Do Gender-Neutral Job Ads Promote Diversity? A Second Experiment

Last registered on September 19, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Do Gender-Neutral Job Ads Promote Diversity? A Second Experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010076
Initial registration date
September 17, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
September 19, 2022, 4:28 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Region
Region
Region
Region
Region
Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Princeton University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
INSEAD

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-09-09
End date
2022-10-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This experiment is part of a larger project which includes a previously registered experiment (AEARCTR-0005509). The larger project seeks to study the effect of using gender-neutral language in job advertisements on the quantity, quality (level of education and skill), and gender breakdown of the applicant pool in a widely used platform for the hiring of talent in the Tech Sector in Latin America.

This particular experiment aims to assess the mechanisms behind the effects found in the previously registered experiment. It tests how potential job applicants' perceptions of a position or company are affected by whether a job advertisement uses gender-neutral language or not.

The ad involves an online survey that shows ads to the alumni of the NGO Laboratoria, which provides "boot camps" to train women in Latin America to work as web developers and UX designers. All of Laboratoria's students are women and the NGO operates in 6 Latin American countries.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Del Carpio, Lucia and Thomas Fujiwara. 2022. "Do Gender-Neutral Job Ads Promote Diversity? A Second Experiment." AEA RCT Registry. September 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10076-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-09-09
Intervention End Date
2022-10-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The outcomes are the answers to the survey, in particular the respondents' perceptions about the company advertising the job ads and whether they would apply for the position.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment consists of an online survey sent to approximately 2600 alumni of Laboratoria's bootcamp to develop skills as web developers and UX designers. All of Laboratoria's students are women and the NGO operates in 6 Latin American countries.

The survey shows each respondent two fictional job ads and asks questions about their perception of the company advertising the ad and whether they would apply for the position being advertised.

There are three randomized variations ("treatments"). First, ads may be written in gender-neutral or non-gender-neutral language (the ads are in Spanish or Portuguese). Second, ads may involve a remote (work-from-home) position or an in-office position. Third, the ad may show a sentence stating that the company is committed to diversity or not show this sentence. All these treatments are cross-randomized with 50% chance. This implies there are 8 variations of an ad, with a 1/8 chance a respondent sees a particular type of ad (e.g., a gender-neutral/remote/without diversity statement draw).

The randomization protocol ensures that each respondent sees one gender-neutral ad and one non-gender-neutral ad (but the order is randomized).

This design allows us to estimate how job and company perceptions are affected by using gender-neutral language, and how that compares to the effect of a diversity statement and the position being remote.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization is done by the Qualtrics platform.
Randomization Unit
Individual respondents.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The survey was sent to approximately 2600 Laboratoria alumni.
Sample size: planned number of observations
The survey was sent to approximately 2600 Laboratoria alumni.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
There are 3 binary treatments that are all cross-randomized. For any of them, the odds of receiving the treatment is 50%.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Princeton University IRB
IRB Approval Date
2022-08-16
IRB Approval Number
14814

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials