<p>There is research to suggest that people may be less likely to apply to jobs in which they will be a minority due to the potential for bias and discrimination.</p>
<p>Here are a few references that discuss discrimination and the impact of minority or gender status on job application behavior:</p>
<ul>
<li>Fluchtmann, J., Glenny, A., Harmon, N. A., &amp; Maibom, J. (2021). The Gender Application Gap: Do men and women apply for the same jobs? IZA DP No. 14906.</li>
<li>Bertrand, M., &amp; Mullainathan, S. (2004). Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination. The American Economic Review, 94(4), 991-1013.</li>
</ul>
<p>A review in sociology: Pager, D., &amp; Shepherd, H. (2008). The sociology of discrimination: Racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and consumer markets. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 181-209.</p>
<p>It is important to note that the impact of minority status on job application behavior can vary depending on a number of factors, including the specific job, the industry, and the cultural and social context.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-05T18:04:05.327Z
2023-01-05T18:26:25.803Z
2023-01-05T18:26:25.803Z
emeryville
<p><strong>Hypothesis:</strong> People are less likely to apply for a job in which they will be under-represented relative to the wider population. More technically, <em>the distribution of job applicants is the same as, or similar to, the distribution of employees</em>.</p>
<p><strong>Example:</strong> Take a male-dominated job, such as tech, in which 73.3% of jobs are held by men and 26.7% by women, despite the fact that the population is roughly 50/50 men/women. Are female job applicants in tech also roughly 20-30% (or at least less than 50%) as a potential result of this?</p>
<p>The example can be extended to minority groups as well. Note that if a minority group makes up, say, 10% of the population and they are 10% of a given work force, I would <em>not</em> consider this to be under-representation. In this case, they would have to be less than 10% of the workforce to be under-represented.</p>
<p>I'm trying to find literature that has looked into the hypothesis, or some similar variant of it, but I'm struggling to find anything.</p>
<p>Please don't answer yes/no without references.</p>

<reference-request><labor-economics><demographics>
Are people less likely to apply to jobs in which they will be a minority?
quanty
# Are people less likely to apply to jobs in which they will be a minority?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-12-30)

**Hypothesis:** People are less likely to apply for a job in which they will be under-represented relative to the wider population. More technically, *the distribution of job applicants is the same as, or similar to, the distribution of employees*.

**Example:** Take a male-dominated job, such as tech, in which 73.3% of jobs are held by men and 26.7% by women, despite the fact that the population is roughly 50/50 men/women. Are female job applicants in tech also roughly 20-30% (or at least less than 50%) as a potential result of this?

The example can be extended to minority groups as well. Note that if a minority group makes up, say, 10% of the population and they are 10% of a given work force, I would *not* consider this to be under-representation. In this case, they would have to be less than 10% of the workforce to be under-represented.

I'm trying to find literature that has looked into the hypothesis, or some similar variant of it, but I'm struggling to find anything.

Please don't answer yes/no without references.

**Tags:** reference-request, labor-economics, demographics


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-01-05. Score: 4

There is research to suggest that people may be less likely to apply to jobs in which they will be a minority due to the potential for bias and discrimination.

Here are a few references that discuss discrimination and the impact of minority or gender status on job application behavior:

* Fluchtmann, J., Glenny, A., Harmon, N. A., & Maibom, J. (2021). The Gender Application Gap: Do men and women apply for the same jobs? IZA DP No. 14906.
* Bertrand, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2004). Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination. The American Economic Review, 94(4), 991-1013.

A review in sociology: Pager, D., & Shepherd, H. (2008). The sociology of discrimination: Racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and consumer markets. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 181-209.

It is important to note that the impact of minority status on job application behavior can vary depending on a number of factors, including the specific job, the industry, and the cultural and social context.


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