In job interviews, children put mothers at a disadvantage

Eisenstadt, 27 February 2024 – Gender-specific differences in the world of work are omnipresent. Just recently, Equal Pay Day (this year in Austria on 14 February) drew attention to the unequal pay of women and men. The situation is even worse when it comes to parenthood. Women still have to choose between a child and a career in 2024. But what is it like when starting or switching to a new job? A recent experiment among HR managers, conducted by a student of the Master’s Degree Programme in Human Resource Management and Labour Law at University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, shows: In case of doubt, a father of two is more likely to get the job than a mother of two with the same education and professional experience.

Representative experiment among HR managers in Austria

225 recruiters from all over Austria received an email from Sarah Riedenbauer asking them to take part in an experiment for her Master’s thesis. The task: to objectively assess job interviews. The recruiters received the job interviews in writing - in the form of a transcript of a dialogue. They were asked to draw their conclusions from these documents and the supplementary CVs of the fictitious male and female applicants. The participants only learnt afterwards that the experiment was about a diversity topic. “I tried to make the task as objective as possible,” says Sarah Riedenbauer. “The fictitious persons were applying for a job in accounting, a field of work that is neither male nor female-dominated.”

67 HR managers took the time (around 20 minutes) to support the young student. Sarah Riedenbauer explains: “I divided the participants in the experiment into two groups. The experimental group received applications from two people with two children each, while the control group received applications from the same people without children. In both groups, the man was more likely to get the job than the woman.” 81% of respondents opted for the man with children, while slightly fewer recruiters, 74%, opted for the man without children. The author of the thesis was surprised by the fact that female HR managers also clearly favoured the male applicant in cases of doubt. “This phenomenon could definitely be investigated further. Why do women also tend to favour men in the application process?”

Conclusions from the experiment

• Despite a similar professional and educational background (and the same family situation), the decision is very clearly in favour of the male applicant.
• Even in the control group, the majority opted for the male applicant, which is why a general gender bias can be assumed.
• The male applicant is more likely to be attributed performance-related characteristics such as decisiveness, while the female applicant is primarily attributed socio-emotional characteristics such as loyalty.
• Motherhood raises concerns among HR managers about the likelihood of absences.
• Although the father’s family situation is recognised, it is associated far less with his professional environment. In his case, children fall under “private matters”.

Recommendations for HR managers

The author of the thesis, Sarah Riedenbauer, works in a management consultancy with a strong focus on diversity. She believes that one way to counteract inequality in the world of work is to diversify decision-making bodies in companies.

According to Sarah Riedenbauer, diversity throughout the company would be the key to more equal opportunities in the world of work.

Silvia Ettl-Huber, the programme director and supervisor of the Master’s thesis at University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, says: “What I found particularly disturbing was the result that female recruiters tend to favour men even more than male recruiters. Although this was a non-representative side result, I hope that a future female student will take up the topic and explore it in more depth.”

About the author

Sarah Riedenbauer, born in 1994, lives and works in Vienna. Originally from Styria, she first became a pre-primary teacher and worked in a kindergarten for some years. At Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, she completed the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Disability & Diversity Studies and started her career in the HR sector. At University of Applied Sciences Burgenland she obtained further qualifications in the Master’s Degree Programme in Human Resource Management and Labour Law. Presently, she is working as a project manager for Diversity Think Tank Consulting GmbH in Vienna. In her function, she is planning a large diversity congress in Vienna, which will take place this year and next year. She is also the project manager for the Path of Diversity (“Pfad der Vielfalt”) travelling exhibition.

Facts about the Master’s Degree Programme in Human Resource Management and Labour Law

Master’s degree programme – 4 semesters; academic degree: Master of Arts in Business (MA); organisational form: part-time (on site in Eisenstadt: Friday from 14:00, Saturday from 9:30 to approx. 17:15, 12 times in a semester; additional online classes on a weekday from 18:00); number of study places: approx. 45; study location: Eisenstadt; language of tuition: German; no tuition fees; graduates usually work in national and international companies, in HR consulting companies, in public organisations and in interest groups in the following areas: HR management, as heads of HR management departments, as labour and social law experts, in HR consulting, development and organisation, and in team management. No tuition fees apply. Enrolment is possible until 31 May. For more information, visit www.fh-burgenland.at

Further information:
Mag^.a Christiane Staab
Marketing & Communication
Fachhochschule Burgenland GmbH
Tel: +43 (0)5 7705 3537
E-Mail: christiane.staab@fh-burgenland.at