Gender disparities within organisations often originate in the hiring process. While numerous studies have explored the significance of this issue, few have examined how key organisational decision-makers contribute to gender disparities in hiring outcomes. To bridge this research gap, Nico Lehmann, Associate Professor of Accounting at Erasmus School of Economics, and Almasa Sarabi (University of Amsterdam) conducted a a study, recently published in the Administrative Science Quarterly. Forbes Magazine has also shed light on the work of Lehmann and Sarabi in two separate articles.
The impact of shortlisting on hiring outcomes
The study investigates whether transferring the responsibility of shortlisting candidates—narrowing a large pool of applicants to a more manageable number before final hiring decisions—from hiring managers to the Human Resources (HR) department affects gender disparities in hiring outcomes.
For their research, Lehmann and Sarabi analysed data from a multinational technology corporation that had traditionally relied on hiring managers to oversee the entire recruitment process. However, the researchers introduced a change in which HR personnel took over the shortlisting process, selecting seven candidates per role before passing them on to hiring managers for final selection. Over 24 months, the researchers examined hiring practices before and after the intervention, analysing the recruitment of 8,750 new employees. Notably, following the change, the proportion of women hired increased by 5.9 percentage points.
Why did HR-led shortlisting increase female hires?
Lehmann and Sarabi identified two key reasons why transferring shortlisting responsibilities to HR led to a higher share of female hires. First, HR personnel had more experience in assessing applicants, leading to a more consistent application of hiring criteria. Second, HR professionals dedicated more time to reviewing applications, as candidate selection was a primary job function for them. In contrast, hiring managers had to balance recruitment tasks alongside their main professional responsibilities. According to Sarabi: ‘This matters, because we know from prior research that when opportunity costs are high in situations of evaluation, decision-makers are more apt to rely on observable, stereotypic indicators of expected quality, such as gender.’
The study found no evidence that the increase in female hires resulted from gender-based preferences. The rise in female hires was consistent across the company’s global offices, despite variations in the gender composition of HR teams.
Implications for organisational hiring strategies
Lehmann and Sarabi conclude: ‘The key implication we draw from our research is that who is shortlisting candidates may influence the demographic composition of the workforce.’ By refining recruitment strategies, organisations can take meaningful steps towards reducing gender disparities and fostering a more balanced workforce.
- Associate professor
- More information
Sarabi, A., & Lehmann, N. (2024). Who Shortlists? Evidence on Gender Disparities in Hiring Outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 69(4), 1044-1084.
You can read the article by Forbes, 'This Simple Hiring Strategy Increased Female Representation', 11 February 2025, here.
You can read the article by Forbes, 'How To Reduce Hiring Bias Against Women? Study Finds Key Role For HR', 11 February 2025, here.
