Job applicants with English names get more calls back

Samantha Lock | July 3, 2023

Ethnic minorities receive half as many calls back than applicants with English names for leadership positions despite identical resumes.

Monash Business School researchers sent more than 12,000 job applications to over 4000 job ads across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The two-year study found pervasive hiring discrimination against six ethnic groups for leadership positions in 12 different occupations.

Lead researcher Andreas Liebbrandt said it is the first study to examine the issue among leadership.

“Our findings provide support for the existence of pronounced discrimination in the recruitment of leadership positions,” he said.

Despite identical resumes, the study found applications from an ethnic minority received 57.4 per cent fewer calls back for jobs than those with English names.

For non-leadership positions, ethnic minorities received 45.3 per cent fewer calls back.

Ethnic discrimination for leadership positions was more pronounced when the advertised job required customer contact but improved if the job emphasised the need for individualism or learning, creativity and innovation.

Three applications were sent in response to each job advertisement. 

Each included a resume of an applicant with an English name and the resumes of two applicants with non-English names.

Six different ethnic groups were investigated by varying resumes with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Arabic, Chinese, English, Greek and Indian names. 

All candidates were born in Australia, worked in Australia and went to an Australian school or university.

Professor Liebbrandt said hiring decision-making may be influenced by stereotypes and general leadership prototypes.

The study recommended anonymous job applications in which the applicants’ names could be hidden in the initial recruitment phase to remove any bias.