- How did you decide which names to use?
-
An initial list of names was drawn up based on those found in
survey data we held and that were common within particular ethnic
groups and relatively exclusive to them. A quantitative assessment
of their association with ethnic groups was carried out using an
on-line omnibus panel. Each name was tested with a minimum of 650
adults of working age in Great Britain.
- What were the occupations that you applied for?
-
We sent jobs applications to nine different occupations. These
occupations were: IT Support, IT Technician, Accountant, Accounts
Clerk, Human Resources Manager, Teaching Assistant, Care Assistant,
Sales Assistant and Office Assistant. Discrimination against ethnic
minority groups was evident across all of these occupations
- How did you choose which jobs to apply for?
-
advertised on job-search websites and in the local newspapers of
the cities that were taking part in the study. Eligible vacancies
were defined using job descriptions that included possible job
titles, roles and level of seniority.
- How were the applications developed?
-
A set of three applications were developed in response to each
job advert. The applications were matched closely in terms of their
education, skills and work history. This meant that the three
applicants would appear comparably qualified for the advertised
position. All applications were created to reflect plausible
candidates who were sufficiently different as to not arouse
suspicion about the study. In cases where specific skills (such as
IT programming skills) were mention in the job advertisment, all
three applications would be adjusted to increase the likelihood of
a positive response from the employer.
- Was the level of discrimination statistically significant?
-
Yes. Of those instances where at least one of our applications
met the required standard, the net level of discrimination in
favour of white applicants was 29 per cent. The 95 per cent
confidence interval around this figure was 19 to 39 per cent. You
can find more information about these statistics in the
full report.
- How can you be sure that the applications were equivalent?
-
We put a great deal of effort into making them as similar as we
could. However, the random allocation of the name at the end of the
development process means that over the study as a whole, even if
there were differences between applications, the effect of this
would be about equal between the ethnic groups.
