Disadvantaged, yet Optimistic? Migrants’ Paradoxical Perceptions of Equality of Opportunity

Research on attitudes toward inequality consistently shows that the belief in equal opportunities serves as a key mechanism legitimizing economic disparities. If opportunities are perceived as fairly distributed, existing social and economic hierarchies are more likely to be accepted as just. While this dynamic has been well documented in the general population, little is known about how it plays out among migrants, a group that faces persistent structural disadvantages. This paper investigates how first-generation migrants in Germany perceive equality of opportunity in comparison to non-migrants. It addresses a significant gap in the literature: while structural inequalities of migration are widely studied, migrants’ own evaluations of fairness and opportunity remain understudied. Methodologically, the paper adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative evidence from the European Social Survey with qualitative material from in-depth interviews and group discussions with 47 first-generation migrants. The findings reveal a striking paradox. First-generation migrants are more likely than non-migrants to believe that equal opportunities exist. In turn, they also display higher levels of legitimacy beliefs toward economic inequality. The qualitative material sheds light on this puzzle. Migrants often define “equal opportunity” in terms of access to affordable education, gender equality, and the absence of corruption or nepotism, benchmarks that are frequently contrasted with conditions in their countries of origin. By contrast, migration-specific disadvantages such as discrimination in the labor market are less salient in their evaluations. These results have three key implications. First, they show that migration shapes not only patterns of stratification but also how stratification is interpreted and legitimized. Second, they highlight the importance of reference points: migrants’ perceptions of fairness are shaped not only by their experiences in Germany but also by transnational comparisons. Third, they illustrate how perceptions of equal opportunities can paradoxically reinforce tolerance of inequality among disadvantaged groups. By documenting this paradox of structural disadvantage coupled with optimistic perceptions, the study advances debates on migration, inequality, and legitimacy, and underscores the importance of examining subjective attitudes alongside objective outcomes.