste water treatment and I wasn’t successful because of my English not my nationality or race. When looking for work, I always told everyone the kind of work I want. A friend later told me her employer was looking for someone to do an internship and I sent them a mail. The next week they called me to take up the Internship but I could not do the full shift because I was working. They agreed to take me as a volunteer’.

‘I don’t want to fall out with you. … but after all we have said, will you say today that “Race is not an issue”’ Ugo asked his companions.

As the silence lengthened, Ugo remained silent, resisting the urge to break it.

‘I will like to think that is true … but it is not. Race is still a problem. Maybe not a problem but it is still there. I mean some people they consider a person for their race. Fortunately, it is not in my system’, Diego responded first.

‘…I don’t know’. Amelia said uncertainly as she rubbed the area around her left brow. ‘When I think about it, I think that isn’t true. In my last job, our Dublin Docklands office had a sign with one of the old graphics featuring different faces. Our Operations Manager, he was very racist. He said, “here, you don’t have to put Black faces on the billboard because this is a professional area.” One of my Spanish colleagues was so upset; she was like, “What! What are you talking about! … Blacks can’t be professionals?” Well, fair play to her, she pushed and she got different faces, including a Black face on the advert. That operations manager was racist. I can’t say race is not an issue. Race and racism still exist in Ireland and everywhere too’.

‘I am confused. You say race is still an issue, then why were we arguing about race affecting Black people getting jobs’, Ugo asked bewildered.

‘When I think of it that way, I know there is open discrimination against Nigerian people and you can see that from anyone you talk to in Irish society. It is coming from immigrants as well not just the Irish community. Nigerian people don’t have many opportunities in the employment market’. ‘Fortunately, all of this is not in my system’, Diego said.

‘I don’t think that is fair because it shouldn’t matter where you are from or the colour of your skin. If you are capable of doing a job you should be hired. I know some of the Irish companies when they see names from Polish, Nigerian or maybe Slovak names, they just throw the CV away. Race is still an issue … I know that’, Amelia continued. ‘This is my opinion from 10 years of living here. I saw it a lot between the Spanish and Polish immediately. The Spanish got better treatment in the work place. … The Italians and maybe Portuguese also. They hold all these stereotypes. … The Italians can cook … the Polish are seen as hardworking in physical work. When it came to getting white collar jobs, they needed to work harder. I remember in my first job, there was a Polish girl; she was a solicitor who had passed all the exams. Don’t get me wrong, she has a very good job now. At the time, she was working with a Portuguese girl who was higher than her in rank and the girl did not pass those exams. They never promoted my friend. I think it is because she was Polish. … People say the Polish are like the Irish, but we are not seen like that at all. Polish People don’t integrate that well. Some like myself are lucky, but many live in crowded accommodation. Language is a barrier and it can be very tough … No, race is still an issue’, Amelia concluded.

‘We are just called multicultural because people live here not because there is real integration. When I was in college, my Irish colleagues were always saying to me “Oh it must be so tough for you” … but I got all A’s and many of them didn’t. The truth is that anyone from outside Europe experience whatever I describe for Polish people even more. Ireland is very nationalistic. Until the migrant community becomes attractive to politicians, I guess nothing is going to change’.

‘When you look at society, you can see that race is an issue, but when it comes to you specifically, you find it difficult to acknowledge that race is an issue as it advantages you’. ‘In essence, you are saying, “race is an issue, but my race is not an issue,” right?’

* * *

Story B above is a counterstory which shows that Blacks also tell stories, albeit from different perspectives from Whites. Ugo’s views of the same event are different from the stock story. His views are also different from his White peers despite the fact that they are all migrants working in Ireland. His views challenge the dominant stories/beliefs by addressing the layers of assumptions about Black workers’ access to a meritocratic labour market. You can notice how his peers, Diego and Amelia, are situated in two positions and groups from which to speak–Whites or marginalised migrants. Their comments show the group they aligned to. They were White. They responded from their white identity and not their migrant one. This in turn determined the stories they told. This is evident from comments like; ‘…They are always complaining when there are no Blacks in places’. ‘…they have to apply and be qualified for those jobs to get it’, ‘…They cannot just give them a job because they want diversity’. It is evident from this that all minorities do not tell counterstories (the views of the marginalised). When White minorities align to their White identity over their minority status, they tell stock stories (the dominant view of the ingroup in the society). When they align to their migrant identity, they tell counterstories. The minority deficit storyline discussed above is always embedded in stock stories. Stock stories always blame outgroups and their members for their marginalisation.

