Gender differences in US performance measures for personnel selection

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine academic performance measures commonly used in personnel selection contexts and associated gender‐based differences in these measures. This work specifically examines the extent to which gender‐based group differences exist in these data that may influence employment outcomes differentially for men and women.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on data available from academic institutions with a sample of nearly 4,000 prospective applicants, gender‐based group differences were evaluated in academic performance measures commonly used in personnel selection. Group differences were evaluated with a commonly used metric of a d‐value to reflect the magnitude of these differences.FindingsWomen and men yield differential scores on standardized vs non‐standardized assessments. Women consistently scored lower on standardized assessments yet scored highest on academic performance outcomes. Women are more likely to experience adverse impact when standardized assessments are used in selection decisions; however men are more likely to have adverse impact when academic performance is used.Practical implicationsOrganizations may inadvertently create entry barriers depending on the assessment and the format used and whether or not group differences exist in measures.Originality/valueAcademic performance measures are frequently used in personnel selection, yet have received little attention in selection research and this study seeks to address this gap.

Simply the best? The case for using ‘threshold selection’ in hiring decisions

“…The second driver is related to greater professional confidence. Wolf and Jenkins (2006: 209) conclude that ‘more and more HR professionals will be keen to deploy selection tests either because they believe in their effectiveness or because their use increases the importance and influence of HR departments or both.’ Of course, this does not mean that the use of psychometric tests per se can be associated with greater fairness because there is a long‐running debate about the gendered and ethnocentric nature of some of the tests (for example, Gardner and Deadrick, 2008; McKinney and Miles, 2009) but the point being made is that the formalised, standardised and risk‐managed approach represents a professional orientation that was less in evidence when Collinson et al . (1990) and Jenkins (1986) were conducting their studies.…”

Worker Signals Among New College Graduates: The Role of Selectivity and GPA

“…In this context, as the share of the labor force that are college graduates has risen, it seems reasonable that firms would sort workers not just through quantity of education but through perceived measures of quality of education, as well. Finally, and related, human resources and cognitive psychology surveys have documented that recruiters looking to hire new college graduates not only actively screen applicants by college attended and grade point average, but that these measures positively correlate with onthe-job performance (McKinney and Miles 2009). Together, these findings point to the importance of examining how college selectivity and college grades are jointly determined and how employers use these measures in wage setting.…”

“…32 At less selective institutions, in each time period, the estimated densities appear approximately normal upon visual inspection, with a single peak, minimal skewness, and only slight truncation at the upper bound of 4. While the densities at the selective tiers are not quite as well behaved, this is somewhat expected due to their much smaller sample sizes.…”

“…They are all single-peaked, show little excess kurtosis, and exhibit relatively little skewness. (The NELS densities do have slightly more pronounced left skewness, but this is at 32 Bandwidth is chosen according to the Sheather-Jones plug-in method with the Epanechnikov kernel.…”

L'implication du paternalisme dans la sélection du personnel à la formation : une étude de cas des PME camerounaises

“…Mais, il se pose la question cruciale de savoir comment identifier et sélectionner les employés qui aideront l'entreprise à atteindre ses buts ? La sélection est le processus de choix des candidats qualifiés qui sont projetés pour bien exécuter le travail (McKinney et Miles, 2009). Elle est parmi les activités de la gestion du personnel les plus essentielles (Llorens et Kellough, 2007 ;Dillman, 1967).…”