How context shapes care-based discrimination in hiring: evidence from a cross-national factorial survey experiment

This study examines how the candidate’s partnership status and organizational context shapes care-based discrimination in hiring through a cross-national factorial survey experiment conducted in Germany, Norway, Poland, and Romania.

Recruiters evaluated fictional job candidates with randomly varied characteristics including gender, partnership status, and parenthood. We find evidence of discrimination based on parenthood and partnership status, especially for (single) mothers. The discrimination based on care responsibilities is moderated by organizational characteristics and job demands. There is less discrimination based on care responsibilities against mothers in organizations that have implemented diversity policy measures. Discrimination based on care responsibilities is also less likely to occur in organizations that offer flexible work arrangements, which particularly benefits single mothers. Mothers have poorer hiring prospects for ‘greedy jobs’, regardless of whether they are in a relationship.

In sum, the studies on care-based discrimination must take into account how work is organized and how and which diversity initiatives are implemented.