Employers less likely to interview openly gay men for job openings: Study

Dan82 · Oct 6, 2011

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/uocp-ell100311.php

A new study suggests that openly gay men face substantial job discrimination in certain parts of the U.S.

The study, which is the largest of its kind to look at job discrimination against gay men, found that employers in the South and Midwest were much less likely to offer an interview if an applicant's resume indicates that he is openly gay. Overall, the study found that gay applicants were 40 percent less likely to be granted an interview than their heterosexual counterparts.

"The results indicate that gay men encounter significant barriers in the hiring process because, at the initial point of contact, employers more readily disqualify openly gay applicants than equally qualified heterosexual applicants," writes the study's author, András Tilcsik of Harvard University.

The research will be published tomorrow (October 4) in the American Journal of Sociology.

For the study, Tilcsik sent two fictitious but realistic resumes to more than 1,700 entry-level, white collar job openings -- positions such as managers, business and financial analysts, sales representatives, customer service representatives, and administrative assistants. The two resumes were very similar in terms of the applicant's qualifications, but one resume for each opening mentioned that the applicant had been part of a gay organization in college.

"I chose an experience in a gay community organization that could not be easily dismissed as irrelevant to a job application," Tilcsik writes. "Thus, instead of being just a member of a gay or lesbian campus organization, the applicant served as the elected treasurer for several semesters, managing the organization's financial operations."

The second resume Tilcsik sent listed experience in the "Progressive and Socialist Alliance" in place of the gay organization. Since employers are likely to associate both groups with left-leaning political views, Tilcsik could separate any "gay penalty" from the effects of political discrimination...

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/uocp-ell100311.php
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Zontar · Oct 6, 2011

I've mentioned this before, but IBM sure snatched up remarkable gay talent back in the 80s that no other bonehead would hire.

They're only handing good talent to their friendlier competitors. =p

Employers less likely to interview openly gay men for job openings: Study

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