Explicit and Implicit Belief-Based Gender Discrimination: A Hiring Experiment

Kai Barron, Ruth Ditlmann, Stefan Gehrig and Sebastian Schweighofer-Kodritsch
Additional contact information
Ruth Ditlmann: Hertie School Berlin
Stefan Gehrig: WZB Berlin
Sebastian Schweighofer-Kodritsch: HU Berlin

No 325, Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series from CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition

Abstract: Understanding discrimination is key for designing policy interventions that promote equality in society. Economists have studied the topic intensively, typically taxonomizing discrimination as either taste-based or (accurate) statistical discrimination. To reveal the limitations of this taxonomy and enrich it psychologically, we design a hiring experiment that rules out both of these sources of discrimination with respect to gender. Yet, we still detect substantial discrimination against women. We provide evidence of two forms of discrimination, explicit and implicit belief-based discrimination. Both rely on statistically inaccurate beliefs but differ in how clearly they reveal that the choice was based on gender. Our analysis highlights the central role played by contextual features of the choice setting in determining whether and how discrimination will manifest. We conclude by discussing how policy makers may design effective regulation to address the specific forms of discrimination identified in our experiment.

Keywords: discrimination; hiring decisions; gender; beliefs; experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 D90 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-04-25
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Explicit and Implicit Belief-Based Gender Discrimination: A Hiring Experiment (2025)
Working Paper: Explicit and Implicit Belief-Based Gender Discrimination: A Hiring Experiment (2024)
Working Paper: Explicit and Implicit Belief-Based Gender Discrimination: A Hiring Experiment (2022)
Working Paper: Explicit and Implicit Belief-Based Gender Discrimination: A Hiring Experiment (2022)
Working Paper: Explicit and implicit belief-based gender discrimination: A hiring experiment (2020)
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