Although discussing migrants’ issues on the basis of race, skin colour and nationality of descent can seem divisive, conflating their outcomes is inadvisable because it often obfuscates and silences the experiences of the most marginalised groups. While Ugo’s questions were challenging to both Amelia and Diego, it unveiled their ambivalence about race. An unrelenting Ugo calls them out on being beneficiaries of white privilege in the labour market. Similar to Trina and Tom’s responses in the stock story, Amelia and Diego also exhibited discomfort when faced with the idea that meritocracy is a myth. Ugo’s challenge however advanced the conversation. From the dialogue, Diego and Amelia had come to expect the unearned privileges from whiteness as rights, while simultaneously being reluctant to acknowledge any form of advantaging accrued from being White or of European descent. Despite comments like, ‘…Polish people are treated very well, … they have very good opinion of us, … we are quite hard working people’. These comments are fuelled by stock stories of a meritocratic system where those unable to progress are attributed to their own shortcomings/deficit. They both remain silent about the impact on groups that are not viewed favourably. Stories like Ugo’s, from racially marginalised groups rarely feature in mainstream dialogue, except those told by White allies and Blacks who challenge the status quo.

The positioning of Whites at the top of the economic and racial ladder is taken as the norm by Whites who do not often question if there are other possibilities that account for the over representation of their group members in the top tiers. The unquestioning acceptance of white privilege suggests a reluctance to change it as Whites gain from it (Delgado and Stefancic, 2012). The White participants in this study from the counterstory rightly attribute the differential treatment to how the system in the labour market is built to operate. They however do not acknowledge that such systems disempower and disadvantage specific groups. For example, Amelia states ‘…but that is the way the system is. … They cannot just allow everyone into the country can they? … people from all nationalities have the same chance to get a good job’. Such stories are told to justify policies that produce and maintain racial inequality. You can notice how they do not question for example, the number of people from Black communities with these attributes who still experience high levels of unemployment. Rather, as Whites, the stock stories they have heard, believed and shared teach them what the norm is and to accept it unquestioningly. This calls for more minority stories/viewpoints that can cause Whites to question racist ideas.

Ugo’s story, which is an example of a counterstory, was challenging to his audience/colleagues on two levels. At first, it was frontal, in that it attacked and subtly coerced both Amelia and Diego into mentioning how they got their jobs despite their reluctance to acknowledge being personally advantaged by whiteness. In this approach, where Ugo focused on their personal benefits from whiteness, he was met with resistance. The second line of challenge from Ugo was more successful, and it opened up transformative dialogue. This is because in addressing the issue with his colleagues, the attack was less frontal in that the focus moved away from Amelia and Diego to others in more powerful positions and how they treat others. It went from the personal to the general. It offered them avenues for a change in mindset and an opportunity to reflect about others who they had witnessed being treated differentially because of their race. It however also meant that they did not have to acknowledge their own part in believing or sharing racist ideas and stereotypes.

What can we learn from Composite Counterstorytelling?

Many CRT scholars have advocated for the use of storytelling as both a research method and analytical tool (Bell, 2003; Delgado, 1989; Martinez, 2014; Yosso, 2006). The stock story vs. counterstory technique outlined in this article can be useful to educators, researchers, marginalised groups, White allies and Whites.

Benefits of storytelling in the education of researchers

The data presented in this article is drawn from a bigger study on racial stratification (Joseph, 2015). The comparative research generated large amount of data with many interweaving elements on how race is nuanced in the labour market in Ireland. Two questions which emerged include how to present opposing views generated from the same research and data-set and how to write about the multifaceted nature of race without losing the human elements uncovered in participants’ narratives. The composite characters created in this article allow me to honour both the informants and the valuable information entrusted to me as a qualitative researcher. I am able to include the participants’ words within the contexts they described into the article while also highlighting the impact of race on Black lives in the labour market. In addition, synthesising the different narratives from various respondents into a single storyline enhances the analysis through a deeper engagement with the data, the underlying meaning and making connections between respondents’ narratives. The storytelling method challenges the narrow, discriminatory views espoused through the stock stories in the dominant discourse which enables ingroup/s to remain complacent about racial inequality.

