Swedish-origin résumés received more responses than several foreign-origin profiles
At restaurants and cafés in Sweden, fictional profiles born in the country received a positive response in 21% of cases, compared with 5% for Somali-origin profiles.
The key idea
In these vacancies, stated origin marked differences in initial responses; neither citizenship nor experience firmly erased them.
The study, in plain language
A résumé can be screened out before an interview. To examine that first filter, the team sent fictional profiles to restaurant and café vacancies in several Swedish cities, varying origin signals along with other details.
Responses were more common for profiles indicating they were born in Sweden than for several foreign-origin profiles. Swedish citizenship had a small, imprecise effect, and adding experience did not conclusively close the differences. Among Somali-origin profiles, a gender difference also appeared: female profiles received more responses than male profiles.
What they found
- Profiles indicating Swedish origin received more responses than several foreign-origin profiles.
- Swedish citizenship and experience did not conclusively offset the differences.
- Among Somali-origin profiles, women’s profiles received more responses than men’s.
Something to think about
If you review résumés, ask yourself which part of your first reaction comes from experience and which part from the name.
How they studied it
Between 2016 and 2017, the team sent one fictional application for each eligible vacancy at restaurants and cafés in seven Swedish metropolitan areas. Profiles varied in origin, citizenship, experience, and gender signals, and the team recorded the responses.
What the study cannot show
- The study was limited to restaurants and cafés, young profiles, and one period. It did not observe interviews or hiring.
- It cannot establish each employer’s motivation or generalize rates to other countries, occupations, or ages.
The original study
Can immigrants counteract employer discrimination? A factorial field experiment reveals the immutability of ethnic hierarchies
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
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