Hiring process in racially diverse labour markets: does applicant's name matters?

Abstract

The author determined hiring discrimination using two perspectives. First, hiring managers were interviewed to determine implicit discrimination. Second, correspondence testing was conducted to determine if employers discriminate against applicants with foreign names during hiring process. A cross country analysis was done between Sweden and Canada. Almost 6 million foreign born people live in Canada while almost 1 million foreign born people live in Sweden. The results revealed that hiring managers in both countries are well aware of negative impact of hiring discrimination on their organisations. However, correspondence testing revealed contrasting results. 1009 jobs were applied in Sweden while 1326 jobs were applied in Canada. The aggregate results for Sweden show that applicants’ with foreign names receive a call back rate of 66.3% while applicants with Swedish names received a call back rate of 77.2%. The aggregate results for Canada show that applicants with foreign names received a call back rate of 73.5% while applicants with English names received a call back rate of 74.6%. The results indicate that hiring discrimination against applicants with foreign names is more pronounced in Sweden compared to Canada.