Perceived employability and workplace discrimination as mediator and moderator of the career resources-success relationship among African migrants in Europe

Abstract

Migrant careers research has generally lagged in supporting integration policies and practices. To fill this gap, we conducted two separate studies involving 684 African migrant employees in two European countries. In Study 1 (n = 240 in Italy and n = 193 in Spain), we adapted and validated a shortened version of the Career Resources Questionnaire (hereafter, CRQ). In Study 2 (n = 251 in Italy), we tested the associations between career resources, perceived employability, perceived workplace discrimination, and career success. We found that perceived employability mediated the positive associations between career resources and career success, whereas perceived workplace discrimination moderated these associations. Our multi-study investigation showed how career resources contribute to the career success of a rather under-studied population, namely African migrants in Europe, while uncovering the key roles played by workplace discrimination and perceived employability in this process.