Anonymous job applications may help combat discrimination

Several recent studies point to the conclusion that employers have very specific demands when it comes to hiring new staff. They prefer to recruit men under the age of 30 years, with no children and no record of unemployment or a long period of sick leave. Recruitment managers look upon people who do not possess these qualities more negatively. A plausible solution to combating discrimination in recruitment procedures could be anonymous job applications.

Ongoing labour market discrimination

Discriminatory views on new recruits

In 2005, the Swedish Confederation for Professional Employers (Tjänstemännens Centralorganisation, TCO) carried out a study on employers’ views on the people they hire. At that time, only 600 chief executive officers (CEOs) and other business leaders were asked about their views on hiring various categories of people. The CEOs questioned gave a negative opinion on hiring parents of young children, people aged over 55 years and certain other groups of people.

In September 2008, TCO presented the results of a follow-up study (in Swedish) on employers’ views on the people they hire. The study reveals that one in 10 employers show a negative attitude towards hiring parents of young children, particularly mothers, and one in six employers are negative towards hiring people over the age of 55 years. Although discrimination in this field has declined since the previous study carried out in 2005, TCO is still concerned about employers’ views on their workers.

In this latest study, recruitment managers at almost 1,800 workplaces were asked the same questions as in the 2005 study. However, the categories of people were somewhat adjusted in order to achieve more interesting findings. As a result, the survey revealed that recruitment managers have a more negative view towards hiring mothers of young children (9%) than fathers of young children (7%).

Ethnic discrimination

The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (Landsorganisationen i Sverige, LO) has published similar studies on the topic of discrimination, although these have mainly concerned ethnic discrimination. Even within the scope of ethnic discrimination, women are less likely to be offered interviews than men are. LO is a driving force behind the creation of legislation that combats ethnic discrimination.

Another study, carried out in 2007 by the Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation (Institutet för arbetsmarknadspolitisk utvärdering, IFAU), clearly shows that women and people with foreign names are offered job interviews less often than are men and people with Swedish names (SE0802019I). The study was conducted with the use of anonymous job application letters rather than more traditional ones. The results showed that 40% more women and people with foreign names were called to interviews if the job applications were anonymous.

Measures to overcome discrimination

Even before IFAU’s study on anonymous job applications, several discussions have taken place on the subject, both in Sweden and in other countries, such as France (FR0606019I) and the Netherlands (NL0704069I). In 2005, the Swedish government published an official report (in Swedish, 944Kb PDF) on the use of anonymous job applications. The report concluded that no negative aspects are associated with the procedure. As a result, the authors of the report recommended using anonymous job applications to avoid discrimination in recruitment. The report was compiled in cooperation with the Swedish Agency for Government Employers (Arbetsgivarverket) and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting, SKL).

In March 2008, the Swedish government submitted a proposal (in Swedish) to the parliament on creating a new law against discrimination, replacing the former seven laws on the same subject. The new law will include provisions on age discrimination and transgender identities. Furthermore, the law will cover a larger area of the labour market than it did before. For example, trainees and temporary agency workers will now also be covered by the legislation.

Views of social partners

Since 2001, LO has been actively seeking to reduce labour force discrimination (SE0107107N). However, LO’s main focus is on ethnic discrimination. To date, the organisation has not commented on the recent study by TCO.

As already mentioned, SKL took part in drafting the government’s official report from 2005 on the subject of anonymous job applications. Thus, the organisation reacted positively to an evaluation of the procedure.

According to a statement (in Swedish, 93Kb PDF) from the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv), no evidence can be found that discrimination exists in the Swedish labour market. Therefore, according to the confederation, promoting anonymous job applications is not a good idea. In its statement, the confederation emphasised that the procedure does not correspond with the idea of an open society and that it will decrease the efficiency of recruitment processes.

Commentary

Overall, there seems to be a consensus in the Swedish labour market that further development of discrimination regulations is needed. However, not all labour market actors support the use of anonymous job applications, as this would slow down recruitment processes and make it more difficult to find the right person for a job.

At the same time, discrimination is still a significant labour market problem, despite the decline revealed by the most recent statistics. Compared with other countries, Sweden may seem rather equal in terms of men and women in the labour market; however, much remains to be done to assure equal opportunities for everyone in the labour market.

Thomas Brunk, Oxford Research