Discrimination against job applicants with non-English sounding names remains a significant problem.

A recent study by researchers at Monash University involved submitting over 12,000 fabricated job applications to more than 4,000 real job advertisements in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. 

The goal was to investigate whether ethnic discrimination was prevalent in the recruitment process for leadership positions.

The results were disheartening. Applicants with surnames that sounded non-English, such as Habib, Huang, Papadopoulos, or Singh, were 60 per cent less likely to receive a call back for a leadership role compared to those with typically English-sounding names like Smith, Williams, or Thornbury-Drummond. 

The researchers noted that ethnic discrimination affected all minority groups, with Aboriginal and Arabic names facing the highest level of bias for leadership positions.

Interestingly, the study revealed that discrimination was more pronounced when the advertised job required customer contact. However, the bias decreased if the job emphasised individualism, creativity, or innovation. 

These findings align with the concept of implicit leadership theory, which suggests that recruiters tend to evaluate candidates based on a preconceived notion of an ideal leader.

The researchers say that quick fixes like diversity training programs have proven ineffective or even counterproductive. 

Similarly, the use of blind resumes, which conceal ethnic background and gender, may have limited impact due to AI algorithms' ability to infer minority status. The experts suggest anonymising the initial screening processes.

While previous research has extensively examined discrimination in entry-level positions, the study sheds light on the dearth of studies focusing on leadership roles. 

However, another study involving psychometric testing found that recruiters were less likely to discriminate when provided with objective measures of personality traits and cognitive performance.

The study's authors recommended implementing anonymous job applications and improving recruiter training to raise awareness of biased decision-making. 

Organisations should also consider adapting their diversity practices to ensure underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, are adequately represented in leadership positions.