Longer Interview Shortlists Could Help Women Advance In Male-Dominated Industries

By Emily Reynolds Despite many efforts to make workplaces more equitable, women are still frequently discriminated against at work. Companies run by women are judged more harshly on ethical failings, for instance, and women are more likely to be lied to in performance reviews. This discrimination doesn’t just happen in the workplace: it can happen before someone is even employed. A study from last year, for example, found that Black women with natural hair are seen as less competent and professional than their White counterparts when interviewing for jobs. Now a new study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, has taken a look at what could be scuppering women’s chances even before they get to the interview stage. The team, led by Brian J Lucas from Cornell University, argues that in organisations where recruitment takes place on an informal basis, via colleague recommendations or other word-of-mouth networks, changes need to be made to the shortlisting process. When shortlists are longer, the results suggest, women are more likely to be seriously considered. The first few studies looked at how longer shortlists might impact gender representation. Participants imagined being a filmmaker, and were asked to draw up a shortlist of actors to appear in their upcoming action film. In the first stage, participants gave just three suggestions, before being instructed to give three more — the hypothesis being that more women would be listed during the second stage t...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Gender Occupational Source Type: blogs