Individual Submission Summary
Share...

Direct link:

Discrimination Against Queer Women in the U.S. Workforce: A Resume Audit Study

Mon, August 24, 8:30 to 10:10am, TBA

Abstract

Research examining whether lesbian and gay individuals are discriminated against when applying to jobs is growing. Past research on this subject has produced differing results, varying by region, time period, and whether lesbians or gay men were studied. This paper represents only the second study to use an audit method to ascertain whether discrimination occurs against lesbians (relative to other women) when applying to jobs in the U.S. A field experiment was conducted where a pair of fictitious women’s resumes were sent to over 800 administrative jobs via online job databases across four states. One resume was randomly assigned experience at a gay and lesbian student organization to signal that the woman was a lesbian, and the other, a control, was assigned experience in another progressive student organization. Results reveal that the perceived-lesbian applicants were discriminated against compared to the straight women applicants, receiving about 30% less callbacks.

Author