Unconscious Bias in Hiring in the Australian Public Service: Evidence from a Framed Field Experiment in Shortlisting of Job Candidates

Women are under-represented in management and executive-level positions in the private sector and in many areas in the Australian government. This may reflect gender discrimination in hiring and promotion decisions. Such discrimination is generally difficult to overcome because cognitive biases can be so internalized that individuals are unaware that their decision making processes are affected. Creating gender-blind processes for reviewing job applications may provide an effective way to mitigate unconscious bias. The proposed study aims to assess the magnitude of gender bias in standard Australian government processes for selecting job candidates and whether the introduction of a gender-blind approach to reviewing job applications can help eliminate bias. The primary outcomes we will measure are reviewers’ initial assessments of whether applicants are ‘potentially suitable’ to the job or not, the rating scores (0-10 cardinal scale) reviewers give to applicants they initially select as ‘potentially suitable’ for the job, and whether any of the ‘potentially suitable’ applicants are recommended among the top 5 applicants to be shortlisted for further consideration for appointment to a senior position; in each case we will compare average outcomes when the applicants are identified in review materials as female or male, and when they are not identified by gender.