Posted on June 18, 2009 by by Valeri

A research conducted by ANU economists Professor Alison Booth and Professor Andrew Leigh from the Research School of Social Sciences, in conjunction with researcher Elena Varganova, shows it is easier to get a job interview in Australia if you have an anglo-saxon name. Andrew Leight

The research was conducted to measure discrimination across different minority groups in Australia.

The researchers sent over 4000 fake CVs to employers in response to job advertisements in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, for the experiment they used Anglo-Saxon, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Indigenous and Italian names.

“By varying the names on the CVs, we were able to estimate the extent of hiring discrimination,” said Professor Booth. “Because all other characteristics are held constant, we can be sure that we are really measuring discrimination.

“To get the same number of interviews as an applicant with an Anglo-Saxon name, a Chinese applicant must submit 68% more applications, a Middle Eastern applicant must submit 64% more applications, an Indigenous applicant must submit 35% more applications, and an Italian applicant must submit 12% more applications. ”

The research also shows discrimination against Chinese and Middle Eastern jobseekers is highest in Sydney, and lowest in Brisbane.

The ANU researchers carried out two other experiments to measure racial and ethnic discrimination in the general population of Australia.

In one experiment, they mailed letters to several thousand households, to see whether they returned them or put them in the bin,” said Professor Leigh. “We found that letters were slightly less likely to be returned if they were addressed to non-Anglo people.”

“On average, 53% of letters with Anglo names were returned, but only 48-49% of letters with Chinese, Italian or Middle-Eastern names. In other words, 1/20th of Australian households would return a letter if it had an Anglo name, but not if it bore a Chinese, Italian or Middle-Eastern name.”

“In another experiment testing reaction speed, we found implicit discrimination against ethnic minority names, suggesting that part of the effect in the hiring experiment is likely to be subconscious.”

For full report on the research visit Andrew Leight website

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