70% of Swedish Job Seekers Have Experienced Discrimination

In a recent study, conducted by unbiased recruitment and staffing agency TNG, Swedish job seekers were asked about unbiased recruitment and if they have experienced discrimination when applying for a new job. Over 70% of candidates who participated in the study report that they have been rejected during a recruitment process because of possible discrimination.

One part of the report is asking job seekers about rejection based on factors like age, gender or transgender identity, ethnic heritage, appearance, sexual orientation, and disability. They could select more than one option.

58% believe they have been rejected because of their age

And the results were clear, the biggest factor for discrimination is age. 58% of job seekers believe they have been rejected because of age discrimination. When looking more specifically at different age groups, 70% of candidates between 46-55 years say they have experienced rejection because of their age. And 87% of job seekers between 56-64 have experienced age discrimination.

The job interview is a crucial step in the recruitment process and can easily be affected by unconscious bias. Tengai AB’s vision is to create a fair and objective interview experience for all candidates. Through the blind robot interview, recruiters and managers will get objective assessments based only on the candidate’s competency, since Tengai doesn’t take notice of their voice, mannerism or physical appearance.

The six most common reasons why a job seeker experience discrimination:

1. Age (58 %)

2. Appearance (14 %)

3. Gender or transgender identity (13 %)

4. Ethnic heritage (12 %)

5. Disability* (5 %)

6. Sexual orientation (1 %)

*Physical, neuropsychiatric, or intellectual (temporary or permanent)

Read the full study,” TNG Talent Insights 2019: Rättvist, autentiskt och inkluderande” (in Swedish) to learn more about discrimination on the job market.

Download it Here.

About the report

The study consists of 1578 anonymous job seekers and was carried out by the Swedish recruitment and staffing agency TNG during the Spring of 2019. The research selection was based on candidates from platforms such as Careerbuilder, Blocket Jobb, Metrojobb, StepStone, Arbetsförmedlingen, LinkedIn, Facebook and CS-jobb. As well as, random selections of Swedish job seekers within finance, tech, IT, marketing, customer service, sales, administration, HR, and logistics.