Employers has to look beyond foreign-sounding names and read what the CV and job application actually says, Gunn Elisabeth Birkelund, professor of sociology at the University of Oslo, says to forskning.no.
She has led a research project on discrimination in the workplace, where the research team sent nearly 1,800 fictitious applications for around 900 job vacancies in Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim. Employers received two almost identical applications where one applicant had a typical Norwegian name, the other a foreign-sounding name. Both applicants had the required education and work experience.
50 percent of applicants with Norwegian names were summoned to an interview, while 41 per cent of applicants with Pakistani or Muslim name were summoned to an interview. The clearest evidence of discrimination was found for these fields and professions: transport and handling, education, health and social work. In other professions and fields, there was no difference, and there were no differences between the different cities.
– Many employers choose to hire people similar to themselves, because they view it as safer, says Birkelund.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
