Abstract
Ethnic and gender differences in perceptions of graduate job acquisition difficulty among UK post-higher education job-seekers were investigated. Two main hypotheses were compared: the double jeopardy hypothesis (DJH), suggesting an additive or interactive increase in perceived difficulty associated with membership of different disadvantaged demographic categories; and the ethnic prominence hypothesis, arguing for the salience of ethnicity over gender in perceptions. Graduates and final year students (N = 800) from Black, Indian, Pakistani/Bangladeshi and White ethnic backgrounds rated the level of difficulty that a suitably qualified man and woman from their own ethnic background would encounter in attaining ten graduate jobs. Interactions between participant ethnic background and gender of job-seeker rated were examined in the context of the competing hypotheses. The perceptions of men, and Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi women, were consistent with the additive DJH, whereas Black women's perceptions were not. It is concluded that: (1) the perceptions of the latter group may reflect knowledge of Black male disadvantage, or negative stereotyping with respect to employment in the UK graduate labour market; and (2) perceptions of double jeopardy by some female graduates may have negative effects on their job-seeking endeavours.