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Field
Trial Title
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Before
Skill and Context Variation in Parental Hiring Probabilities: A Correspondence Study
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After
A Correspondence Study of Skill and Context Variation in Parental Hiring Probabilities Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
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Trial Status
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Before
on_going
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After
completed
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Abstract
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Before
This is a harmonized correspondence study on employer hiring in Finland and the UK, to compare gender differences with parental status the treatment effect. The over-arching research question has two dimensions. First, this study evaluates whether there are gender differences in relative positive callback rates for parents versus childless married individuals at an early stage of the hiring process, and if they differ across low-, medium- and high-skill occupations. Second, it uses a comparative design to generalize results across two diverse country contexts in terms of institutional support gender employment equality and maternal employment in particular. We select the same three gender-neutral occupations for analysis in each labor market, harmonizing education and work experience in each across the countries.
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After
This is a harmonized correspondence study on employer hiring in Finland and the UK, to compare gender differences with parental status the treatment effect. The over-arching research question has two dimensions. First, this study evaluates whether there are gender differences in relative positive callback rates for parents versus childless married individuals at an early stage of the hiring process, and if they differ across low-, medium- and high-skill occupations. Second, it uses a comparative design to generalize results across two diverse country contexts in terms of institutional support gender employment equality and maternal employment in particular. We select the same three gender-neutral occupations for analysis in each labor market, harmonizing education and work experience in each across the countries. After the start of fielding in both countries, however, the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns had dramatic effects on the labor markets. We therefore added a new facet of assessing whether the lower demain exacerbated discrimination against mothers and favoring fathers.
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Last Published
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Before
January 20, 2022 04:52 AM
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After
October 19, 2023 03:50 AM
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Primary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
The outcome of interest is whether there are group differences in relative positive callback rates versus rejections, and if these differ across countries. A positive callback is a request for interview. Given that few employers formally reject unsuccessful applicants, a non-response for the duration of the study will be coded a rejection. We analyze group and country differences in requests to interview versus rejection to ascertain whether we can reject the null hypothesis that employers do not discriminate in favor of fathers or against mothers as compared with their childless peers during initial screening of the hiring process.
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After
The outcome of interest is whether there are group differences in relative positive callback rates versus rejections, and if these differ across countries. A positive callback is a request for interview. Given that few employers formally reject unsuccessful applicants, a non-response for the duration of the study will be coded a rejection. We analyze group and country differences in requests to interview versus rejection to ascertain whether we can reject the null hypothesis that employers do not discriminate in favor of fathers or against mothers as compared with their childless peers during initial screening of the hiring process. We further assess whether there are skill differences in these effects, given that statistical discrimination is argued to be less likely for more highly skilled applicants because of the richness of productivity information on their CVs. Given fielding continued during the pandemic, we further assess whether a drop in labor demand associated with lockdowns increased discrimination against mothers as argued in existing theory, or possibly also increased it against fathers who took on an unusual and high amount of domestic tasks and childcare.
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Primary Outcomes (Explanation)
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Before
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We assess discrimination by comparing group differences in callback rates for applicants with commensurate CVs.
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Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
This is a comparative correspondence study assessing potential gender differences in hiring discrimination around parenthood in a low-, medium- and high-skilled occupation in three countries. For the comparative element of this study, the countries were selected given their variation in institutional supports for both class and gender equality. Finland has more extensive labor market institutions and policy support for dual-earning and caring. The German welfare state and tripartite labor market coordination historically supported men's role as family breadwinners. The more liberal UK welfare regime minimizes state intervention in market mechanism affecting either class or gender equality. To compare effects across skill levels, three occupations requiring different levels of education were selected that are also less gender-segregated in all three countries: call center workers, restaurant managers, and accountants.
Two sets of comparable application materials in terms of employment trajectories and accomplishments were developed for each occupation in each country based on national statistics, data bases, LinkedIn profiles, and discussions with country HR experts and recruiting professionals. The sets of application materials were harmonized to equalize number of years of post-secondary education plus work experience within occupations across countries.
External validity of instruments for each occupation has been confirmed via interviews with HR experts, whereas commensurability of sets of application materials (internal validity) has been validated with in-person student and online abs in each country with a total of 884 students.
In fielding, job advertisements will be drawn from online employment databases in each country to provide widest coverage of available jobs. We use a 2x2 within-subject design for effects of parenthood (i.e., for each job ad, two applications will be sent of the same gender, both of whom are married but one is randomly assigned to be a parent (treatment) and the other childless (control)). Parenthood is signaled in the personal information on the resume (doing so is still more normative in Europe). Differences in positive callback rates between men and women are investigated by means of between-subject variation. Gender is manipulated by applicant names, drawn from the most common first names in each country. To evaluate treatment effects, the study documents positive callbacks from employers, comparing group differences in requests for an interview with rejections or non-response.
