Some Canadians Question the Fairness of Hiring Processes

Two thirds want companies to rely on “blind résumés”, where the applicant’s name, gender, age and ethnicity are not included.

Vancouver, BC [October 14, 2021] – A significant proportion of Canadians are not convinced that the process to find a job is entirely impartial, and almost one-in-five say they faced discrimination on a hiring process because of their age, a new Research Co. poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample, 51% of Canadians think doing well at a job interview is more important than knowing how to perform at a specific job.

While a majority of Canadians (55%) believe that every person has a fair chance of landing a job in Canada, two-in-five respondents (40%) disagree with this assessment.

Almost half of Canadians (47%) agree with the notion that all Candidates that apply for a position are taken seriously, but a similar proportion (44%) disagrees with this point of view.

More than half of Canadians (53%) think it is not worth applying to jobs that advise that “internal candidates” will be considered—a proportion that rises to 59% among those aged 18-to-34.

“Majorities of Canadians aged 35-to-54 (55%) and aged 55 and over (62%) say they have never encountered discrimination when looking for a job,” says Mario Canseco. President of Research Co. “In stark contrast, only 40% of Canadians aged 18-to-34 report the same experience.”

More than one-in-five Canadians (22%) say they interviewed for a job that ultimately went to an “internal candidate”, while a similar proportion (18%) experienced discrimination in a hiring process because of their age.

More than one-in-ten Canadians claim to have experienced discrimination in a hiring process because of their gender (11%) or due to their ethnicity or national origin (also 11%).

Some companies rely on a technique called “blind résumé” for hiring processes. In a “blind résumé”, personal details such as the applicant’s name, gender, age and ethnicity are not included.

Two thirds of Canadians (67%) think companies in Canada should implement the “blind résumé” technique—including 71% of women and 77% of those aged 18-to-34.

More than half of Canadians (52%) say that people usually got promoted in the companies where they have worked on because of performance and merit, while one third (33%) say promotions happened because their colleagues knew how to deal with company politics.