Individual and Organizational Strategies to Reduce Hiring Discrimination Against Mothers

Amanda Anderson

Advisor: Eden B King, PhD, Department of Psychology

Committee Members: Seth Kaplan, Olivia (Mandy) O'Neill

March 02, 2015, 11:00 AM to 08:00 AM

Abstract:

Mothers can experience disadvantages in employment decisions compared to women without children and men. Despite a growing body of research on the mechanisms through which hiring discrimination against mothers occurs, researchers have not yet examined the effectiveness of individual and organizational strategies to reduce these negative outcomes. To extend and apply these theoretical frameworks, this study focuses on the efficacy of three individual strategies (providing individuating information about competence, commitment, and flexibility) as well as the influence of organizational policies on hiring discrimination experienced by mothers. Experimentally manipulated resumes were submitted to online job openings varying appliants' gender, parental status, and commitment, competence, and flexibility. In addition, the family-friendly policies (support, parental leave, and flexible policies) of each organization were documented. The outcome variables assessed both formal discrimination (rate of interview invitations or rejections) and interpersonal discrimination (positivity/negativity of contact, time to respond, and length of contact). Results provide some indication that mothers receive more negative messages and are rejected more quickly than fathers from the resume screening process. Results of analyses that may be underpowered due to a lower than expected call back rate also suggest that individual strategies and organizational policies are not related to treatment of mothers during the resume screening process. Together, these findings suggest that organizations and hiring managers should be aware that negativity toward mothers can surface in subtle ways and that motherhood penalty in the hiring process may have boundary conditions.