Vancouver recruiters unfairly discriminate against candidates based on their family name, according to a Simon Fraser University (SFU) study released October 14.
But discrimination was far more widespread in Toronto and Montreal, according to the study, which was produced by SFU’s Metropolis British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Diversity.
The study’s advice is that employers consider masking the job candidate’s name when scrutinizing merits on a resume.
“We found that there is significant discrimination by name, ethnicity and city of experience,” said Krishna Pendakur, who is co-director of Metropolis.
“Employers in cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver significantly discriminate against applicants with common Indian and Chinese names, relative to English names.”
According to the study, Canadian-born applicants with English-sounding names are significantly more likely to receive a call back for a job interview, compared with internationally born individuals.
That’s as true for those who have international degrees from highly ranked schools as it is for those who list the same job experience with the only difference being that it was acquired outside of Canada.
Glen Korstrom
@GlenKorstrom