Research Study: Age Bias Hiring and The Effectiveness of Providing Prevailing...
Thesis Proposal
1. The Gender Bias of Hiring for
Male-Female Dominated Work:
A Thesis Proposal
Jessica Neary and Ezzi Forer
2. Goal
To observe if an applicant's gender will affect hiring
decisions for male and female dominated work.
3. Rationale
The sample to be studied consists of 1st year Business
students and 4th year Human Resources Management
students. Research has shown a gender bias in hiring for
male dominated and female dominated areas of work. Our
research question investigates if the gender bias exists
moving forward, and if there is a difference between 1st
year students not yet trained in equity and affirmative
action practices and 4th year students who have received
related training.
4. Key Concepts
Gender bias - Attitudes influencing expectations in
evaluative judgements at the point of hiring (Heilman,
2001).
Gender Stereotype - women are perceived as more
communal and interpersonally oriented whereas men are
more associated with leadership and agency (Gaucher, D.,
Friesen, J. Kay, A., 2011 ).
5. Previous Studies
1) Evidence that gendered wording in job advertisements
exists and sustains gender inequality (Gaucher, D.,
Friesen, J., Kay, A.,2011).
2) Gender bias in leader selection? Evidence from a hiring
simulation study (Bosak, J., Sczesny, S., 2011).
6. Previous Studies
3) Hiring gender-occupation incongruent applicants: The
positive impact of recruiter interpersonal sensitivity
(Frauendorfer, D., & Schmid Mast, M.,2013).
3) The effects of facial attractiveness, sex, internality of
applicants on hiring decisions for managerial and non-
managerial jobs (Przygodzki-Lionet, N., Olivier, J., &
Desrumaux, P., 2010).
7. Theoretical Framework
1) Lack of Fit Model: occupational sex biases results from an
incongruity between the attributes of a person and the
perceived requirements for a job (Heilman, 1983).
2) Social Dominance Theory: Institutional social hierarchies
reinforce and perpetuate sex inequalities (Gaucher, D., Friesen,
J., & Kay, A. C., 2011).
3) Social Role Theory: Individuals become associated with
occupations traditionally of their gender role e.g. women as
homemakers and men as breadwinners (Gaucher, D., Friesen,
J., & Kay, A. C., 2011).
8. Hypotheses
1) Male business students are less likely to hire the opposite sex compared to
female business students. 2-way between ANOVA
2) Students will rate male applicants as having a higher competence than
females for the job they are applying for. independent T test
3) Male job applicants are more likely to be hired in male and female
dominated fields compared to female applicants. Independent T test
4) Participants will estimate a higher starting salary for male job applicants
compared to female job applicants. independent t test
5) There will be an interaction between year-of-study and gender of the
applicant such that first year students will be more likely to hire male
applicants and fourth year students will be equally likely to hire male and
female applicants. 2 way anova
9. Design
Experiment with a questionnaire
Independent variables:
1. Gender of applicant.
2. Field of work.
3. Year of study.
10. Participants
● 150-200 participants
● Students enrolled in Introduction to Administrative
Studies (ADMS 1000)
● Students enrolled in Negotiations for Human Resources
Management (HRM 4490)
11. Measures/Instruments
Questionnaire sample items:
1. Do you believe this candidate has high or low competence at this job.
2. This applicant would be hired for the job opening.
3. It is realistic to reject the applicant based on their resume.
4. What salary range would you estimate as a fair starting point for this
individual?
5. 10,000-24,999, 25,000-39,999, 40,000-54,999 55,000-69,000 70,000-
84,999
12. Procedure
1. Group members will introduce themselves to participants as fourth year
Psychology students at York University interested in studying hiring
perceptions. Participants will be asked to stay if they would like to
participate in a ten minute questionnaire study (related to their field of
study).
2. Participants will receive a consent form, questionnaire, and a resume with
a male or female name atop, paired with a job description of male or
female dominated work.
3. Participants will fill out the consent form.
4. Participants will read the assigned resume and job description and then
proceed to fill out the questionnaire.
5. Materials will be handed back at the front of the room.
13. Results
e.g. 2x2 Factorial ANOVA
First year students Fourth Year Students
Male
applicants
Female
applicants
Male
dominated
work
+ -
Female
dominated
work
- +
Male
applicants
Female
applicants
Male
dominated
work
= =
Female
dominated
work
= =
14. Implications
If a gender bias in hiring decisions related to salary, fields
of work, and competence are observed then recognition
may have implications for educating HR and business
students in equity and affirmative action practices.
Additional training may be necessarily implemented in
workplaces where hiring decisions contain biases,
especially in traditionally male-female dominated fields.
15. Limitations
We will be testing whether biases exist, however to understand
how these biases operate contextually would involve
investigating the psychological processes and formation of
attitudes around gender and hiring decisions.
Data based on students attending York University in the LAPS
faculty and may not generalize to other populations
Students likely do not have experience in making hiring decisions
This experiment will be short and thus may not represent real
world hiring decisions in organizations
16. References
1. Bosak, J., & Sczesny, S. (2011). Gender bias in leader selection? evidence from a hiring
simulation study. Sex Roles, 65(3-4), 234-242. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-
011-0012-7
2. Frauendorfer, D., & Schmid Mast, M. (2013). Hiring gender-occupation incongruent
applicants: The positive impact of recruiter interpersonal sensitivity. Journal of
Personnel Psychology, 12(4), 182-188. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1866-
5888/a000095
3. Gaucher, D., Friesen, J., & Kay, A. C. (2011). Evidence that gendered wording in job
advertisements exists and sustains gender inequality. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 101(1), 109-128. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0022530
4. Heilman, M. E. 1983. Sex Bias in Work Settings: The Lack of Fit Model, in B. Staw, and L.
Cummings (Eds.) Research in organizational behavior 5:269-298. Greenwich CT: JAI.
17. References
5. Heilman, M. E. 2001. Description and Prescription: How Gender
Stereotypes Prevent Women’s Ascent Up the Organizational
Ladder. Journal of Social Issues 57:657-574.
6. Przygodzki-Lionet, N., Olivier, J., & Desrumaux, P. (2010). The effects of facial
attractiveness, sex, internality of applicants on hiring decisions for managerial
and non-managerial jobs. Studia Psychologica, 52(1), 53-57. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/docview/742974718?accou
ntid=15182
Editor's Notes
Gender stereotype- e.g. women are associated with nurturance and men are associated with agency. This can be both descriptive and proscriptive.
There were five studies done, each of them had their own hypothesis but there was a key hypothesis involved. The hypothesis was that: advertisements within male-dominated areas would contain a greater proportion of masculine wording than advertisements within female-dominated areas.
On a scale of not at all to very likely.
The participants will not be informed of the details of past research that has contributed to the variables under study. We will introduce ourselves as fourth year Psychology Students at York University interested in studying hiring perceptions. Participants will be asked to stay if they would like to participate in a ten minute questionnaire. If students wish to stay they will receive a consent form and a questionnaire and be asked to fill both out and hand in all materials when finished.
This is an example of the results of the hypothesis that fourth year HR students will be equally likely to hire males and females, compared to 1st year ADMS students who will hire consistent with gender congruent occupation.
