in job hiring is able to endure
Shifting their hiring criteria after learning the gender of job applicants is one way that employers engage in sex discrimination despite laws and policies banning it, according to a study by Yale researchers published in June.
"The question we wanted to answer is how, in this system of meritocracy where people are supposed to be judged on the basis of their personal credentials and accomplishments, the reality of discrimination continues," says Geoffrey Cohen, associate professor in the Department of Psychology and co-author of the study with doctoral student Eric Uhlmann.
What the researchers found in three studies was that people making hiring decisions construct criteria of merit congenial to the particular strengths of members of the advantaged or dominant group. Those participants who felt most strongly that they had been objective actually proved the most biased, Cohen adds.
In one study, participants were asked to hire a new police chief, for which there were male and female applicants. Some of the applicants had more on-the-job "street" experience, while others had stronger educational backgrounds.
"When people were evaluating male applicants they shifted the job criteria to emphasize the importance of whatever credentials the male applicants happened to have," Cohen says. They showed no such favoritism when evaluating female applicants, and even tended to denigrate the importance of the female applicants' areas of strength, he says.
In a second study, participants were asked to hire a women's studies professor. In this case they based their hiring criteria on whatever the particular strengths of the female applicants happened to be. The third study revealed that gender discrimination was eliminated through the simple intervention of having people commit to hiring criteria before they reviewed an applicant's credentials.
"People who make hiring decisions should decide what criteria are important to a particular job before the interviews so that there is no room to maneuver later on," Cohen says. "That kind of pre-commitment may help to reduce discrimination."
-- By Jacqueline Weaver
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Yale launches program to train urban teachers
New alumni fellow elected
Sensors won't save lives from suicide bombers, warns Yale expert
Study: Monkeys ape humans' economic traits
Richard Shaw departs for Stanford post
Tennis goes co-ed at this year's Pilot Pen
Yale co-sponsors 'City of Summer' concerts and films
Exhibit features post-Civil War works by 'artful storyteller'
Yale alumni, teachers win Tony Awards
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
Philosopher Keith DeRose: Allison Foundation Chair
Phyllis Granoff: Hixon Chair in World Religions
Thomas Kavanagh: Street Professor of French
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld: Crown Chair in ManagementLaw School project exploring the information society . . .
Poll shows public's distaste with foreign oil dependence
Scientists discover how plants protect themselves from infection
Team seeking 'perfume' to control malaria-carrying mosquitoes
Geologists use ancient sea algae to trace CO2 levels of long ago
Study shows how sex discrimination in job hiring is able to endure
YSN study shows effectiveness of preschool health screenings
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE NEWSTeam to develop new system for testing potential vaccines
Senior citizens' television-watching habits affect their views . . .
Grant funds study of intestinal condition common in tiny babies
Yale center joins with Bike Across America to raise funds . . .
Alzheimer's disease patients sought for testing . . .
Scientists' discovery of protein amplification in melanoma . . .
Discovery of breast cancer growth regulator may help . . .
Patients disfigured by facial trauma suffer host of problems
Study shows how sex discrimination in job hiring is able to endure
New studies aim to benefit women's health
Study links an inherited pain disorder to specific gene mutation
Spotlight on Sports
Athletics archive now in library's collection
Three promoted to post of associate provost
Event to explore role of faith in the corporate world
In Memoriam: Dick Wittink, marketing expert and SOM teacher
Five faculty members awarded Guggenheim Fellowships for research
Event explored how libraries can benefit city schools
New alumni lauded for efforts to improve public schools
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home