The impact of equal employment opportunity statements in job advertisements on applicants' perceptions of organisations

Abstract

An experiment conducted in New Zealand investigating the impact of the inclusion of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) statements in job advertisements is reported. Male and female participants were presented with one of three versions of a recruitment advertisement for a managerial position with a fictitious organisation. Participants then completed a measure of organisational attractiveness for the company. The three advertisements were identical except for the Equal Employment Opportunity policy statement they included. One version included no EEO statement, one a minimal statement and one an extensive statement. There was no overall difference in organisational attractiveness as a function of the EEO statement type. However, there was an interaction between statement type and sex of participants. For female participants ratings of organisational attractiveness were highest in the extensive EEO statement condition and for male participants in the minimal statement condition. In addition female participants rated the organisation more positively than did male participants in the extensive statement condition. Implications for recruitment advertising are discussed.