UBC study finds people with foreign names face job discrimination
Prof says more research is needed to determine if behaviour is intentional
The answer to the age-old question “What’s in a name?” may well be plenty of discrimination, according to a new University of British Columbia study.
UBC economics professor Philip names even if they have the same education and experience as those with English names. “Some individuals at the margin are not getting interviews because of their name,” Oreopoulos said Wednesday, adding that the employers involved may be contravening the Human Rights Act.
“It is illegal and there is some element of unfairness.”
As part of his research, Oreopoulos tailored 6,000 mock resumes to specific job requirements in 20 occupational categories and sent them to employers with online job postings in the Greater Toronto area.
Each resume listed a bachelor’s degree and up to six years of experience but the study found resumes with names like Jill Wilson or John Martin received interview callbacks 40 per cent more often than identical resumes with names like Sana Khan or Lei Li.
Oreopoulos said the findings help to explain why skilled immigrants arriving under Canada’s point system – with university degrees and significant work experience – fare poorly in today’s labour market.
“Despite this policy, they don’t seem to be doing as well as expected,” Oreopoulos said, adding that he was surprised by the study’s results.
“I wasn’t expecting the gap by name alone to be so large,” he said. “It defined as much of a gap as another study found between blacks and whites in the U.S.”
The professor said he chose to conduct the study in Toronto because of its position as Canada’s largest and most multicultural city and he cautioned against accusing employers of blatant racism.
He said more research is needed to determine whether the behaviour is intentional.
“In settings where people are making split-second decisions like going through piles of resumes and making decisions based on uncertain ambiguous criteria, that’s the environment where people may be making subconscious, stereotype decisions,” Oreopoulos said.
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So this is a surprise? Funny I thought that if a company was paying its employees a fair wage, submitting their taxes on time, and generally behaving in an acceptable way, it could consider the type of employee it would choose to hire also based on the ability to fit in with the culture of th business ( how many .A.S.P.s do you see working at retail establishments in Chinatown?)
If people don’t want to hire immigrants, why should they be obligated to interview them? This is taking political correctness just a little too far. Why should an immigrant get a job over a natural citizen, whose parents & grandparents have built the country up.
I am so tired of catering to immigrnats – who seem to think nothing of trying to bring their conflicts & screw-ups from their old homes here with them.
Hopefully those who work in immigration will grow a set & start doing their jobs screening undesirables who end up being citizens of convenience, not contibutors to our society.
Why should an immigrant get a job over a natural citizen?
Let us all go back to our own countries and handover Canada to the real owners,the First Nation people.
I am sure the “immigrants” still have homes built by their parents and grand parents back in their countries.
I doubt if so called natural people whose parents & grandparents have built the country up have any shags to live back in their countries of origin.
[...] Immigrants and international students also find themselves pressured to Americanize their names to fit in. And who can blame them, when having a foreign name in North America can literally quash your career before it even starts? [...]
Guys,
Don’t fight about this, the reason government wants us here is to feed your so called natural parents, if not for us the lazy natural citizens who don’t work or retired people will not get any EI or old age benefits. you can go to any smart finance person they will tell most government programs will be screwed if we don’t contribute more than the benefits to be paid out. So it is not love for immigrants but necessity to get their EI and CPP payments. The real drag to Canada are able people how don’t work and/or pay their taxes honestly and abuse the system. Also most refugees are not real refugees(Some are criminals and terrorists) and they are abusing the system too.
I have no problem if it is stated natural citizens get preference over PR card holders then we will not be coming to Canada or will come to Canada know about this well in advance.
Julie LaFlamme what is your level of education, hope did your GED. Otherwise if will be difficult for you to understand all this.
Julie LaFlamme! (quote:Why should an immigrant get a job over a natural citizen). Why don’t you then go back to France and leave Canada to the First Nation people?
(quote: I am so tired of catering to immigrnats – who seem to think nothing of trying to bring their conflicts & screw-ups from their old homes here with them.) Note, she even spelled the word immigrant wrong “immigrnats” lol Moreover, your ancestors were also not born here and were settlers from France, in other words, they were immigrants too.
So what’s wrong with the new people settling here and raising their voice against discrimination.
(quote:citizens of convenience, not contibutors to our society”) Sorry, but I see almost all naturalized citizens contributing significantly for both the Canadian economy and society and even some politicians acknowledge that.
So, Julie LaFlamme, what all you said, sounds completely absurd to be honest.
I am tired of hearing this stupid arguement that first nations people should own this land and the everybody non first nations are immigrants.
The fact is, British and French and other European explorers fought for and settled the Canada, so rightfully the land belongs to them. The fact that they allowed first nations to live on reserves without taxing them is more than fair enough seeing as they do not have a positive influence on the society that makes canada what it has become today.
