The Impact of Stigma on Labor Market Assistance Take-Up in Egypt

Three randomized evaluations assessed the impact of different types of stigma on take-up of labor market assistance programs. Researchers partnered with Egypt’s Education for Employment (EFE) office for two evaluations and with JobMaster to conduct the third. EFE is an NGO that specializes in demand-driven training and job matching. It partners with employers to train college-educated youth for entry-level jobs in Egypt’s services sector. Similarly, JobMaster is a recruitment company that provides human resources services through hosting job fairs and other forms of support.

Evaluation One: Facebook ads about a job training to study social and professional stigma

The first evaluation used Facebook, which is widely used in Egypt, to recruit for a job training in late 2018. Facebook advertisements reached 767,768 young users living in greater Cairo. Each ad acknowledged the existence of either social or professional stigma and tried to dispel it through testimonials from previous graduates of the training program.

Participants were randomly divided into one of three groups, which determined which ad the user saw.

• The social stigma group received an ad in which previous graduates of the program acknowledged that some may think that jobs held by graduates would be viewed negatively in society and then explained that this did not turn out to be true for them. It also provided information about the training program, including basic details relevant to the content, length, and format of the training.
• The professional stigma group received an ad similar in tone to that received by those in the social stigma group but focused on professional stigma. They also received basic information about the training.
• The comparison group simply received an advertisement with information about the training program, with no allusion to stigma.

Researchers studied which message, if any, was effective at increasing sign-ups for the training program. The use of Facebook facilitated testing advertisements against each other and reaching a large number of young job-seekers. However, drawbacks of the intervention were that Facebook users often ignore ads on the platform, and it was impossible to discern participant characteristics other than their gender and age.

Evaluation Two: Street-level marketing for a job training to study social, professional, personal, and welfare stigma

The second evaluation focused on approaching youth in person through street-level marketing. Surveyors asked individuals whether they were interested in learning about a training program for youth searching for jobs and were able to survey a total of 2,900 individuals.

Pitches on social and professional stigma in this evaluation matched the advertisements in the first evaluation. A third pitch measured the effects of alluding to personal stigma and a fourth to measure the impact of welfare stigma.

• As in the first evaluation, the social stigma group received a pitch in which previous graduates of the program acknowledged that some may think that jobs held by graduates might be viewed negatively in society before explaining that this did not hold true. Participants also received basic information about the content, length, and format of the training.
• The professional stigma group received a pitch similar in tone to that received by those in the social stigma group but focused on professional stigma. They also received basic information about the training.
• The personal stigma group received a pitch that noted high satisfaction amongst program graduates, despite people’s general belief that these jobs may not be enjoyable.
• The comparison group received a pitch that merely provided basic information about the training program, with no allusion to stigma.

After being told the price of the program, some participants also received a pitch that explained that the “true cost” of the training has been reduced to “help those in financial hardship.” This pitch helped identify the impact of welfare stigma.

Researchers studied which message, if any, was effective at increasing the number of individuals who agreed to apply to the training program. In-person marketing for the training program allowed more information to be collected about individuals’ backgrounds to better assess the impact of job-seekers’ characteristics on their take-up choices. However, the more intensive nature of in-person interactions limited the number of participants taking part in this evaluation.

Evaluation Three: Door-to-door recruitment for a job fair to study social stigma

While evaluations one and two focused on the relative impacts of different types of stigma, evaluation three measured the impact of social stigma and whether it could be adequately dispelled. Rather than providing information about a multi-week job training program, door-to-door recruitment in the third evaluation provided information about an upcoming free job fair focused on entry-level jobs in the service sector. Participants were assigned to one of three groups.

• The first group received a pitch that explicitly attempted to make social stigma salient by recognizing its existence and adding that “it’s important to start somewhere.”
• The second group received a pitch that recognized and attempted to dispel social stigma by adding that people in these jobs claim that their families respect and encourage them.
• The comparison group received a pitch that provided individuals with basic information about the job fair and the firms taking part in it.

Researchers studied which message, if any, was effective at increasing the number of individuals who attended the job fair. Because the focus was on attending a one-time job fair, rather than a longer job training course, it also allowed researchers to observe actual attendance of the job fair instead of just applications. They were also able to gather more information about the young job seekers to analyze the varied impact of stigma on individuals of different backgrounds and aspirations.