Imagine finding out that your resume ended up in the recycle bin because your name sounded “too ethnic”. It’s the kind of blatant discrimination you’d hope wouldn’t happen in this day and age, but according to one study, this sort of thing happens all too often.
In 2009, University of Toronto Professor Philip Oreopoulos conducted a study in which 6000 mock resumes were sent to recruiters in Toronto. In each resume, the level of education and experience was comparable; the only striking difference was that some applicants’ names were English-sounding while others sounded more Indian, Pakistani or Chinese. A further chunk of resumes featured experience and education acquired outside Canada.1
An applicant with an English-sounding name who was educated in Canada had a 16% chance of getting called for an interview; an equally-qualified applicant with a more ethnic-sounding name and whose experience and education was acquired outside Canada only received a call 5% of the time.2
When only the applicants’ names were in play, “Alison Johnson” was still 40% more likely to get a call than “Tao Wang”.3
The study points to name-based discrimination being a key factor that could explain why immigrants often struggle in the Canadian job market despite their qualifications.
Oreopoulos conducted a similar study again in 2010, this time expanding the research to include Vancouver and Montreal. When the researchers later interviewed recruiters, they discovered that snap decisions are frequently being made; they end up assuming that a foreign name is synonymous with language difficulties or a lack of critical social skills, despite the resume suggesting otherwise. In other words, it’s a form of subconscious discrimination.4
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racism. We thought we’d share this study with our members as a reminder that racism can take many forms.
We mustn’t forget that affirmative action programs are currently on the chopping block. These programs aim to reverse the pattern of earlier discrimination by giving priority to individuals who are socially disadvantaged.
Affirmative action is often a contentious issue. Conservatives such as Stockwell Day and Jason Kenney, for example, are of the opinion that merit alone should be considered when hiring public servants.5 But that approach fails to take into account institutional racism.
If “Tao Wang” is passed over for a job early in his working life because of his name alone, then isn’t he starting the race a few seconds after everyone else?
[1] Oreopoulos, P. (2009) Why Do Skilled Immigrants Struggle In The Labor Market? A Field Experiment With Six Thousand Resumes. National Bureau of Economic Research.
[2] Idem
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[4] Oreopoulos, P., Dechief, D. (2012) Why Do Some Employers Prefer to Interview Matthew, but Not Samir? New Evidence from Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Canadian Labour Market and Skills Researcher Network.
[5] Rennie, Steve. (2010) Ottawa orders affirmative-action overhaul. Ottawa Citizen.