Equal Outcomes, but Different Treatment – Subtle Discrimination in Email Responses From a Correspondence Test in Switzerland

Abstract

Correspondence tests on discrimination usually report only whether an applicant was invited for a job interview or not. Yet, data from a field experiment in Switzerland demonstrate that candidates with the same outcome are not necessarily treated equally. The paper complements correspondence test results with information on the time elapsed until candidates were contacted, as well as qualitative differences in invitation or rejection emails.

Keywords

• correspondence test
• switzerland
• labour market
• subtle discrimination