Policy Brief: FedDiverse - Ethnic Diversity in Federal Public Services
Why are ethnic minorities underrepresented in Belgium’s federal public sector? Read the key findings and recommendations from the FedDiverse project led by Bert Leysen and Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe.
Why are ethnic minorities underrepresented among the employees of the federal public sector in Belgium? The FedDiverse project (Belspo-Brain) showed that they do not lack the motivation to serve the public good and they do not perceive advertisements for governmental jobs very differently. It appears, however, that ethnic minority applicants have lower selection rates than majority applicants across almost all selection tests, and that they experience fewer promotions. Nevertheless, ethnic minorities perceive the selection and promotion procedures as equally fair as their majority counterparts.
You can read the policy brief here (261.83 KB) "pdf". The full report from this project is available in PURE.
Citation: Leysen, B., Derous, E., Desmette, D. Verhaeghe, P.P. FedDiverse. Federal Diversity in Federal Public Services. Final Report. Brussels: Belgian Science Policy Office 2025 – 120 p. (BRAIN-be 2.0 - Belgian Research Action through Interdisciplinary Networks)
