Whitened Résumés

Abstract

Using interviews, a laboratory experiment, and a ré sumé audit study, we examine racial minorities' attempts to avoid anticipated discrimination in labor markets by concealing or downplaying racial cues in job applications, a practice known as ''ré sumé whitening.'' Interviews with racial minority university students reveal that while some minority job seekers reject this practice, others view it as essential and use a variety of whitening techniques. Building on the qualitative findings, we conduct a lab study to examine how racial minority job seekers change their ré sumé s in response to different job postings. Results show that when targeting an employer that presents itself as valuing diversity, minority job applicants engage in relatively little ré sumé whitening and thus submit more racially transparent ré sumé s. Yet our audit study of how employers respond to whitened and unwhitened ré sumé s shows that organizational diversity statements are not actually associated with reduced discrimination against unwhitened ré sumé s. Taken together, these findings suggest a paradox: minorities may be particularly likely to experience disadvantage when they apply to ostensibly pro-diversity employers. These findings illuminate the role of racial concealment and transparency in modern labor markets and point to an important interplay between the self-presentation of employers and the selfpresentation of job seekers in shaping economic inequality.

The uneasy alliance of organisational culture and equal opportunities for ethnic minority groups: A British example

“…However, although these findings may reflect the particular context of the studies, they complement other studies in contexts where visual cues are often not available to recruiters at resumé screening. Such studies continue to find prejudice in employment on the bases of traditional markers of race discrimination such as name (e.g., Kang, DeCelles, Tilcsik, & Jun, 2016;Widner & Chicoine, 2011).…”

When your resume is (not) turning you down: Modelling ethnic bias in resume screening

“…Anonymous application procedures such as blind auditions (Goldin & Rouse, ), blind interviewing (Buijsrogge, Derous, & Duyck, ), anonymous resume screening (Åslund & Skans, ), or “whitened” resumes (Kang et al, ) aim to combat illegal discrimination by blotting or concealing personal identifiers. Although blind auditions and interviewing have been found to be effective, studies on anonymous resume screening have shown positive (Åslund & Skans, ; Kang et al, ), null, or even negative effects (Behaghel, Crépon, & Le Barbanchon, ; Hiscox et al, ; Krause, Rinne, & Zimmermann, ). The French government, therefore, decided to abandon the idea of making anonymous resume screening mandatory in the recruitment procedures of their public employment services (Behaghel et al, ).…”

“…Cole, Rubin, Feild, and Giles (2007) illustrated that although HR professionals believed work experience to be the strongest influence on ratings of applicants' employability, ratings were mostly affected by affiliations as mentioned on resumes. Moreover, multiple ethnic cues may also interact and increase category salience such that resumes of highly ethnically identified applicants (e.g., with ethnic-sounding name and affiliations) might receive lower employability ratings due to increased out-group status (Derous et al, 2009;Kang, DeCelles, Tilcsik, & Jun, 2016).…”

“…Anonymous application procedures such as blind auditions (Goldin & Rouse, 2000), blind interviewing (Buijsrogge, Derous, & Duyck, 2016), anonymous resume screening (Åslund & Skans, 2012), or "whitened" 4 resumes (Kang et al, 2016) Hiscox et al, 2017;Krause, Rinne, & Zimmermann, 2012). The French government, therefore, decided to abandon the idea of making anonymous resume screening mandatory in the recruitment procedures of their public employment services (Behaghel et al, 2015).…”

Structural racism in the workplace: Does perception matter for health inequalities?

“…Subtle indicators of one’s racial identity may lead to fewer calls for interviews and lower chances of receiving opportunities for mentorship. Identical resume studies suggests that individuals with “Black” sounding names receive fewer callbacks for interviews and are rated as less qualified than resumes with “White” sounding names (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004; Kang, DeCelles, Tilcsik, & Jun, 2016). Additionally, new restrictions on formerly-incarcerated persons also limit opportunities for hiring—a restriction that disproportionality impacts Blacks (Agan & Starr, 2016).…”