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Using fake resumes for two equally qualified candidates–one
childless, one a mom—the researchers found that the mother was
100-percent less likely to be hired when she applied for a
position. Mothers were consistently ranked as less competent and
less committed than women who were not moms. "I was not
surprised to find that mothers were discriminated against, but I
was very surprised by the magnitude of the discrimination,"
wrote Shelley Correll, now an associate sociology
professor at Stanford University and one of the lead researchers.
"With gender or race, we often talk about the subtle ways that
stereotypes are disadvantaging. With mothers, the effects were
huge, such as being about 100% less likely to be recommended for
hire than
childless women and being offered much lower starting
salaries."
In another study by the researchers, fake resumes were used to apply to 638 real jobs (entry-level and mid-level marketing and business jobs) during an 18-month period. Tracking interview requests, childless women got 2.1 times as many callbacks as mothers with similar credentials. There was no difference among fathers and childless men.
Any work that shines light on discrimination against any group of workers is valuable. My only concern with the first part of this particular study, which received a prestigous work-family research award, is that the fake resumes of fictional women were reviewed and acted upon by "paid undergraduate volunteers." Sure, some of the undergrads may one day work their way into hiring manager positions, and that's a big concern if they look at mothers negatively when they get there. I think (and hope) you'd get a very different outcome if all of the resumes were placed before seasoned HR professionals, though the second part of the study is truly discouraging. If the women's experience and skill sets were truly similar, a good hiring manager would not see a negative in motherhood. A really good one would see the added value that a parent's perspective can bring to a job.
Still, plenty of research studies have documented a wage gap
between mothers and nonmothers. Ann Crittenden, author of "The
Price of Motherhood," found for women under the age of 35,
the pay gap between mothers and nonmothers is larger than the pay
gap between men and women. So, despite the experimental nature of
the research, the results are still unsettlng. Have you
felt the effects of a "motherhood penalty"?
