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Homosexuality's Signalling Function in Job Candidate Screening: Why Gay Is (Mostly) OK

Author

Listed:
  • Sterkens, Philippe

    (Ghent University)

  • Dalle, Axana

    (Ghent University)

  • Wuyts, Joey

    (Ghent University)

  • Pauwels, Ines

    (Ghent University)

  • Durinck, Hellen

    (Ghent University)

  • Baert, Stijn

    (Ghent University)

Abstract

To explain the mixed findings on hiring discrimination against homosexual applicants, we explore the perceptual drivers behind employers' evaluations of gay men and lesbian women. Therefore, we conduct an extensive vignette experiment among 404 genuine recruiters, for which we test systematically-selected perceptions theoretically associated with homosexual job candidates in earlier studies. We find causal evidence for distinct effects of sexual identities on candidate perceptions and interview probabilities. In particular, interview probabilities are positively (negatively) associated with the perception of lesbian women (gay men) as being more (less) pleasant to work with compared to heterosexual candidates. In addition, interview chances are negatively associated with the perception of gay men and lesbian women as being more outspoken. Furthermore, our data align well with the idea of a concentrated discrimination account, whereby a minority of employers who privately hold negative attitudes towards homosexual individuals are responsible for most instances of hiring discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Sterkens, Philippe & Dalle, Axana & Wuyts, Joey & Pauwels, Ines & Durinck, Hellen & Baert, Stijn, 2022. "Homosexuality's Signalling Function in Job Candidate Screening: Why Gay Is (Mostly) OK," IZA Discussion Papers 15285, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15285
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pedro Costa Ferreira & Raíra Marotta B. Vieira & Felipi Bruno Silva & Ingrid C. L. Oliveira, 2019. "Measuring Brazilian Economic Uncertainty," Journal of Business Cycle Research, Springer;Centre for International Research on Economic Tendency Surveys (CIRET), vol. 15(1), pages 25-40, April.
    2. Van Borm, Hannah & Burn, Ian & Baert, Stijn, 2021. "What Does a Job Candidate's Age Signal to Employers?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Lippens, Louis & Vermeiren, Siel & Baert, Stijn, 2023. "The state of hiring discrimination: A meta-analysis of (almost) all recent correspondence experiments," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    4. Yousefpour,Rasoul & Augustynczik, Andrey L. D., 2019. "Uncertainty of Carbon Economy Using the Faustmann Model," Journal of Forest Economics, now publishers, vol. 34(1-2), pages 99-128, August.
    5. David Neumark, 2018. "Experimental Research on Labor Market Discrimination," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 799-866, September.
    6. Philip Oreopoulos, 2011. "Why Do Skilled Immigrants Struggle in the Labor Market? A Field Experiment with Thirteen Thousand Resumes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 148-171, November.
    7. Alessandro Acquisti & Christina Fong, 2020. "An Experiment in Hiring Discrimination via Online Social Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(3), pages 1005-1024, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dalle, Axana & Verhofstadt, Elsy & Baert, Stijn, 2024. "The subsidy trap: Explaining the unsatisfactory effectiveness of hiring subsidies for the senior unemployed," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    2. Jonathan Reese & Ana Sofia Santos & Tomás A. Palma & Magda Sofia Roberto, 2023. "Triggering competence may protect multiple minority members from hiring discrimination," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    homosexuality; signalling; statistical discrimination; taste-based discrimination; hiring experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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