TY - JOUR
T1 - Walking the talk? What employers say versus what they do
AU - Pager, Devah
AU - Quillian, Lincoln
PY - 2005/6
Y1 - 2005/6
N2 - This article considers the relationship between employers' attitudes toward hiring ex-offenders and their actual hiring behavior. Using data from an experimental audit study of entry-level jobs matched with a telephone survey of the same employers, the authors compare employers' willingness to hire black and white ex-offenders, as represented both by their self-reports and by their decisions in actual hiring situations. Employers who indicated a greater likelihood of hiring ex-offenders in the survey were no more likely to hire an ex-offender in practice. Furthermore, although the survey results indicated no difference in the likelihood of hiring black versus white ex-offenders, audit results show large differences by race. These comparisons suggest that employer surveys - even those using an experimental design to control for social desirability bias - may be insufficient for drawing conclusions about the actual level of hiring discrimination against stigmatized groups.
AB - This article considers the relationship between employers' attitudes toward hiring ex-offenders and their actual hiring behavior. Using data from an experimental audit study of entry-level jobs matched with a telephone survey of the same employers, the authors compare employers' willingness to hire black and white ex-offenders, as represented both by their self-reports and by their decisions in actual hiring situations. Employers who indicated a greater likelihood of hiring ex-offenders in the survey were no more likely to hire an ex-offender in practice. Furthermore, although the survey results indicated no difference in the likelihood of hiring black versus white ex-offenders, audit results show large differences by race. These comparisons suggest that employer surveys - even those using an experimental design to control for social desirability bias - may be insufficient for drawing conclusions about the actual level of hiring discrimination against stigmatized groups.
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U2 - 10.1177/000312240507000301
DO - 10.1177/000312240507000301
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:23944505303
SN - 0003-1224
VL - 70
SP - 355
EP - 380
JO - American Sociological Review
JF - American Sociological Review
IS - 3
ER -