Many young people with a migration background experience equal opportunities in Germany as insufficient (El-Mafaalani, 2018, pp. 102-103). Vocational education research has so far focused particularly on statistical discrimination, while there is a lack of empirical studies in the educational context with regard to subjective experiences of discrimination (Horr et al., 2020, p. 5). Subjective experiences do not necessarily coincide with objectively measurable inequalities, but can deviate greatly from them (Ette et al., 2021, p. 28; Straub et al., 2021, p. 143). For those affected, the experienced situation is usually more important than the actual discrimination (Ette et al., 2021, p. 28).

This study therefore asks how adolescents' perceptions of personal ethnic discrimination differ according to origin group membership. Several studies have already confirmed origin group differences in perceptions of ethnic discrimination (Diehl et al., 2021; Flores, 2015; Salentin, 2007; Steinmann & Strietholt, 2019). The distinctive feature of this work is that the focus is on the transition to vocational education and training (VET). Accordingly, the dependent variable is perceived ethnic discrimination in the search for an apprenticeship position.

Gender, along with migration status, is considered a relevant social category in research on transitions to VET (Enggruber, 2011). In order to investigate the interplay of group of origin with gender, an intersectional perspective is adopted. Particularly in the quantitative field, intersectional studies are lacking (Else-Quest & Hyde, 2016; Strand, 2014, p. 133). While Skrobanek (2007, p. 32) shows that women perceive ethnic discrimination more than men, other studies conclude that women report less ethnic discrimination (e.g., Salentin, 2008, p. 521; Schaafsma, 2011, p. 789; Te Lindert et al., 2008; Venema & Grimm, 2002, p. 72) and expect ethnic discrimination in the labor market less likely than men (McWirther, 1997, pp. 133-135). Because of the contradictory results, the question arises as to how perceived ethnic discrimination differs by gender. In which group of origin is the difference between young men and women most pronounced?

Productivity theory assumptions (Beicht & Walden, 2017, p. 429; Ette et al., 2021, p. 27; Hunkler, 2016, p. 604) suggest that young people of Turkish origin perceive more discrimination than young people of other origin groups, since their names and/or phenotypic characteristics indicate a migration background more visibly. Regarding the interaction of origin group and gender, intersectional theories yield opposing expectations: The Subordinate Male Target Hypothesis suggests that migrant men perceive ethnic discrimination more strongly than migrant women (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008, p. 379; Veenstra, 2012, p. 684). The Additive Approach and the Intersectional-Inspired Approach, however, justify the assumption that female migrants perceive more personal ethnic discrimination than male migrants (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008, p. 377; Veenstra, 2012, pp. 647-648).

To test the hypotheses, individuals with an immigrant background from Wave 5 of the NEPS Starting Cohort 4 (N = 1,421) are taken into account. For immigrants from Turkey (N = 307), the former Soviet Union (N = 296), Poland (N = 131), and the former Yugoslavia (N = 141), a sufficiently large sample is available for the analyses. A logistic regression model is calculated to explain the origin group effect. An extended logistic interaction model provides information on whether the strength of the association of origin group membership varies by gender (cf. Kopp & Lois, 2014, p. 134). Accounting for interaction effects is considered one way to quantitatively answer intersectional questions (Else-Quest & Hyde, 2016, p. 11). Since effect sizes (such as logit coefficients or odds ratios) are not comparable across models (Best & Wolf, 2012, pp. 380-382; Kopp & Lois, 2014, p. 182), marginal effects (AMEs, MERs, and predictive margins) are estimated downstream of the regression models. Robustness tests also provide information about a change in the results when varying origin group divisions, generational status, and other restrictions on the analysis population.

The results show that young people from Turkey perceive more personal discrimination in their search for an apprenticeship position than Polish, ex-Yugoslavian and ex-Soviet young people. Polish compared to Turkish youth are least likely to experience ethnic discrimination. No significant correlation was found between personal discrimination and gender, probably due to the small sample size. Nevertheless, a higher gender difference is evident in the Turkish group than in the other origin groups. The probability to perceive discrimination is higher for women in the Turkish group, but in the ex-Yugoslavian group it is higher for men. The results provide a better understanding of how discriminatory behavior is perceived by young migrants in transition to VET. Perceptions of discrimination are an important indicator of societal inequities and are considered a key basis for planning anti-discrimination policies (SVR Forschungsbereich, 2018, p. 9). Further intersectional considerations of perceived discrimination are necessary, because although discriminations are an everyday phenomenon on the job market, there is a lack of data on the processes underlying it (Beicht & Walden, 2017; Lindemann, 2020, p. 1066; Tjaden, 2017, p. 119; Wenz et al., 2016).

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