The Many Faces of Europe

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On paper, Nyamko Sabuni is a poster child for successful integration. She came to Sweden from the Congo when she was 12, after her father claimed political asylum. Now, 26 years later, she's Sweden's Minister for Integration and Gender Equality. But in a country where 16% of the population are immigrants or the children of immigrants, Sabuni is the only member of an ethnic minority in the ruling coalition. And Sweden isn't the only country where, compared to their diverse populations, leaders look pale. "People often have very low expectations of immigrants," says Sabuni. "So, in order to achieve a good position, you have to be better than the others. It's a balance you have to be conscious of all the time."

More like an imbalance. And addressing it could require some drastic action. "Political parties may need to use what people might consider unorthodox methods to accelerate their own integration," says Trevor Phillips, head of Britain's Commission for Equality and Human Rights. "They might try to ensure they have proportionate regional representation in their candidates. Or they might say that every candidate short list has to have at least one person who isn't white on it. You can't force people onto constituencies, but you can compel parties to think about their responsibilities."

It's been done before. When it became clear there weren't enough women at the top, governments across Europe introduced quotas and other initiatives to boost the numbers. Britain's Labour Party adopted women-only short lists in some constituencies for the 1997 election, and saw the number of women in Parliament double from 60 to 120. Without similar measures to bring more European minorities into power positions, huge swaths of the population will always feel powerless. "I wouldn't underestimate the importance of politics as part of this conversation," says Geoff Mulgan, head of think tank the Young Foundation in London, "because the political forum is a legitimate place to have a dialogue, to talk about differences, and so on. Without representation, you have no voice. And, not surprisingly, you're much more likely to turn to violence or rioting to make yourself heard." The French riots of 2005 are just the most recent glimpse of the extremes people will go to when they feel like no one's listening.

Another way to make sure every citizen counts? Count them. Literally. Yet some countries don't collect ethnic data in their census and those that do are often behind the curve. Britain introduced a mixed-race category to its census in 2001, only to discover that it was already the country's fastest-growing ethnic minority group. It's illegal to collect data on ethnicity or religion in France, Belgium, Denmark, Italy and Spain, mainly on the grounds that identifying people by their race or faith is, in itself, a form of discrimination. But a move to make all people equal risks ignoring their inherent differences. For instance, studies show that ethnic minorities tend to suffer higher rates of diabetes than their white counterparts. So without knowing exactly who makes up the population, how is it possible to treat diabetes effectively? And a detailed ethnic breakdown isn't just essential to understanding what citizens need now — it's also the only way to predict what they will need in the future. "Do you want to let diversity take its own course and potentially become a burden?" says Phillips. "Or do you want to manage it, be proactive, and turn it into a benefit? A smart society is going to try to turn it into a benefit. But that society has to know exactly what it's dealing with and, at the moment, we just don't know enough."