Field Study Reveals Strong Discrimination Against Job Applicants with non-Irish names

7/5/09

Field Study Reveals Strong Discrimination Against Job Applicants with non-Irish names

Job applicants with identifiably non-Irish names are less than half as likely to be called for interview as those with typical Irish names, according to a groundbreaking experiment. The research, the first of its kind to be conducted in Ireland, found a similar level of discrimination against those with an identifiably African, Asian or European (German) name. Discrimination in Recruitment: Evidence from a Field Experiment, commissioned by The Equality Authority and conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), used an internationally recognised and accepted method. The experiment directly compared the behaviour of employers faced with applications from candidates who were identical on all relevant characteristics other than their ethnic or national origin. The research team sent pairs of matched CVs in response to 240 separate job adverts. The two fictitious applicants had equivalent qualifications, skills and experience – all gained in Ireland. The only difference was the name at the top of the CVs. Candidates with Irish names were more than twice as likely to be called to interview as those with minority names. This level of discrimination was found to be consistent across the three minorities tested (African, Asian, German), three occupations (lower administration, lower accountancy, retail sales) and different business sectors. The experiment was carried out between March and October 2008. Compared with similar experiments carried out in other countries, the level of discrimination recorded for Ireland is high. Richard Fallon, Acting Chief Executive of the Equality Authority said: “Everyone recognises how cultural diversity has become the norm in the Irish workforce in recent years. It has provided us with unique opportunities in productivity, learning, leadership, innovation and creativity. These are the very qualities we now need to drive our economic recovery.” “The findings of this study don’t just highlight a loss of equality of opportunity for potential non-Irish job applicants. They also point up a needless loss of business opportunity if we choose not to look to the skills behind the names on job applications.” Mr. Fallon hoped that the findings of this study “would encourage us to build again on the excellent strategies already developed by Irish enterprise to capture the successes of cultural diversity in the workplace”.   For further information contact: Brian Merriman, The Equality Authority, 01 4173368;
Dr. Pete Lunn, ESRI, 01 863 2013;
Emma Quinn, ESRI, 01 863 2137.

Notes for Editors:

• Members of the Media are invited to attend a Media Briefing at the ESRI on Wednesday 6th May at 10.30 a.m.
• Discrimination in Recruitment: Evidence from a Field Experiment, by ESRI researchers Frances McGinnity, Jacqueline Nelson, Pete Lunn and Emma Quinn, is a joint publication of The Equality Authority and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). It will be published on the ESRI website at www.esri.ie and the Equality Authority website at www.equality.ie on Thursday 7th May 2009.
• Given the ethical issues involved in conducting this experiment, a rigorous ethical procedure was followed. The experimental design conformed to international best practice and was approved in advance by an ethics committee. Every effort was made to minimise the possibility of inconvenience or damage to the reputation of employers. All records identifying the firms involved were kept in the strictest confidence and destroyed after the experiment was completed.

Link to publication details