How Blacks and Whites benefit from storytelling

The effect of ingroup stories on marginalised groups which was presented in Ugo’s version of the story benefited both Ugo and his White colleagues. Rather than using extracts from informants to buttress different arguments, a composite portrait humanises participants’ experiences, distress and emotions while also portraying their thoughts and thought processes. This can be beneficial to Blacks and Whites. While Whites who have come to expect to be favourably treated, respected and at the top of the racial hierarchy find it hard to tell stories of racial marginalisation, Ugo’s counterstory did not only embolden him but also his White counterparts to tell the stories of others who had experienced work related discrimination. Thus, while I agree with Delgado (1989) that storytelling emboldens members of the same group, I add that members of the dominant groups are also emboldened by well-told, authentic counterstories. The most important contribution is that Ugo’s story revealed and helped shatter the complacency and ambivalence demonstrated by groups who say that race is not an issue. Although bringing his counterparts to an understanding of his viewpoint didn’t change his or the situation, their acceptance that race matters was a win for him. It is a transformative moment for Ugo that confirms that he was not being over-sensitive or imagining things as Blacks who report racism are sometimes accused of doing. As difficult as the process was for Ugo to persist in the conversation, the continued denial by Whites of the relevance of race and how they benefit from whiteness is more harmful.

Who needs White allies?

White allies are an under-researched, under-represented but very vital group. Martin in the stock story is a potential ally. He hones in on and questions the contradictions in the stock stories told by his colleagues. Imagine what would happen if there were more Martins in the labour market. Imagine what would happen if Martin did not withdraw from Trina and Tom’s display of discomfort. The role of the White ally is vital in advancing the cause of PBAD because Western societies have a White majority in the top tiers of the labour market. Thus, a buy-in from White allies and Blacks who have broken the glass ceiling is necessary to progress racial equality and equity in the labour market.

Conclusion

All migrants tell stories of the labour market, but they do not all tell the same stories. Storytelling is an effective technique for presenting opposing views generated in the same study without losing the human element. In this article, I have employed a technique used in education research to tell two stories, one, a comforting story that the dominant groups tell in order to explain the under-representation of ethnic minorities, particularly PBAD in the workplace to ease their discomfort about racial inequality. The other, a story PBAD and their White allies tell in order to challenge the status quo and unveil inequality in the labour market. Ugo who was a representative character of Black migrants stratified at the bottom of the economic ladder in Ireland provided an authentic counterstory according to the criteria set out by Delgado (1989); his story/perspective shattered the complacency and ambivalence about race and racism exhibited by his peers, Diego and Amelia. It directly challenged the stock story that race is no longer an issue, and it brought about a change in the mindset of his listeners. Ugo also found a way to make his peers listen to him by changing his tactics from a frontal attack to a more subtle attack on the system rather than on his audience.

The counterstory in this article presents a dialogue of how I reached the conclusion in my study that when White people say that race is not an issue, they mean that their race is not an issue because race does not disadvantage them in the labour market. Rather, they are beneficiaries of its largess maintained by automatically ascribed attributes like trust, likeness, positive regard and respect, which are additional items that could fit into the popular whiteness knapsack described by McIntosh (1988). Similar to the White Irish who aligned to their White identity in America to become White, (Ignatiev, 1995), White migrants in Ireland also align to their White group identity over their migrant group identity. This is unsurprising as it makes the limited resources in the labour market more accessible to them through their membership of the majority group as Whites. However, when Whites and White migrants align to their white identity, they tell stock stories (ingroup stories) where whiteness is unacknowledged. Silence about the benefits of whiteness is a denial of the significance of race, which can cause harm. Seeing that no White person has ever been actually instructed to remain silent about the benefits of whiteness, the composite characters of Amelia and Diego give us insight into how the stock stories White people share among themselves teach them that silence. They learn that the benefits are normal based on rights as [White] citizens and not benefits. When Whites accept the benefits of whiteness and do not acknowledge its advantaging properties for possessors of whiteness and the disadvantaging of non-possessors of whiteness, they too become defenders of whiteness, thus defenders of white supremacy.

When allies like Martin (Black or White) take action and demand change, work in tandem with Black workers who resist the racial order (not through violence but by enhancing their achievement attributes—education, skills, experience and resilience), then a measure of change in racial inequality is possible. This non-coercive call to action is an opportunity as stated by Delgado (1989) for readers to suspend judgment, listen for my point and then decide what measure of truth they contain. Composite counterstorytelling technique, which has been widely used in education research by CRT theorists and critical legal scholars, can be adopted in labour market research.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Ebun Joseph

Note

References

Adichie

(2009) The danger of a single story. TED Global. Available at: www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/transcript?language=en (accessed 24 January 2017).

Adichie

(2014) Americanah. UK Fourth Estate.

Bell

(1992) Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism. New York: Basic Books.

Bell

(2003) Telling tales: What stories can teach us about racism. Race, Ethnicity and Education 6(1): 3–28.

