Objective/Context: After the 2016 Peace Accords with the
Objetivo: después de los Acuerdos de Paz de 2016 entre el gobierno y las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) en Colombia, la sociedad civil comenzó a trabajar para la reintegración de los excombatientes de dicha organización para una convivencia pacífica. Sin embargo, el éxito de estas iniciativas sigue siendo dudoso si se quiere tener una sociedad más inclusiva, que reduzca los riesgos de rearme y de violencia contra los ciudadanos en un entorno de posconflicto. Metodología: a pesar de las iniciativas actuales, esta investigacion busca explorar si hay barreras que continúan existiendo para los excombatientes que se reintegran al mercado laboral. Es así como se plantea que una gran barrera para la reintegración económica exitosa al mercado laboral es el estigma. Esta investigación identifica y evalúa estadísticas agregadas y datos de encuestas que expresan inquietudes por y sobre los excombatientes, junto con entrevistas a excombatientes para ayudar a determinar las dificultades y oportunidades para acceder al mercado laboral. Originalidad: estas recomendaciones buscan apoyar a las organizaciones locales que hacen negocios en Colombia, además de ofrecer mejores prácticas adaptadas y garantizar formas significativas de incorporar a los excombatientes al mercado laboral.
The 2016 Peace Accords between the Colombian government and the
To improve attitudes and barriers of armed conflict, the Government must urge prospective employers to remain open and optimistic towards reconciliation. This study analyzes the presence of stigma and correlations with behaviors of the population at large, which will then filter towards potential employers and staffing managers who are tasked with filling positions that are suitable for former combatants. The nature of this study analyzes stigma and correlations with behaviors but, this paper is not intended to perform a comprehensive evaluation of employers and their operational models in Colombia. Rather, it examines the programmatic differences and best practices that recognize and mitigate stigma within the workplace, so organizations are better equipped to grapple with the challenge securing the employment of former combatants.
Social and economic inequality gradually eroded the social fabric throughout Colombian society for more than fifty years. The Colombian conflict largely stemmed from the massive social and economic inequality leading to at least 220,000 deaths, more than 5 million people internally displaced because of land seizures and associated violence, leaving more than 8 million Colombian victims (
The stigma faced by former combatants is not an isolated issue in Colombia. In fact, there is a universal presence of stigma in post-conflict societies, and it is a barrier former combatants face as they begin managing socio-economic aspects of their lives. Stigma increases when ex-combatants seek employment. Communities regularly associate negative characteristics towards ex-combatants, thereby preventing successful reintegration (
A qualitative and quantitative mixed-methods approach was used to examine if and what barriers exist for former combatants entering the labor market. I then explore feasible recommendations for large, multi-national companies who seek to employ former combatants, and smaller, local organizations that are dedicated to providing resources that improve employment outcomes for these ex-combatants. The combined qualitative and quantitative data comes from former combatant interviews and national survey data (aggregated statistics) administered primarily by
The interviews for this capstone provide scholars and professionals alike with an opportunity to understand the perspectives of former combatants and their challenges reintegrating into society after disarmament and demobilization.
These interviews complement the national survey data in a way that brings personal sentiments and struggles that are not always visible through responses to a survey or questionnaire regardless of its intent; the interviews are a vital component for the broader narrative of this research. The former combatants that participated in the informal interviews were recruited at different ages and regions throughout Colombia. The personal battles and biases these ex-combatants encounter can be used to highlight recurring problems of stigma and rejection while taking steps to improve and change corporate attitudes as managers evaluate their qualifications.
In addition to the interviews described above, I focus on aggregated national survey statistics that help describe barriers for former combatants. Before I discuss variables and interactions I evaluated, it is critical to note that due to data availability this research is not a comprehensive review of all possible variables affecting reintegration; the research is a focused analysis on nine variables that I find contribute to barriers former combatants face reintegrating into the labor market (Kaplan & Nussio, 2015;
The following section (Section Linear Regression) describes in detail the dependent variable and key independent variables I find most important for this analysis. For the purposes of this study, the observational data measures a variety of indicators and correlations of the employment outcome of former combatants. In this sense, strong correlations between variables presented do not establish a clear cause and effect relationship. Rather, they should be interpreted descriptively - namely, to illustrate factors commonly associated with stigma. Indications that suggest otherwise are to be avoided; these findings should be presented carefully to avoid leading or contributing to additional stigma former combatants currently face.
