Their names were cited, according to the Anglo-Saxon practice of "name and shame" - "to name and to blame". The government pinned, Thursday, February 6, seven French companies - Air France, Accor, Altran, Arkéma, Renault, Rexel and Sopra Steria - for "presumption of discrimination in hiring" in favor of a "testing" campaign large scale he had sponsored. And even if the latter contest the results and challenge the methodology used, the main lesson is final. "Of all the companies tested, it is estimated that the success rate of the candidate whose name has a North African sound is 9.3% against 12.5% ​​for the candidate with a European sounding name", indicate the Ministries of Labor, Housing and the Women's Rights Secretariat who presented these results. This represents "25% less chance" of having an answer - of good reception or giving information.

According to sociologist Jean-François Amadieu, president of the Discrimination Observatory, very large companies could set up the anonymity of candidates without difficulty.

France 24: How does discrimination in hiring linked to origins evolve in France?

Jean-François Amadieu: The results of this testing do not surprise me. In the corporate world, background discrimination is similar: a visible minority candidate is on average 20 to 25% less likely to be selected. In recent years, this figure has remained stable, it is also that observed in the United States. On the other hand, we do not know what it is for smaller companies because the tests are carried out with large firms. It would be interesting to measure discrimination in smaller structures - it is probably even more important there.

Discrimination is also linked to the sector of activity. In the hotel and restaurant industry, as in sectors that involve significant contact with customers, it is more important than elsewhere. The Accor group was hit again, and that is not surprising. With the Halde (High Authority against Discrimination and for Equality, dissolved in 2001, Editor's note), we had already spotted it in 2008. In 2017, the group was again cited by the Minister of Labor of the Myriam El Khomry era. It should also be remembered that discrimination can be multiple: 25 grounds of discrimination are used in France. And the first two grounds of discrimination are age and physical appearance, ahead of that linked to origins. These reasons have not been tested by the government, it is unfortunate.

How to fight against this discrimination?

An effective measure would be a law on the anonymity of candidates. This option was finally rejected by the legislator in 2015. It is however the solution to adopt: make the CV anonymous by deleting information such as age, sex, address. In other European countries, this measure has proven its effectiveness, for example in Germany, Sweden, or the Netherlands. In many large British companies, including the BBC, this practice exists.

Either we want lots of information, with a French CV, or we believe that the employer does not need to have all this information about a candidate. In the United States, in Canada, your photo is not included on a CV ... Does the employer need to know if you are overweight, to know your address or your sexual orientation? This information has absolutely nothing to do with skills.
In addition, very large companies all have online application processing software, so they could set up the anonymity of applications without difficulty.

Some companies denounce the "weaknesses of the methodology used which leads to erroneous conclusions" ...

The methodology of this testing was not designed so that there is "name and shame". In this case, when we know that at the end of the process we will name the companies, we must involve them more in the study so that the results are ultimately incontestable. There are challenges on their part and the government has recognized "limits" to this study. (The government indicated on Thursday that it would relaunch "a new wave of testing with specifications taking into account the margins of progress identified on the first study", Editor's note.). But that does not invalidate the result: discrimination remains very important.

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