| Description |
The Multiculturalism Policy Index assesses the government commitment to the multicultural accommodation of newcomers. It is designed to monitor the evolution of multicultural policies across 21 Western countries. The Multiculturalism Policy Index is distinctive in focusing exclusively on multicultural policies designed to recognize, accommodate and support the cultural differences of minority groups. To capture change over time, the Index provides all three indices at three points in time: 1980, 2000 and 2010.
Multicultural Policy Index is based on eight indicators:
(i) constitutional, legislative or parliamentary affirmation of multiculturalism,
at the central and/or regional and municipal levels;
(ii) the adoption of multiculturalism in school curriculum;
(iii) the inclusion of ethnic representation/sensitivity in the mandate of public
media or media licensing;
(iv) exemptions from dress codes, either by statute or by court cases;
(v) allowing of dual citizenship;
(vi) the funding of ethnic group organizations to support cultural activities;
(vii) the funding of bilingual education or mother-tongue instruction;
(viii) affirmative action for disadvantaged immigrant groups
On each indicator, countries are scored as 0 (no such policy), 0.5 (partial) or 1.0
(clear policy). The scores are then aggregated, with equal weighting for each area (‘recognition’ (Indicators 1–3), ‘accommodation’(Indicators 4–5) and ‘support’ (Indicators 6–8), and producing a country score ranging from 0 to 8.
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