Based on the primary research question and the nine variables chosen (Luna-Amador
The linear regression shows the dependent variable, where Y demonstrates the attitudes citizens have and whether they would give a former FARC combatant a job. The α or alpha is a constant (or fixed variable). The explanatory variables (or X’s) are Peace, PDET (or Territory Focused Development Plan) (
Gender is a binary variable used in the survey, where the individual is either male or female. The survey adopted number one (1) as an indicator for Male and the omitted category (0) is used for female. I reference the variable Male as a key variable for the content of this analysis and will clearly note the focus of my analysis on men or, in some cases women (the omitted category) to avoid confusion. The controls I use for this model are education, age, and urban. Education which corresponds to the highest level of education attained. Education is a particularly unique variable because research shows that the completion of high school in Colombia may have a particular impact on the political sophistication of a citizen. The likelihood of civic participation will become increasingly higher (
Limitations were expected after collecting personal interviews and national survey data. While the personal interviews provided personal insight the survey data did not, gathering personal identifiable information (PII) from the interviewees regarding their age and former group affiliation became difficult at the time of the interview. This restricted additional research into other possible age-related barriers ex-combatants face entering into the labor market. Secondly, the survey data uses categorical responses, and the data directs the research to strong associations and correlations. However, it does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship. Finally, in light of the 80 municipalities surveyed across Colombia, this study is not in a position to generate a consistent baseline that groups income (i.e., lower-class or “
Using OLS to estimate the key regression model (
Key Regression Model Number of Observations: 3,720 R-squared: 0.0989
Peace is statistically significant (11.79) after dividing the coefficient (i.e., the effect) by its standard error. The coefficient is equal to at least one point, and holding all other variables constant, opportunity will increase by one due to the importance of peace and reconciliation with the FARC is to survey participants. PDET and Male have a smaller effect on the dependent variable, yet PDET and male are both are statistically significant (3.82 and 6.46, respectively).
While analyzing the impact of the overall scale for opportunity is important for general analysis, additional scrutiny is required to focus on individuals whose negative attitudes have adverse impacts on former combatants. Specifically, when prior links to armed groups may negatively impact private enterprise who may not be able to select competitive candidates based on their skillsets when communicating these results to large and small organizations in Colombia. Ultimately, it prevents these organizations from addressing barriers within their business models for training or coaching needs that their employees need. Based on the additional scrutiny required and desired from private enterprise, I conduct a hypothesis test then measured the effect of gender on opportunity (the dependent variable). This revealed an average response rate for men at 6.4 out of 10 and women at 5.7 out of 10; the average amongst men and women was 6.1 out of 10. After looking at the average score of 6.1, I created new variables. The new variables were two hiring scales that analyzed responses for 1, being the lowest with the maximum of 5 (i.e., Hiring Scale 1), and another with responses from 6 being the lowest to the maximum of 10 (i.e., Hiring Scale 2). Hiring Scale 1 focuses on individuals less likely to hire a former combatant, and is the focus of my analysis and the results below.
Several explanatory, socio-economic variables such as peace, male, and PDET strongly correlate to barriers ex-combatants face entering the labor markets while controlling for rural or urban areas and level of education. Overall, the survey revealed that peace is statistically significant when determining whether an employer should give a job to a former combatant. For those that believe in peace and reconciliation, the average approval rating is 6.82 points out of ten; they are more willing (and approve of) hiring former ex-combatants. On the other hand, participants that do not believe in peace and reconciliation with the FARC results in less, with 5.55 points out of 10 and are less likely to approve of former combatants.
In addition to the analysis above, I delve deeper into the smaller number (i.e., 5.55) suggesting that participants would not hire a former combatant. I assess the variance of those who do not believe in peace and being less likely to hire a former combatant. In order to perform this analysis, Hiring Scale 1 (Range 1-5) provides additional scrutiny and is based on the conditions of peace among those responses who disapprove hiring former combatants. Similar to the responses overall, Hiring Scale 1 (Range 1-5) also shows peace as statistically significant. Among those who disapprove hiring an ex-combatants, 49% of respondents do not believe in peace. This contrasts with 32% of respondents, in this group, who do believe in peace. It is not surprising that a higher percentage of those who disapprove of hiring an ex-combatant do not believe in peace. When a potential employer does not believe in peace and reconciliation, the stigma against ex-combatants remains, especially for those employers who suffered relatively more in rural areas of Colombia. This is further explained by potential employers’ fear that lingers because they still perceive ex-combatants as dishonest and still connected to crime (
Ideally, hiring managers should refrain from inquiring about previous involvement and only focus on independently evaluating skills. Potential employers play an important role when reviewing applicant qualifications; stigmatizing former combatants decreases the likelihood of them receiving a job offer. In turn, it increases probabilities of failed economic reintegration or worse, returning to an armed group because of lost wages. Ex-combatants clearly state that stigma continues to exist and remains a significant barrier; addressing stigma is a pivotal step towards coexistence
Rejecting peace and reconciliation upholds negative perceptions during the vetting process. Employers recognize certain ‘indicators’ or ‘triggers’ that raise deeply rooted suspicions and overall distrust (
Taken altogether, the survey revealed that on the original scale of giving a former combatant a job, the average value (or less willing) to hire a former combatant is 5.9 points for those who did not live in a PDET area compared to 6.3 points of those who actually live in a PDET area who are more willing to giving a job opportunity to a former combatant. When analyzing the statistical significance of PDET alone, this is not surprising. PDET that encompass areas away from large metropolitan areas (i.e., Bogotá and Medellín), were more impacted by decades of exceedingly high levels of violence from armed groups, and were designated by the government to receive more development funding because of the damage done to these areas.
