Discrimination in Industrial Employment

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Abstract
Empirical evidence suggests that race and sex discrimination may still exist in industry. This study investigated the existence of race and sex discrimination in the evaluation of job applicant resumes sent to personnel directors of 200 corporations across the United States. Applicant race and sex were systematically varied on the resumes to yield four cells with n = 50. The race of the applicant was identified as Black American or was unspecified. The sex of the applicant was identified by an obvious female name (Beverly) or was unspecified (initials B. A.). The results show that identification of race generated more replies but fewer number of positive responses than when race was not identified. No sex effect was found, but the pattern of responses suggests the possibility of sex reverse discrimination. The results suggest the need for more creative approaches to affirmative action programs.