CV Name and Photo

Vocabulary

A study by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) based in Germany found that Muslim women face higher levels of discrimination when applying for jobs — even when the applications contain identical job qualifications.

For the field experiment, study author Doris Weichselbaumer sent out 1,500 fictitious CVs (resumes) for office jobs in cities around Germany for one year.

One of the fake applicants had a “typically German” name, Sandra Bauer and featured a picture of a brunette woman.

The second application used the same photo of the woman, but identified her with the Turkish-sounding name, Meryem Öztürk.

The third application used the same Turkish-sounding name, but the CV photo showed the same brunette woman wearing a headscarf. The photograph “did not cover the applicant’s throat, thus signaling that she is not particularly strict with her religion,” IZA noted.

The applications never explicitly mentioned religion or ethnicity. . . nevertheless they received significantly different responses.

“Sandra Bauer” received an interview callback rate of 18.8 percent, followed by 13.5 percent for “Mereyem Öztürk.”

However, the applicant who wore the headscarf only received a callback 4.2 percent of the time.

Researchers concluded that a woman with a migrant background who also wears a headscarf would have to send 4.5 times as many applications to receive the same number of callbacks as an applicant with a German-sounding name.

In Germany, it is standard practice for job applicants to attach a photo of themselves. The country also has a large number of Turkish migrants and people with migration background.

“A heated debate is being held about the position of women in Muslim and migrant culture. However, little discussion takes place about how Muslim women are actually treated by the Western majority population,” said Weichselbaumer.

Questions

1. According to the study, Muslim and White, native-German job applicants are treated fairly and equally. Yes or no?

2. Did the researchers conduct a survey and interview company managers regarding hiring practices? If they had, what would hiring directors have said?

3. How did the researchers conduct the study?

4. The results were the same for all three job applications. True or false?

5. Does this mean it’s impossible for a “foreign” woman wearing a headscarf to get a job?

6. In Germany, it is illegal to attach a photo with a CV, resume or job application. Is this right, wrong, perhaps, maybe, it is not explicitly stated.

A. Is there discrimination or bias against certain groups of people?

B. In your country, is it legal or illegal to require job applicants to attach a photo along with their CV or job application?

C. Do you think it’s necessary for job applicants to submit their photo along with their resume? Would employers prefer this? Can photos determine how successful a potential employee will be?

D. What can minority groups do to overcome prejudice in hiring and the labor market?

E. What will happen in the future? Will there be alternative ways of hiring people?