As mentioned in Section 2.1, PDET is a tool and method to target areas of development suffering because of countless murders, kidnappings, and growth of illicit crops. So, it is hardly surprising that PDET is statistically significant because citizens living in those areas are more sensitive of their proximity socially and professionally with ex-combatants. It follows that they are less likely to hire a former combatant.
As previously mentioned above in Section 3.1, the analysis of those respondents who are less likely to hire a former combatant with Hiring Scale 1 brings additional perspectives to academia and private enterprise that may be otherwise overlooked. While strong correlations exist between those who disapprove of giving a former combatant a job and residing in a PDET area, my analysis into the disapproval rates suggests an alternative perspective. The data shows among those who disapprove of hiring ex-combatants 44% do not live in PDET areas. This contrasts with the 38% of those who actually live in PDET areas. I control for rural or urban areas and levels of education, yet perceptions still exist among those in larger cities where high levels of perceived violence and trauma are embraced even if their exposure to violence was limited relative to those in rural areas.
Some critics may point to the constraints of the administered survey – it excluded large metropolitan areas. Higher disapproval percentages of former combatants by those that do not live in a PDET area may reflect migration patterns and those that had to uproot their lives and move to larger towns and municipalities because of their excessive exposure to violence (
Barriers entering the labor market from an Afro-Colombian perspective warrants additional discussion. Decades of violence and terror during the armed conflict traumatized citizens, but Afro-Colombian and Indigenous persons were disproportionately impacted because there was no state presence (i.e., Chocó, Nariño, etc.). These areas were abandoned and neglected by the Colombian government (
The survey indicates that roughly 19% self-identify as “
An initial analysis of the Afro-descendent population in Regression 5 (See
The impact of the coefficients on opportunity overall can also be viewed on
At a first glance, ethnicity is not considered statistically significant for Hiring Scale 1, but it does provide valuable insights. For example, participants identifying as
Even more, the survey data revealed that 22% of those participants belonged to the afro-ethnicity group; it is consistent with the analysis in Section 3.2 of those most removed from the violence being more inclined to harbor more negative feelings of the armed conflict. Upon a closer look into the data, it reveals the marginal impacts of negative attitudes to only calculate the afro-ethnicity population against those who are not.
This is even more interesting; negative perceptions among Afro-Colombian men and Afro-Colombian women who are less likely hire former combatants within the Hiring Scale 1 are not statistically significant but, Afro-Colombian men and women are 5.2% more likely to disapprove of working with former combatants. Boys and men are frequently recruited while many women were left behind to care for children in towns ravaged by violence. Therefore, this helps explain why women are less apprehensive to hiring a former combatant; women are frequently the nexus of armed conflict and are critical facilitators when rebuilding communities. We are unable to generalize the experiences of women because the conflict impacted women and girls differently across age and ethnicity (
Private enterprise which includes key relationships between large conglomerates with more than 2,000 employees and small, local civic societies can play a major role towards minimizing barriers for former combatants re-entering the labor market. They must not only willingly employ demobilized combatants that are unskilled, but believe in the goal of coexistence (
Through close collaboration, clear and feasible outcomes, and accountability based on these outcomes large corporations should secure an independent third party to gather and evaluate existing hiring metrics from managers across all plant operations. After evaluating recruiting and retention metrics, hiring directors will be able to gather managers that demonstrate their belief in peace and reconciliation based on the available data – which also aligns with internal and external missions and visions. Exhibiting good behaviors and refraining from stigmatizing and rejecting former combatants can be an opportunity to promote their insight and help guide Leadership towards ways that reduce stigma in the workplace and those who appear less likely to hire ex-combatants (
Beyond recognizing hiring managers for maintaining good metrics and reducing barriers and fears ex-combatants have, additional monetary or non-monetary incentives helps recognize hiring managers’ contribution. A monetary reward can take form in a bonus payment for good behaviors, or a salary increase that exceeds expected annual performance percentages. A non-monetary incentive is also useful for those private enterprises that have the capacity and resources for “employee spotlights” and recognition through an email listserv, preferred parking spaces closer to company buildings where feasible, or ‘flex-time’ during peak and non-peak periods that reward employees by leaving their jobs earlier than their typically scheduled times and still receive a full payment for each day. It is important that private enterprises coordinate these monetary and non-monetary rewards with their hiring managers based on their unique family and financial obligations so that they are able to use the benefit as it is intended
The value these managers bring can be a “guiding light”, offer in-the-moment feedback, and alternative perspectives for those who are less likely to hire and hold negative attitudes towards ex-combatants. Those who are less likely to hire former combatants run the risk of decreased increased earnings (in the sense of the time it takes to find other talent in the same rural regions) and even more, not align with the mission and vision of the company in Colombia. This allows positive interaction within the workforce, provides opportunities and corrective actions to those who do stigmatize and reject former combatants as potential employees.
