![]() ![]() Indeed, in our study, discrimination against minorities and women was more pronounced toward the end of each set of résumés the employer viewed, when less time was spent evaluating each one. ![]() Research shows that when decision makers are fatigued or are moving fast, their decisions are more likely to be based on cognitive shortcuts that can introduce bias. Our study suggested that implicit, or unconscious, bias was responsible for this disconnect between intentions and outcomes. That meant such a candidate needed a 4.0 GPA to get the same rating as a white male with a 3.75. The effect was big: These candidates were penalized by the equivalent of 0.25 GPA points, based solely on the name at the top of the résumé. In fact, employers hiring in STEM fields penalized résumés with minority or female names. While 90% of the employers reported explicitly factoring into their hiring the goal of increasing racial and gender diversity, we saw no preference for female or minority candidates in their ratings. We also randomly assigned names indicative of gender and race, allowing us to see if recruiters responded differently to résumés with the same qualifications but different demographic characteristics. Since the résumé components were randomized, employers saw résumés with various GPAs, academic majors, work experiences and skills. This gave them an incentive to rate the résumés carefully and honestly. They knew that the résumés were not from actual students but also knew that their ratings of these résumés (on a 10-point scale) would be used by our machine learning algorithm to match them with real candidates. We gave each employer 40 randomly generated résumés to review. Among these were Fortune 500 companies, tech firms, big banks, consulting firms, hedge funds and nonprofit organizations. Our results suggest they did not even realize that they were biased in their evaluations of potential new hires.įor this research, we examined 72 employers who recruit graduating seniors at the University of Pennsylvania for full-time positions. These firms said they were actively seeking diverse candidates, yet they still discriminated against people of color and women. To find out, we needed to learn more about the hiring practices of these companies, the kind with active diversity and inclusion offices and with social media feeds declaring “Black Lives Matter.” What we found was alarming. ![]() But as business school professors, we’re used to hearing that large, prosperous companies are making efforts to diversify their workforces and yet have found it difficult to make progress. In the midst of a national reckoning on race, many companies have reaffirmed their commitment to racial equity and justice. ![]()
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