Job Hunter Discovers One Weird Trick to Get Hiring Managers Attention: Be a Young White Man

When women share their work experiences regarding harassment, missed opportunities, and bosses who question their competence, men claim they’re wrong. Men seem to think that everything is equal and women have just as much opportunity as men, though any woman will tell you that’s blatantly false. 

A woman decided to run her own experiment to see if she’d have more success in her industry as a man. 

She came to Reddit to share her findings after the results were exactly as all women expected. 

No Luck in the Job Search

The Original Poster (OP) expressed frustration at the job hunt. She works in cybersecurity, a male-dominated industry, with four years of experience in the field. She also holds many credentials and certifications, highlighting her impressive knowledge of the topic. 

Despite her knowledge and experience, OP struggled to find a new job. She couldn’t even get an interview. 

When someone did contact her about a position, they implied she wasn’t a good fit due to her age and gender. 

“I’m being told (to) my face, that I’m OLD (I’m 37) and the ‘team is only young males. Wouldn’t that be awkward for you?” she shared, shocked at the brazen acknowledgment of discrimination. 

She Conducts an Experiment

OP wanted to see if her younger male counterpart would have better luck. She made a new resume using a male name and took off all the credentials and education, leaving only four years of work experience. 

She then applied to the same roles, which remained vacant. 

All The Callbacks

Unsurprisingly, the companies fell over backward to interview and hire this “promising young man.” OP reported that nearly every company she applied to with the fake resume called him. She slyly used a voice changer to sound male on the phone and confirmed they all wanted to schedule an interview. 

Name Bias is Real

The experiment reminds us of a similar study where researchers sent resumes with “white-sounding” and “black-sounding” names to determine which applicant would receive a callback. 

Applicants with white-sounding names were 50% more likely to get called back for an interview. 

That the same bias occurs along gender lines is unsurprising. Many people hold racial and gender biases, which add to a culture of oppression. 

Neutral Names

A lot of women use neutral-sounding nicknames in resumes and business emails to hide their gender. Some black people have gone so far as to change their names so they can compete in this world. 

None of us should have to do this. We should be proud of who we are and what our names represent. 

Initials

Women throughout history went by their initials to be taken seriously as professionals. J.K. Rowling and S.E. Hinton are two authors who used initials to hide their genders. 

Modern professional women do the same. “I go by initials everywhere professionally online– it’s a male-dominated field, I am assumed male,” stated one Reddit user in the comments. 

Women Will Keep Fighting

Despite the challenges and setbacks, women will keep fighting for their rightful seat at the table. Gender bias won’t hold us back; it will only make us fight harder. 

Source: Reddit