Now for the new immigrants. I am not apposed to them living in canada but immigration should bring a law into effect were they must have a probation period that requires them to either get a job, our be sent back to their original country.
Why the argument is stupid to you? Because it is true? What do you mean British and French “fought for”?. They rather “fought against” the natives, killed a significant of them. They didn’t “settle”, they “occupied”. How would you have felt if some other foreign force invaded France,say the Germans in world war 2,and you are French, then that force said we “fought for” and let you live on reserves without taxing you and call it fair. Whether natives have or didn’t have positive influence, doesn’t matter, it is THEIR country. They are here for more than 25000 years. And if that is fair enough, then what’s wrong with the immigrants settling. Give us more rights and we will put more of your “positive influence” lol
you cannot even put up a valid arguement, you contradicted yourself. saying that french and british are occupying this country and saying that its the natives land is an invalid statment. The natives would have only been occupying the land before we came along and due to a timeline you believe they should have the right to “occupy” the land? whose to say that any other person occupied canada before the first nations? you don’t, this timeline is invalid because there is no concrete proof of this timeline and to believe that is a poor judgement by you. Also what you just pointed out to me is that it is your for not settling, that canadas rightful owners are the natives, if that is so explain why you have decieded to immigrate to canada?
well, now what you are saying, doesn’t even make sense. cite where I can’t prove a valid argument? how is it an invalid sentence? of course french and british civilizations didn’t emerge here.(quote:The natives would have only been occupying the land before we came along and due to a timeline you believe they should have the right to “occupy” the land? ) native just didn’t come from some another planet. they were here way before you came. why should they “occupy” something which is already there. i sense the weakness in your knowledge of English grammar. lol may be you can go back to high school or take some English improvement courses in the university.(quote:whose to say that any other person occupied canada before the first nations?) the entire world except you accepts and believes with something called “common sense” that Canada is to natives as England is to English, France is to French . Even the very name of the nation is derived from an word used by the indigenous people, “kanata” …..(quote: this timeline is invalid because there is no concrete proof of this timeline) may be you can do some more research and educate yourself and find the validity of the timeline. you can’t just declare the timeline invalid because your ignorant soul believes that lol …. calling my judgement poor apparently shows how ill educated you are.(quote: , that canadas rightful owners are the natives, if that is so explain why you have decieded to immigrate to canada?) my immigrating doesn’t contradict with my acceptance of the fact that Canada belongs more to the natives, more than me, more than any other settlers. so again, you posed a question out of the initial argument making absolutely no sense. sorry, but your ignorance really cracked a big laughter in me and my budz who read that now bahaha
I find the arguements about the original occupiers retarded. All the people who have posted about it need a history lesson. Silutrian and Clovis. If you dont know what that is read some history books and keep the uneducated arguements out of it. As far as discrimination goes how is this any different than the feds $10000 no pay back small business grant for immigrants. Or 3 yrs tax free if they open a business. Now that sounds like discrimination I dont get such perks and I was born and raised here, and spent 6 months in Somalia as a Canadian Miltary/UN Peacekeeper but I guess putting your ass on the line for your country doesnt entitle you to anything
Actually, Tristan and “Canadian Citizen,” you’re the ones that need a history lesson.
From the Royal Proclamation of 1763:
“And whereas it is just and reasonable, and essential to our Interest, and the Security of our Colonies, that the several Nations or Tribes of Indians with whom We are connected, and who live under our Protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the Possession of such Parts of Our Dominions and Territories as, not having been ceded to or purchased by Us, are reserved to them. … And. We do further strictly enjoin and require all Persons whatever who have either wilfully or inadvertently seated themselves upon any Lands within the Countries above described. or upon any other Lands which, not having been ceded to or purchased by Us, are still reserved to the said Indians as aforesaid, forthwith to remove themselves from such Settlements.”
In short, “this stupid arguement (sic) that first nations people should own this land” is a matter of British law, which was handed down to Canada via the common law and which has been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Just sayin’
Now I know why my mom hasn’t been able to find a job lately…and she’s been a US citizen since 1975! It’s been more than 30 years since she first immigrated to the US and became a legal citizen. It’s not like she’s a recent immigrant or anything. Her English grammar needs work, but a lot of people can still understand her.
@Julie LaFlamme: excuse me? Not every immigrant in the U.S. are illegal, you know, if that’s what you’re implying. My family worked very hard to obtain their citizenship here, and they have a right to a job just like any other legal American citizen. Also, unless you’re 100% Native American, you’re an immigrant. I don’t care how many generations of your family were born in the U.S. Your earliest ancestor came here from another country.
[...] the comments on this Maclean’s article tell the story of racism in Canada, as much as the research itself. This comment by “Julie [...]