Unequal? A Field Experiment of Recruitment Practises Towards Wheelchair Users in Denmark

To what extent are employers willing to invite applicants in wheelchairs to job interviews when the applicant is comparable to applicants not in wheelchairs and the job can be conducted by a person in a wheelchair? We have conducted the first Danish field experiment with 1,200 fictive applications f...

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Main Authors: Cecilie Krogh, Thomas Bredgaard
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Stockholm University Press 2022-12-01
Series:Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://account.sjdr.se/index.php/su-j-sjdr/article/view/944
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author Cecilie Krogh
Thomas Bredgaard
author_facet Cecilie Krogh
Thomas Bredgaard
author_sort Cecilie Krogh
collection DOAJ
description To what extent are employers willing to invite applicants in wheelchairs to job interviews when the applicant is comparable to applicants not in wheelchairs and the job can be conducted by a person in a wheelchair? We have conducted the first Danish field experiment with 1,200 fictive applications for real job adverts in four different job functions to measure the independent effect of being a wheelchair user. We find a significant difference in callback rates. Wheelchair users need to send more than twice as many applications to be successful compared to applicants without disabilities. Seventeen percent of the applicants without a disability were invited to a job interview compared to 7.7 percent of the applicants in wheelchairs. Our analysis indicates that the difference in callback rates is related to the negative signal that ‘disability’ transmits to employers and is a result of discrimination in the labour market.
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spelling doaj.art-d2ead6e9b5b346e19237153dad8fb3cb2023-04-21T12:59:43ZengStockholm University PressScandinavian Journal of Disability Research1745-30112022-12-0124126627610.16993/sjdr.944314Unequal? A Field Experiment of Recruitment Practises Towards Wheelchair Users in DenmarkCecilie Krogh0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9728-9669Thomas Bredgaard1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2709-2414Aalborg UniversityAalborg UniversityTo what extent are employers willing to invite applicants in wheelchairs to job interviews when the applicant is comparable to applicants not in wheelchairs and the job can be conducted by a person in a wheelchair? We have conducted the first Danish field experiment with 1,200 fictive applications for real job adverts in four different job functions to measure the independent effect of being a wheelchair user. We find a significant difference in callback rates. Wheelchair users need to send more than twice as many applications to be successful compared to applicants without disabilities. Seventeen percent of the applicants without a disability were invited to a job interview compared to 7.7 percent of the applicants in wheelchairs. Our analysis indicates that the difference in callback rates is related to the negative signal that ‘disability’ transmits to employers and is a result of discrimination in the labour market.https://account.sjdr.se/index.php/su-j-sjdr/article/view/944recruitmentfield experimentemploymentwheelchairdenmark
spellingShingle Cecilie Krogh
Thomas Bredgaard
Unequal? A Field Experiment of Recruitment Practises Towards Wheelchair Users in Denmark
Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research
recruitment
field experiment
employment
wheelchair
denmark
title Unequal? A Field Experiment of Recruitment Practises Towards Wheelchair Users in Denmark
title_full Unequal? A Field Experiment of Recruitment Practises Towards Wheelchair Users in Denmark
title_fullStr Unequal? A Field Experiment of Recruitment Practises Towards Wheelchair Users in Denmark
title_full_unstemmed Unequal? A Field Experiment of Recruitment Practises Towards Wheelchair Users in Denmark
title_short Unequal? A Field Experiment of Recruitment Practises Towards Wheelchair Users in Denmark
title_sort unequal a field experiment of recruitment practises towards wheelchair users in denmark
topic recruitment
field experiment
employment
wheelchair
denmark
url https://account.sjdr.se/index.php/su-j-sjdr/article/view/944
work_keys_str_mv AT ceciliekrogh unequalafieldexperimentofrecruitmentpractisestowardswheelchairusersindenmark
AT thomasbredgaard unequalafieldexperimentofrecruitmentpractisestowardswheelchairusersindenmark