Central Statistics Office (CSO 2011, 2016) Available at: www.cso.ie (accessed 23 July 2017).

DeCuir J and Dixson A (2004) “So when it comes out, they aren’t that surprised that it is there”: using critical race theory as a tool of analysis of race and racism in education. Educational Researcher 33(5): 26–31.

Delgado

(1989) Storytelling for oppositionists and others: A plea for narrative. Michigan Law Review 87(8): 2411–2441.

Delgado

(1995) The Rodrigo Chronicles Conversations about America and Race. New York: New York University Press.

Delgado

Stefancic

(2012) Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. New York: New York University Press.

10.

DiAngelo R (2011) White fragility. International Journal of Critical Pedagogy 3(3): 54–70.

11.

Du Bois

WEB

(1965) The World and Africa: An Inquiry into the Part Which Africa Has Played in World History. New York: International Publishers.

12.

Dyer

(1997) White. New York, NY: Routledge.

13.

Dyer

(2000) The matter of whiteness. In: Back

Solomos

(eds) Theories of Race and Racism, A reader. London: Routledge, pp.539–548.

14.

Eddo-Lodge R (2017) Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race. London: UK. Bloomsbury Publishing.

15.

EU MIDIS 11 (2016) Second European Union minorities and discrimination survey–Main results. Available at: http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2017/eumidis-ii-main-results (accessed 18 August 2018).

16.

Frankenberg

(1993) White Women, Race Matters: The Social Construction of Whiteness. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

17.

Garda Review Magazine (2017) This needs to be addressed–GRA demand more black and Asian gardaí in the force. Available at: www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/this-needs-to-be-addressed-gra-demand-more-black-and-asian-garda-in-the-force-35996966.html (accessed 6 August 2017).

18.

Gillborn D (2006) Rethinking white supremacy: Who counts in ‘White world’. Ethnicities 6(3): 318--340.

19.

Gillborn

(2008) Racism and Education: Coincidence or Conspiracy? London: Routledge.

20.

Guiney

(2018) Same crime: Different punishment? Sentencing disparities between Irish and non-Irish nationals. Drugnet Ireland 66(Summer): 8–9.

21.

Harris

(1993, 1995) Whiteness as property. Harvard Law Review 106(8): 1707–1791. UCLA School of Law Research Paper No. 06-35.

22.

Hunn

LRM

Guy

Manglitz

(2006) Who can speak for whom? Using counter-storytelling to challenge racial hegemony. Available at: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.495.622&rep=rep1&type=pdf (accessed 12 December 2014).

23.

Ignatiev

(1995) How the Irish Became White. London: Routledge.

24.

Jacques

(2003) The global hierarchy of race. The Guardian, UK, 20 September. Available at: www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/20/race.uk (20 September 2003).

25.

Joseph E (2015) Racial stratification in the Irish labour market: a comparative study of differential labour market outcomes through the counter-stories of Nigerian, Polish and Spanish migrants in Ireland. Unpublished doctoral thesis, School of Social Justice, University College Dublin.

26.

Joseph E (2018) Whiteness and racism: examining the racial order in Ireland. Irish Journal of Sociology 26(1): 46–70. DOI: 10.1177/0791603517737282.

27.

Joseph E (2019) Discrimination against credentials in Black bodies: counter- stories of the characteristic labour market experiences of migrants in Ireland. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling 47(4): 524–542. DOI: 10.1080/03069885.2019.1620916.

28.

Ladson-Billings

Tate

(1995) Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers College Record 97(1): 47–68.

29.

McGinnity

Grotti

Kenny

, et al. (2017) Who experiences discrimination in Ireland? Evidence from the QNHS equality modules, The Economic and Social Research Institute and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. Available at: https://doi.org/10.26504/bkmnext342 (accessed 1 December 2017).

30.

McIntosh P (1988) White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women's studies (Working Paper 189). Wellesley, MA: Wellesley College, Center for Research on Women.

31.

Martinez

(2014) A plea for critical race theory: Stock story versus counterstory dialogues concerning Alejandra’s ‘Fit’ in the Academy’. Composition Studies 42(2): 33–55.

32.

Roy

(1999) Bitters in the Honey: Tales of Hope and Disappointment Across Divides of Race and Time. Fayetteville, AK: University of Arkansas Press.

33.

Solórzano DG and Yosso TJ (2002) Critical race methodology: counter-storytelling as an analytical framework for education research. Qualitative Inquiry 8(1): 23–44.

34.

Yosso

(2006) Critical Race Counterstories Along the Chicana/Chicano Educational Pipeline. New York: Routledge.