EMPLOYMENT EQUITY POLICIES IN CANADA AND THE NETHERLANDS - ENHANCING MINORITY EMPLOYMENT BETWEEN PUBLIC CONTROVERSY AND MARKET INITIATIVE

Time and again employment statistics document the marginal position of (ethnic) minority groups within the labour force in Western multicult ural nation states. There seems to be a broad, if differently motivate d, consensus among politicians, employers and pressure groups that thi s situation cannot be prolonged with impunity. However, where it comes down to indicating the underlying causes and defining adequate soluti ons and policies, shared concern quickly dissolves into controversy. L egal measures to stimulate or ensure proportional representation of mi nority groups in the labour process are, more often than not, the foca l points of such social disputes. A reconstruction of the historical d evelopment of equity policies in Canada, and more specifically in Onta rio, and The Netherlands may clarify the nature of resistance against this controversial approach. It also sheds some light on the possibili ties and limitations of alternative strategies impinging on the histor y of employment equity, such as voluntary efforts by employers' organi sations and labour unions, or the more decentralised and business-base d practices of 'managing diversity'.