What drives ethnic discrimination in recruitment? Examining individual and contextual factors using a sample of German recruiters
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2023-02-01
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en
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Previous field experiments revealed considerable magnitudes of ethnic
discrimination in recruitment which poses a problem for organisations and individual
applicants. The present study addressed the question to what extent ethnic discrimination in
recruitment can be explained by perceived ethnic threat, intergroup contact, and the level of
skill required by the job. The study sampled 54 German recruiters whose task was to evaluate
resumes (n = 432) for a low skill job (cashier) and a high skill job (store manager). On each
resume the ethnicity of the applicant was manipulated to be either German or Turkish.
Evaluation differences between German and Turkish applicants were interpreted as ethnic
discrimination. Additionally, perceived ethnic threat and intergroup contact were measured
with questionnaires. The results showed no statistical preference for German applicants over
Turkish applicants. Also, the results have shown that recruiters’ perceived ethnic threat and
the job function moderated the relationship between applicant ethnicity and recruiter
evaluations, whereas intergroup contact did not. Follow-up analyses suggested that religion
might play a crucial role. The results are then discussed in light of the theoretical framework
and practical implications are offered
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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen