IPP Policy Brief n°6
October 2013
Author: Nicolas Jacquemet
Discrimination in hiring in France: findings and courses of action
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Summary:
Among migrant populations, discrimination in hiring is a significant obstacle to entering the labour market, an important conduit to integration. This study compares the rate of success of CVs that are identical except for the names that were changed. The results show that with the same CV, an applicant with a migrant background receives 40 per cent fewer invitations to an interview than an applicant identified as a « native ». This discrimination does not appear for female applicants when a good command of the French language is obvious. These results open the way to new tools with which to counter discrimination, which consist of improving the available information about an applicant’s skills, such as, for example, a certificate of proficiency in French.
Key points:
- The same job application identified as submitted by someone with a migrant background (from the Maghreb or somewhere else not clearly identifiable by the employers) receives 40 per cent fewer invitations to an interview than an application identified as coming from a French « native ».
- Discrimination on the basis of origin is more marked among men than women.
- Discrimination on the basis of origin disappears among female applicants when a good command of the French language is evident.
Press articles
- Le Parisien, “Gare aux discriminations à l’embauche” – 5 novembre 2013
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French