Am I Discriminated Against? Explaining Immigrants’ Perceived Discrimination by First Name and Ethnic Origin

This research examined the perception of being treated unfairly, perceived discrimination, among immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) and Ethiopia, and the factors underlying these perceptions. It addressed a prominent discrimination determinant that can serve as an identity marker—the first name that immigrants use in everyday encounters, as well as the immigrant’s country of origin. Data were obtained from an online survey completed by 1170 FSU and Ethiopian immigrants who had immigrated to Israel. The findings indicate that the perceived experience of discrimination and the perception of being treated as the “other” (otherness) were greater among the immigrants from Ethiopia than those from FSU. No main effect of the first name used by the immigrants on their perceived discrimination was found, but there was an interaction effect between group of origin and first name on perceived discrimination. The otherness perception of the Ethiopian immigrants was higher than that of the immigrants from the FSU, regardless of whether they used an Israeli or ethnic first name. However, the group difference was more pronounced among those who used an Israeli first name compared to those who used an ethnic one. The implications of the findings are discussed in light of race and ethnic issues.