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After
This is a comparative correspondence study assessing potential gender differences in hiring discrimination around parenthood in a low-, medium- and high-skilled occupation in two countries. For the comparative element of this study, the countries were selected given their variation in institutional supports for both class and gender equality. Finland has more extensive labor market institutions and policy support for dual-earning and caring. The more liberal UK welfare regime minimizes state intervention in market mechanism affecting either class or gender equality. To compare effects across skill levels, three occupations requiring different levels of education were selected that are also less gender-segregated in both countries: call center workers, restaurant managers, and accountants.
Two sets of comparable application materials in terms of employment trajectories and accomplishments were developed for each occupation in each country based on national statistics, data bases, LinkedIn profiles, and discussions with country HR experts and recruiting professionals. The sets of application materials were harmonized to equalize number of years of post-secondary education plus work experience within occupations across countries.
External validity of instruments for each occupation has been confirmed via interviews with HR experts, whereas commensurability of sets of application materials (internal validity) has been validated with in-person student and online abs in each country students and adult samples, in a lab and online.
In fielding, job advertisements will be drawn from online employment databases in each country to provide widest coverage of available jobs. We use a 2x2 within-subject design for effects of parenthood (i.e., for each job ad, two applications will be sent of the same gender, both of whom are married but one is randomly assigned to be a parent (treatment) and the other childless (control)). Parenthood is signaled in the personal information on the resume (doing so is still more normative in Europe). Differences in positive callback rates between men and women are investigated by means of between-subject variation. Gender is manipulated by applicant names, drawn from the most common first names in each country. To evaluate treatment effects, the study documents positive callbacks from employers, comparing group differences in requests for an interview with rejections or non-response. We further divide the fielding period into pre-, pandemic, and post-pandemic periods based on timing of lockdowns and labor demand flows.
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Randomization Unit
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Before
Which gender pair to send randomized for responding to suitable job advertisement. Individual randomization in terms of treatment, template, order sent, and for Finland and Germany, the CV photo.
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After
Which gender pair to send randomized for responding to suitable job advertisement. Individual randomization in terms of treatment, template, order sent, and for Finland, the CV photo.
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Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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Before
A pair of same-gender applications is sent to each of 500 job advertisements for each occupation, one being the control and the other the treatment. So of the 3000 total applications to be sent in each country, 1,500 are the treatment, and 1,500 the control. Within each country, 750 women and 750 men are in the treatment group (parent), whereas 750 men and 750 women are in the control (childless). This gives 250 women and 250 men in the treatment group in each occupation; and 250 women and 250 men in the control group in each occupation.
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After
We aimed to send a pair of same-gender applications is sent to each of 500 job advertisements for each occupation, one being the control and the other the treatment based on power calculations from published studies at the time of design. However, our response rates were much higher than published studies, indicating the need for a higher number of applications to be sent. Labor demand in Finland and during the pandemic was quite low. These factors made for uneven numbers fielded. In the UK: 1832 call ceter workers, 1260 assistant restaurant managers, and 898 accountant applications were sent. In Finland, we could field a total of only 834 pairs across the two years (470 call center, 464 assistant restaurant managers, and 734 accountant applications).
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Power calculation: Minimum Detectable Effect Size for Main Outcomes
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Before
The goal is to have a sufficient sample size of job ads in each occupation to yield beta=.1 (power .9) and alpha=.05 for population gender differences between affirmative call-backs for the treatment (parents) versus controls (childless) across occupations and countries. Note in existing correspondence studies this is often relaxed to beta=.2 (power .8) and alpha=.20. However, studies testing parental discrimination have not published their power calculations. As relative callback rates for parents relative to non-parents of each gender differ substantially across occupations and countries, it is difficult to do power calculations to estimate necessary sample size before piloting. The initial plan is therefore to reply to 500 job ads (1000 applications sent) for each occupation in each country as noted above. Funding is available to keep fielding into 2021 if necessary.
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After
The goal is to have a sufficient sample size of job ads in each occupation to yield beta=.1 (power .9) and alpha=.05 for population gender differences between affirmative call-backs for the treatment (parents) versus controls (childless) across occupations and countries. Note in existing correspondence studies this is often relaxed to beta=.2 (power .8) and alpha=.20. However, studies testing parental discrimination have not published their power calculations so we used McNemar to estimate these as best we could with the published information. As relative callback rates for parents relative to non-parents of each gender differ substantially across occupations and countries, it is difficult to do power calculations to estimate necessary sample size before piloting. The initial plan is therefore to reply to 500 job ads (1000 applications sent) for each occupation in each country as noted above. Funding is available to keep fielding into 2021 if necessary.
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Secondary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
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After
Assess bias in the design per Heckman and Siegelman (1993) critique by fielding additional low-quality, low-skill CVs in the post-pandemic period.
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Secondary Outcomes (Explanation)
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Before
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After
Use Neumark's (2012) method for assessing group differences in unobserved productivity by comparing estimates from probit and heteroskedastic probit equations.
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