Comparative Perspectives on Racial Discrimination in Hiring: The Rise of Field Experiments

Abstract

This article reviews studies of discrimination against racial and ethnic minority groups in hiring in cross-national perspective. We focus on field-experimental studies of hiring discrimination: studies that use fictitious applications from members of different racial and ethnic groups to apply for actual jobs. There are more than 140 field experimental studies of hiring discrimination against ethno-racial minority groups in 30 countries. We outline seventeen empirical findings from this body of studies. We also discuss individual and contextual theories of hiring discrimination, the relative strengths and weaknesses of field experiments to assess discrimination, and the history of such field experiments. The comparative scope of this body of research helps to move beyond micromodels of employer decision-making to better understand the roles of history, social context, institutional rules, and racist ideologies in producing discrimination. These studies show that racial and ethnic discrimination is a pervasive international phenomenon that has hardly declined over time, although levels vary significantly over countries. Evidence indicates that institutional rules regarding race and ethnicity in hiring can have an important influence on levels of discrimination. Suggestions for future research on discrimination are discussed. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Sociology, Volume 47 is July 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Paradox of diversity in the collective brain

“… The range of diversity may be biased in terms of the samples used (often WEIRD societies [ 39 , 41 , 77 ]), types of diversity studied, and outcomes of interest; all also shaped by the diversity of researchers and research teams [ 42 ]. Factors such as discrimination are often ignored in straightforward tests of the relationship between diversity and various outcomes [ 78 ]. Results may not generalize.…”

“…Factors such as discrimination are often ignored in straightforward tests of the relationship between diversity and various outcomes [ 78 ].…”

Forbigående fenomen eller permanent virkelighet? Etnisk diskriminering i arbeidsmarkedet på tvers av tid, sted og generasjoner

“…Artikkelen er skrevet med støtte fra Norges Forskningsråd (prosjektnummer: 313682). Deler av artikkelen bygger på en oversiktsartikkel som tidligere er publisert i Annual Review of Sociology (Quillian & Midtbøen 2021). Takk til spesialnummerets redaktører og to anonyme konsulenter for nyttige kommentarer til et tidligere utkast.…”

Blir menn utsatt for ansettelsesdiskriminering i kvinnedominerte yrker?

“…Internasjonalt er det også utført en rekke randomiserte felteksperimenter som tester ansettelsesdiskriminering knyttet til etnisitet eller rase (se f. eks. Quillian & Midtbøen 2021), mens det er overraskende få som har undersøkt kjønnsdiskriminering på denne måten.…”