Gender and Hiring patterns : A field experiment on gender bias in the Swedish labour market

The object of this study was to examine the extent of gender discrimination in the Swedish labour market by using a randomized correspondence testing procedure. To gather the data we utilized a field experiment where fictitious job applications where conducted and sent to real employers. The applications were carefully matched and differed only in gender which was signaled by a traditional Swedish male name or female name. The responses were then analyzed and were the basis in our tests for discrimination. We found only minor evidence of discrimination. Statistically significant discrimination was only found against males in the restaurant business and discrimination against females in full time positions