Gender composition predicts gender bias: A meta-reanalysis of hiring discrimination audit experiments

Abstract

Since 1983, more than 70 employment audit experiments, carried out in more than 26 countries across five continents, have randomized the gender of fictitious applicants to measure the extent of hiring discrimination on the basis of gender. The results are mixed: Some studies find discrimination against men, and others find discrimination against women. We reconcile these heterogeneous findings through a “meta-reanalysis” of the average effects of being described as a woman (versus a man), conditional on occupation. We find a strongly positive gender gradient. In (relatively better paying) occupations dominated by men, the effect of being a woman is negative, while in the (relatively lower paying) occupations dominated by women, the effect is positive. In this way, heterogeneous employment discrimination on the basis of gender preserves status quo gender distributions and earnings gaps. These patterns hold among both minority and majority status applicants.

Compensating Discrimination: Behavioral Evidence from Danish School Registers

“…We are not aware of studies providing evidence in this direction. Indeed, the recent meta-study of experimental studies of gender discrimination in job applications by Galos and Coppock (2023) suggests the opposite, inequality-reinforcing pattern.…”

Gender equity in hiring: examining the effectiveness of a personality-based algorithm

“…Further substantiating these findings, a comprehensive meta-re-analysis of over 70 employment audit experiments conducted across more than 26 countries and five continents concluded that in male-dominated professions, which are typically higher-paying, being female can be a disadvantage. Conversely, in female-dominated professions, which tend to be lower-paying, being female is viewed positively ( Galos and Coppock, 2023 ), thus confirming gender-role congruity bias. Besides, this bias consistently manifests in hiring decisions.…”

Diretrizes de Atenção à Reabilitação da Pessoa com Transtornos do Espectro Autista

“…A imagem traz uma criança do sexo masculino em primeiro plano e, em segundo plano, a figura de uma profissional; assim, pode- assim, há um processo de ocupação feminina dos espaços sociais mesmo que vivenciando situações de discriminação (21) .…”

“…Contudo, observa-se, por outro lado, que as profissões com predominância das mulheres estejam também ligadas ao cuidado de crianças e idosos e. Há, portanto, uma transição do papel social da mulher em que, ao mesmo tempo que assume posições no mercado de trabalho, o faz em profissões ligadas ao cuidado dos mais vulneráveis passando de um contexto de realização de cuidado empírico para o cuidado científico tal qual os homens e nisso reside a equidade de gênero que se pretende socialmente (21) .…”