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Addressing Discrimination in Job Advertisements and Interview Questions

Explore the frequency of discrimination in job ads, risks, mechanisms, and positive measures based on a sampling study. Understand the legal background, admissibility of questions in job interviews, and recommendations for creating discrimination-sensitive job ads.

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Addressing Discrimination in Job Advertisements and Interview Questions

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  1. Discrimination in Job advertisements and interview questions Equinet Seminar: Tackling discrimination and ensuring dismissal protection for carers in Europe: Nathalie Schlenzka, Speaker Research, Federal Antidiscrimination Agency Germany

  2. Approach and Sampling

  3. Study concept

  4. Sample information

  5. Sample: Employers

  6. Results of the analysis

  7. Frequency of discrimination and risks of discrimination (n= 5.667) Discrimination: Job advertisement is not neutral, violation of AGG Risks of discrimination: job advertisements, not adressing all applicants equallyor not possible to be categorized as discriminating unambiguosly

  8. Discrimination • Mechanism: • Gender: only one gender (m/f) mentioned; • Age: Advertisements with age limits or phrases such as „young persons“ or „young team“ • Ethnic origin: „german as mother tongue“ • Employer: • Mostly private employers /private households • Sectors: • construction industry: „Excavator is looking for male driver“, „Looking for (male) mason“, • Service sector: „Cleaning women“, (female) secretary“, • Health service: „(female) dental assistant“, „(male) doctor“ Discriminationby characteristics multiple awnsers includet (n=125)

  9. Risks of Discrimination • Mechanisms: • Gender: male bzw. female connoted phrases; qualification/training only female/ male wording, photos only m/f • Age: Phrases adressing younger applicants explicitly, required years of experience, photos only younger or elderly persons • Ethnic origin: language requirements • Sectors: • Industry: Male-dominated professions e.g. Technicians; • IT- Sector: focusing at younger Persons, common male; • Service sector, tradeing: female-dominated professions (sales staff) Risks of discrimination according to characteristics multiple awnsers included (n 1.199)

  10. Gender equitable adressing

  11. Photosofpeopleas risks of discrimination

  12. Positive measures: Employer and characteristics Sectors by explicitly addressing specific groups (n 454) • Only 8 percent of all job advertisements address a group specifically • Three Types (multiple answers included ): • Legal requirement to address a specific group with similar qualifications (63 per cent) • Focus on a specific group without legal requirement (42,9 percent) • General focus on diversity (8,8 percent)

  13. Positive discrimination: Employerandcharacteristics Characteristics of the groups addressed in job advertisements

  14. Conclusions / Recommendations

  15. Discrimination sensitive job advertisements- Recommendations • Use of language and requirements that are neutral with regards to gender, age, ethnic origin, disability and sexual identity; • Avoiding group-specific connotations/stereo-types and thereby excluding terms;Verzicht auf Fotos, die Personen darstellen; • Abandon photos that represent only one group of persons; general sensible use of photos; • Explicit encouragement in the job advertisement concerning groups of people who have been underrepresented in the company. • Check critically if a particular person is being searched for when formulating the job advertisement.

  16. What employers (may) ask.Results of a survey on inadmissible questions in job interviews

  17. Legal Background • General Equal Treatment Act (AGG) protects against discrimination in access to employment (§ 7 para 1 and § 11 AGG). • Questions concerning or in connection with the characteristics protected in §1 AGG are in principle inadmissible in job interviews. • The employer's side is only allowed in exceptional cases to ask appropriate questions or to inquire about the existence of a feature (§8 Abs. 1, §9, §10 and §5 AGG). • Applicants do not have to answer inadmissible questions (truthfully). • An inadmissible question is considered a presumption of disadvantage in the case of a refusal; it triggers a shift of the burden of proof according to §22 AGG in a judicial dispute .

  18. Study concept

  19. Admissibility of questions in the interview Is the question ... generally admissible or not allowed? of age of nationality of severe disability of family status, e.g. if a person is married if German is the native language how the activity can be arranged with family responsibilities if the applicant is pregnant of religion and belief if there is a general desire to have children of sexual orientation Basis: Persons with interviews in the last 5 years / Figures in percent / n = 976

  20. Admissibility of questions in the interview Is the question ... generally admissible or not allowed? of age of nationality of severe disability of family status, e.g. if a person is married if German is the native language how the activity can be arranged with family responsibilities if the applicant is pregnant of religion and belief if there is a general desire to have children of sexual orientation Basis: Persons with interviews in the last 5 years / Figures in percent / n = 976

  21. Questions about reconciliation of family and work Have you ever been asked directly in the interview, ... how you can reconcile the work with family commitments? Whether you generally want to have children? [only women*:] if you are pregnant Basis: Persons interviewed in the last 5 years / Figures in percent / n = 976 / * n = 534

  22. Statements about anonymous application process To what extent do you agree with the following statements? Such procedures help to ensure that selection decisions focus on the knowledge and skills of the candidates and not on personal characteristics such as gender, age or origin of the candidates. Employers need this information e.g. on the age, gender or origin of the applicants, to find workers who best fit the advertised job and the company. If an employer uses anonymized application process, it would personally be an additional reason for me to apply there. Basis: Persons with interviews in the last 5 years / Figures in percent / n = 976

  23. Thank you for your attention! Antidiskriminierungsstelle des BundesGlinkastraße 2410117Berlin Nathalie SchlenzkaTel. 03018 555 1813E-Mail: Nathalie.Schlenzka@ads.bund.de www.antidiskriminierungsstelle.de

  24. Im Bewerbungsgespräch gestellte Fragen Wurden Sie direkt im Bewerbungsgespräch schon mal danach gefragt,… wie alt Sie sind welchen Familienstand Sie haben, ob Sie z.B. verheiratet sind wie Sie die Tätigkeit mit familiären Verpflichtungen vereinbaren können welche Staatsangehörigkeit Sie besitzen ob Deutsch Ihre Muttersprache ist welche Religions- oder Konfessionszugehörigkeit Sie haben ob Sie eine Schwerbehinderung haben ob bei Ihnen generell der Wunsch besteht, Kinder zu bekommen [nur an Frauen:] ob Sie schwanger sind* welche sexuelle Orientierung Sie haben Basis: Personen mit Bewerbungsgesprächen in den letzten 5 Jahren / Angaben in Prozent / n=976 / * n=534

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