English-Sounding Names Still Hold Edge Over Others In Canada’s Employment Sector

0
196

TORONTO – Looking for a job? If yourname is Panav Singh, expect fewer callbacksthan Matthew Wilson, even if yourresumes are exactly the same.Employers in Toronto, Vancouver andMontreal “significantly discriminate”against applicants with Chinese andIndian names compared to those withEnglish names, researchers have found.On average, resumés with Englishsoundingnames received 35 per centmore callbacks, according to a study supportedby Metropolis BC, a federallyfunded immigration and diversityresearch centre.Researchers sent out thousands ofresumés listing identical experience toonline job application sites, changingonly the names of the applicants, andmeasured the response rate fromemployers.Recruiters in Toronto and Montreal were45 per cent more likely to call AlisonJohnson over Min Liu, whileVancouverites were 20 per cent morelikely to respond to those with Englishsoundingnames.“The name draws unconditional stereotypes,no matter what else is on theresumé,” said researcher PhilipOreopoulos, a University of Torontoprofessor.Fears that people with non-Englishnames would have language troublesprompted recruiters to call Carrie overXiuying, said the study issued in 2011.People with Greek names were also lesslikely to receive callbacks, a surprisingresult that suggests recruiters put a premiumon Anglo-Saxon names rather thana discount on Chinese names,Oreopoulos said.The study asked why immigrants continueto struggle in the labour market when“virtually all” those who enter Canada onthe point system have at least an undergraduatedegree.“A lot of our immigrants are let in basedon a desire for them to assimilate into thehigh-skill labour market, but it’s just nothappening,” he said.Unemployment rates are almost doubleand wages are nearly halved amongrecent immigrants when compared withnative-born workers, according to thestudy.Oreopoulos and his research partner,Diane Dechief, sent the resumés inresponse to ads for office jobs requiringa bachelor’s degree and four to six yearsof work experience.Employers were more likely to overlookthose with non-English names even if anapplicant explicitly stated his languageskills and only had experience inCanadian universities and jobs.The researchers interviewed recruitersresponsible for callback decisions,although “very few” agreed to participate,Oreopoulos said.“It was clear that there were concernsabout language and social skills,” he said.But the time-pressed recruiters were notactively discriminating against applicantswith non-English names; rather, the discriminationseemed to be subconsciousor implicit, Oreopoulos explained.When recruiters see a name, they have aninitial first impression of an applicant’slanguage skills. It’s hard to remove thatfrom their subconscious as they flipthrough the resumé in 10 seconds or so,even if the resumé includes informationthat might alleviate their concerns,Oreopoulos said.Unintentional discrimination meansemployers could be losing out on contactingthe best candidates for the job, hesaid.He recommends employers mask nameson resumés to get past this seeminglyimplicit reaction.“It’s an easy thing to try out to see ifhires actually improve from doing so,” hesaid.Courtesy Toronto Star