Doctoral Dissertation Research: Judging Social Minority Job Candidates: An Intersectional Analysis of Employer Behavior towards Social Minorities in the U.S. Labor Force

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project examines the intersection of social identity and race on hiring outcomes for women in the United States. Specifically, the project asks: Are women who are perceived to be social minorities discriminated against when applying to jobs in the United States? Does the effect of being a social minority differ for white and black women? Does the gender composition of the job, or the personality traits employers seek, affect whether social minorities are disadvantaged? If so, do these patterns differ by race? And lastly, what are some mechanisms behind disadvantaging or favoring social minorities compared to majorities in the labor market? This research is especially pertinent because labor market inequalities between social minority and majority men have been well-documented both theoretically and empirically, but there is less consensus on whether female social minorities experience workplace penalties compared to majority women. Analyzing how workplace bias against social minorities may vary by different contextual or demographic factors can not only help shed light on long-term psychological effects and economic disadvantages that such employees face, but it can also influence public policies designed to bring about greater equality for all individuals in the U.S. labor market. The project consists of two experiments. First, the project implements a large-scale résumé audit study that includes job applications to over 3,000 jobs across 6 states using 4 fictitious résumés that vary by race and social minority status. This study will obtain an estimate of whether and to what extent social minorities experience penalties compared to majority women, where the applications also vary by race, at the first point of contact with an employer. Next, the project conducts a survey experiment that recruits 1,500 hiring managers and asks them to rate the same fictitious women’s résumés on various traits, such as perceived competence, morality, professionalism, and masculinity. This experiment supplements the résumé audit study data in that it helps to illuminate the mechanisms behind disfavoring—or favoring—social minorities compared to majority women, who also vary by race, regarding labor market outcomes. These findings will inform sociological theories regarding the operation of the labor market, particularly regarding the varying experiences that women who vary by social status experience throughout the job application process. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.