Developing the Research Basis for Controlling Bias in Hiring (original) (raw)

2012, Journal of Social Issues

Discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, disability, gender orientation, and other characteristics continues to distort employers' hiring decisions and thereby limit employment opportunities for historically excluded groups. Research in psychology, sociology, economics, and management provides insights concerning the mechanisms of bias and interventions to mitigate their effects, but important questions remain. The innovative research technique of matched pair testing offers laboratory-like controlled conditions in quasi-experiments in real-world hiring situations. We propose seven types of testing studies to advance conceptual understanding of hiring bias and improve hiring practices. Employers in America's private sector decide who to hire 60 million times a year-more than 250,000 times each work day (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). For successful job candidates, the hiring process provides employment and determines initial job titles, work assignments, and wages, which, in turn, often influence that employee's career for years thereafter. For successful and unsuccessful job applicants, it also provides job-seeking experience, career information, and encouragement or discouragement. Few human resource management processes rival hiring in impact on the distribution of employment opportunities and rewards.