Another way large conglomerates can reduce barriers ex-combatants face is to offer formal workshops on the same weeks of each year. This way the communications are distributed far in advance for those who must travel for long periods of time, or for those that must plan based on their obligations. These
Large conglomerates must recognize that a company-wide change management approach for acknowledging harmful experiences of ordinary citizens with time and patience while working on reducing the stigma after seeing the ‘signs’ of a
Small, local organizations are often burdened with ensuring that overlooked communities are receiving the attention they need in order to re-integrate into society and flourish. The local organizations are encouraged when ex-combatants not only successfully reintegrate to the labor market but when they build better relationships with future colleagues; they have the opportunity to dispel false perceptions and minimize hindrances that stem from these perceptions. Small organizations having an established Change Management Strategy can rely upon chosen advocates to explain the process of creating a resume and its necessary components while having a detailed Communications Strategy ensures small, local organizations uplift their success and opportunities with government actors especially in PDET areas.
Ultimately, the guidance small, local organizations can provide in conjunction with advocates and work towards reducing these barriers of stigma when potential red flags, such as an unstructured resume triggers future employers. While large conglomerates work with key government actors from utilizing a ‘top-down’ approach, small, local organizations leverage the ‘bottom-up’ approach in a combined effort to address hiring managers who maintain negative attitudes towards former combatants.
Based on the interviews, the former combatants revealed that lacking a ‘professional’ photo exacerbated the stigma they receive when looking to reintegrate into the labor market. It is common that former combatants have a photograph of themselves in front of areas not suitable for the business environment (i.e., in front of laundry, in a bedroom, etc.), and they are unaware of the proper place to take a photo. Unfortunately, it sends additional triggers and warning to hiring managers that they are former combatants. Understanding that some former combatants may not have the means to take photos in an environment with a blank background or are unaware, or both. A Día Perfil can increase their visibility with employers while reducing flags local organizations can provide additional measures to help these individuals to have one photo in business attire so that they are able to minimize stigma and rejection upon an employer reviewing their qualifications. This strategy is most useful with the collaboration of a network of small, local organizations that can act as a meeting point throughout the PDET area and later, throughout larger regions in Colombia. A united project and communications strategy of Día Perfil will help ex-combatants combat negative perceptions and attitudes towards them, and will help reduce initial barriers of reintegration into the labor market.
In Colombia, the 2016 Peace Accords between the government and the FARC was the focal point for citizens because of the possibilities of peace and reconciliation to help bring society together once more. However, after the signing of the accord, the landmark achievement remained elusive because former-combatants were facing barriers reintegrating into the labor market. The transformation of Colombian society remains difficult based on survey results and interviews assessing the attitudes and perceptions towards former combatants. Economic reintegration is a process that requires not only the hard work of former combatants but also a belief of peace and reconciliation amongst citizens. Barriers ex-combatants face re-integrating into the labor market include the stigma from ordinary citizens, and it continues to be a challenge in Colombia.
