Biasing effects of physical disability, race, and job skill level on assessment of applicants

Abstract

The study reported here employed a 2 (wheelchair-bound versus non-wheelchair-bound) × 2 (Caucasian versus Chinese) × 2 (programmer versus computer operator) full factorial experiment design to examine the effects of evaluator biases on the perceived employability of job applicants. Results based on 640 evaluation reports showed that evaluators tended to accord higher employability ratings to job applicants with apparent physical disabilities and those with a higher level of job skill. The positive bias in favor of applicants with disabilities in terms of perceived employability was greater for Caucasian than for Chinese job applicants. These results suggested that there might be race-disability interactions in the evaluation process. Implications for research on employment discrimination were discussed.