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In-group gender bias in hiring: Real-world evidence

Author

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  • Carlsson, Magnus
  • Eriksson, Stefan

Abstract

We investigate in-group gender bias in real-world hiring decisions by combining administrative data with data from a large-scale field experiment on hiring in which fictitious resumes with randomly assigned information about gender were sent to Swedish employers. Our results suggest that women (female recruiters or firms with a high share of female employees) favor women in the recruitment process. In contrast, we do not find much evidence that men (male recruiters or firms with a high share of male employees) favor men.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlsson, Magnus & Eriksson, Stefan, 2019. "In-group gender bias in hiring: Real-world evidence," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:185:y:2019:i:c:s0165176519303428
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2019.108686
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Booth, Alison & Leigh, Andrew, 2010. "Do employers discriminate by gender? A field experiment in female-dominated occupations," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 107(2), pages 236-238, May.
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    9. Carlsson, Magnus & Eriksson, Stefan, 2019. "Age discrimination in hiring decisions: Evidence from a field experiment in the labor market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 173-183.
    10. Yan Chen & Sherry Xin Li, 2009. "Group Identity and Social Preferences," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(1), pages 431-457, March.
    11. Magnus Carlsson, 2011. "Does Hiring Discrimination Cause Gender Segregation in the Swedish Labor Market?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 71-102.
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    13. Lorenz Goette & David Huffman & Stephan Meier, 2012. "The Impact of Social Ties on Group Interactions: Evidence from Minimal Groups and Randomly Assigned Real Groups," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 101-115, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. José J. Domínguez, 2021. "The Effectiveness of Committee Quotas; The Role of Group Dynamics," ThE Papers 21/12, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    2. Armenak Antinyan & Tigran Aydinyan & Anna Ressi & Lilia Wasserka-Zhurakhovska, 2023. "An Experimental Analysis of In-Group Favoritism and Out-Group Discrimination in the Gain and Loss Domain," CESifo Working Paper Series 10606, CESifo.
    3. Domínguez, José J., 2023. "Diversified committees in hiring processes: Lab evidence on group dynamics," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    In-group gender bias; Discrimination; Field experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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