This paper also concludes that careful attention is required not only towards hiring managers at large conglomerates that are suitable for work former combatants find appealing, but also small, local organizations, as well. These findings allow feasible recommendations that support the collaboration between large conglomerates and small organizations. Combined efforts for workshops crafting resumes to reduce stigma regardless of the levels of experience and education helps reduce these barriers. Additionally, the government along with private must equally share the burden. The Colombian government must provide better incentives (e.g., tax incentives) to businesses and future employers and helps prevent an over-reliance on the informal economy to employ former combatants. Despite the challenges former combatants face finding future job opportunities, seamless collaboration promotes adjusting attitudes and helps break down employment barriers. Above all by implementing the recommendations above, it adds value by providing meaningful ways large and small organizations can contribute towards uplifting ex-combatants working towards building stability and economic success in Colombia.
Main Model: Key Regression Model Summary Statistics
Artículo de investigación científica.
This research is a result of a two-year long investigation for a capstone project in order to obtain the Master of Arts degree from the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, in Washington D.C.
“Stigma” is a natural human characteristic that “...discredits and reduces an otherwise whole human being [to someone who is] not quite normal [because of the] badges of demerit they wear in each social context” according to Denov and Marchard, 2014, 2.
Second-Generation Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) programs and theory have a primary focus on community initiatives targeted to mend broken societies.
Comparatively, studies in Northern Uganda show long-term violence broken into four distinct categories of violent traumatic events that were assessed on survey respondents and was important for determining the impact of peacebuilding and displacement in Northern Uganda.
All interviews were confidential; the names of the interviewees are withheld by mutual agreement. Interview with former combatants, September 3, 2020.
A
In some instances, consistency in employment does help reduce levels of fear from ex-combatants and bias from employers.
Dr. Bouvier analyzed the contributions of Colombian women and argues that without large numbers of women that represent the harm caused by the decades long conflict, peacebuilding and reconciliation will remain difficult for victims.
These benefits should include planning and thought to avoid situations where employees are provided non-monetary benefits, yet are unable to enjoy them at their residence due to scheduling transportation or relying on another individual to physically leave the workspace. Careful consideration should include the group (or individual) the employee commutes to his office so the employee may enjoy the benefits of their good behavior.
Key Regression Model Number of Observations: 3,720 R-squared 0.0989
Appendix 2 Regression 2 Number of Observations: 1,156 R-squared 0.2368
Appendix 3 Regression 3 Number of Observations: 1,199 R-squared: 0.2206
Appendix 4 Regression 4 Number of Observations: 1,188 R-squared: 0.1257
Appendix 5 Regression 5 Number of Observations: 1,231 R-squared: 0.1056
Appendix 6 Regression 6 Number of Observations: 1,168 R-squared: 0.1871
Appendix 7 Regression 7 Number of Observations: 1,213 R-squared: 0.1767
Appendix 8 Regression 8 Number of Observations: 1,203 R-squared: 0.1019
Appendix 9 Regression 9 Number of Observations: 1,249 R-squared: 0.0892
Appendix 10 Regression 10 Number of Observations: 1,249
Appendix 11 Regression 11 Number of Observations: 1,249 R-squared: 0.0890
Appendix 12 Regression 12 Number of Observations: 1,249
Opportunity: At the job or place where you work would you give a job to a demobilized person of the FARC? To what point would you approve or disapprove of the situation?
Values: 1 - 10 Gender: [1] Male or [2] Female. Recoded [2] Female to [0] Female Peace: Do you see (or believe it is possible) of forgiveness and reconciliation of demobilized FARC ex-combatants.
Values: [1] Yes [2] No Victim: Speaking of the place/neighborhood where you live, and thinking about the possibility of being the victim of an attack or action by an armed group, do you feel very safe, somewhat safe, somewhat unsafe or very insecure?
Values: [1] Very safe [2] Somewhat safe [3] Somewhat unsafe [4] Very unsafe. Recoded in analysis as : [1] and [2] =1 and [3] and [4] =0 PDET: Do you belong to a Planes de Desarrollo con Enfoque Territorial (PDET) program?
Values [1]Yes [2] No. UR. [ESTRATER]:
Values: [1] Urban [2] Rural Ethnicity: Do you consider yourself as a white person, mestiza (mixed), indigenous, black, mulata or other? If the person interviewed as Afro-Colombian code as 4[black]
Values: [1] Blanca [2] Mestiza [3] Indígena [4] Negra [5] Mulata [7)] Otra Afro Colombian Ethnicity:
Values: [4] Negra and [5] Mulata combined as AfroEthnicity Forcedtoflee: For reasons of the conflict did any member of your family have to leave the country?
Values [1] Yes [2] No Excombneighbors: Thinking of the demobilized members of the armed groups, please tell me if having demobilized ex-combatants of the armed groups as a neighbor?
Values [1] I do not want them as neighbors [2] I have no problem having them as neighbors