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The Extent of Résumé Whitening

Author

Listed:
  • Didier Ruedin

    (University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland; University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa)

  • Eva Van Belle

    (University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Ghent University, Belgium)

Abstract

Persistent hiring discrimination as demonstrated by correspondence experiments incites immigrant job candidates and their descendants to modify their résumé to hide their immigrant status, that is, résumé whitening. To date, we have little to no empirical evidence on how common this is in practice. We test the extent of résumé whitening with a representative survey of immigrants in Switzerland (N = 7659). Around 9% of the immigrants used some résumé whitening. Immigrants appear to use résumé whitening strategically when experiencing or anticipating discrimination. Future correspondence experiments should take this into account to maximize external validity.

Suggested Citation

  • Didier Ruedin & Eva Van Belle, 2023. "The Extent of Résumé Whitening," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 28(3), pages 858-869, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:28:y:2023:i:3:p:858-869
    DOI: 10.1177/13607804221094625
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Zschirnt, Eva & Ruedin, Didier, 2016. "Ethnic discrimination in hiring decisions: A meta-analysis of correspondence tests 1990–2015," EconStor Preprints 142176, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    2. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
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