SBP: Collaborative Research: Gender Discrimination in Hiring for STEM

Project Outcomes Statement

Unlike other STEM fields, the percentage of women in computer science jobs has been decreasing since the 1990s. One reason that women may not seek out or remain in computer science fields is labor market discrimination. This project explored gender discrimination against recent computer science graduates in first stage hiring using a lab-in-the-field experiment in which we showed more than 200 recruiters randomized resumes while tracking their eye-movements with Tobii Spectrum eye-trackers. We found no differences in resumes with female vs male names passing the first resume screen on average. However, we found significant differences in hypothetical salaries, with women expected to earn $1K less per year, and differences in what occupations women vs. men were sorted into, with resumes with female names more likely to be predicted to be project managers and tech support and less likely to be software developers. On average, we find no difference in how recruiters visually treat resumes with male vs. female names. However, recruiters who do discriminate against women look at the name more intensely and are more likely to look at the name on the resume shortly before making a decision. These recruiters are more likely to be male, older, white, non-Hispanic, have more recruiting experience, and to come from larger firms than are recruiters who do not discriminate based on gender. We have also been able to examine the question of what recruiters are looking for more generally and how their expectations compare to the expectations of computer science students.

Data collection for this project spanned a 3 year period and supported multiple student researchers. Funds also went to data collection directly including travel to career fairs, career fair booth fees, participant payments, and equipment. Two papers supported by this grant have been accepted for publication and more are under review and in preparation.