Discrimination in hiring: the curse of motorcycle women

Loic Du Parquet (1, 2) , Emmanuel Duguet (3, 1) , Yannick L'Horty (1, 3) , Pascale Petit (1, 3)

1 TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques
2 GAINS - Groupe d'Analyse des Itinéraires et des Niveaux Salariaux
3 ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique

The event of holding a driver’s licence and listing it on a resume sends a signal of a capacity for mobility which generally increases the chances of getting a job. However, the effect of this signal can entirely be reversed in the case of a female candidate holding a motorcycle driver’s licence. We demonstrate this effect by using a testing procedure carried out in the Greater Paris area for the profession of young management controllers. In that profession with a high concentration of women, the simple attribute of a female candidate mentioning a motorcycle driver’s licence on her resume causes her to lose her advantage over a male candidate. The listing of a driver’s licence on a resume is perceived by the employers as a gender-related characteristic. This provides a clear instance of the complexity of studying the role of stereotypes in the analysis of discrimination in hiring.

Mots clés: access to employment; mobility; disc rimination; testing; accounting; gender

Domaines: Economies et finances

Loic Du Parquet, Emmanuel Duguet, Yannick L'Horty, Pascale Petit. Discrimination in hiring: the curse of motorcycle women. 2014. ⟨halshs-01100317⟩