Foreign workers face battle to win jobs

Recruiters discriminate heavily against Chinese and Indian job seekers, according to a new study which probed the behaviour of 350 New Zealand managers and professionals.

The study, by the University of Auckland School of Business, found there were "ethnic penalties" for people with Chinese and Indian names - even if they were born here.

The survey is "a sad indictment", says Associate Professor Marie Wilson and the results are worse than expected. "It's surprising how many people think this issue doesn't exist, or is resolved by the low unemployment rate.

"Unemployment is not low among ethnic minorities and under-employment is even more problematic."

American-born Dr Wilson ran the study with India-born colleague Associate Professor Suchitra Mouly and masters degree students Priyanka Gahlout, born in India, and Lucia Liu, from China.

Ms Gahlout, now a human resources lecturer who graduates with first-class honours in May, says she became involved because of her experiences of prejudice when looking for work.

Students studying master of business administration or senior-level human resources papers, most of whom were aged 35 to 40 and employed by medium to large organisations, were asked to shortlist 18 fictional CVs for an entry-level human resources job.

Some CVs bore English names (for example, Sarah Smith); some were entirely non-English (for example, Laxmi Prasad); and some had an English first name and non-English surname (for example, Bobby Sharma).

All the "applicants" were fluent in English and more than qualified for the post, each with a bachelor's degree in an HR field, and 16 to 19 months' experience in a well-known multinational. Half the Asian-sounding candidates had local education and experience, and some of the Anglo-Saxon applicants were from Canada or Britain. The study found that:

* When immigration status was included on the CVs given, not a single new Asian immigrant was shortlisted for a job.

* When immigration status was left off, having a Chinese or Indian name significantly raised chances of being considered "unsuitable".

* Chinese names were more "unsuitable" than Indian.

* Chinese applicants with Anglicised first names were considered slightly less unsuitable than their more traditionally named compatriots.

* Maori raters imposed ethnic penalties as did Pakeha. However, Asian raters judged Asian and Pakeha applicants similarly. Dr Wilson attributes this to many Asians coming from multi-cultural backgrounds where they have mixed in business circles and socially.

The students were defensive when results were revealed, says Dr Wilson. "They had all kinds of reasons. There would be language difficulties - even though the applicants were fluent in English, and the resume was perfect.

"They'd say that the applicants wouldn't understand employment law here - well, who does? They'd say that they wouldn't fit into the culture - that covers all kinds of ills. There's no factual basis for it. They even preferred a United Kingdom or Canadian immigrant over even New Zealand-born Chinese."

Dr Wilson says many employers "won't face up to the fact" that they are prejudiced. "It's about merit and about being colour-blind when hiring."

Dr Mouly illustrates: "I had provided a reference for a former student to a public sector organisation," she recalls. "I got a call from the chair of the search committee after they had interviewed her, yelling at me because I hadn't told them she was black. Her name was very British and they were shocked when she walked in and didn't look the way that they expected.

"They yelled at me for wasting their time, even though the candidate was much better qualified than the person that they ended up hiring." Her former student is now happily working elsewhere.

Dr Wilson says prejudiced employers "are shutting out a huge resource" at a time of labour shortages. "If you only want Pakeha in your workforce, you're limiting yourself to two-thirds of the available workforce, which is rapidly ageing. If you want to be internationally competitive, you can't be provincial in your hiring."

Employers, she says, should undergo awareness training and create multi-ethnic interview panels to balance prejudice.

This study has expanded on Victoria University research last year, which found that recruitment agencies discriminated markedly against qualified, English-speaking applicants with Chinese names.