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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address four interrelated questions: what is the prevalence of ageism amongst employers? What are the factors conditioning employers' age stereotypes? To what extent are ageist attitudes among employers translated into discriminatory recruitment, retention and firing practices? And what factors can moderate the stereotype–discrimination interaction? Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on a survey conducted among Danish employers; 2,525 completed the survey questionnaires; response rate 25 per cent. Findings: The major finding is that ageist stereotypes among employers do not translate into discriminatory personnel management practices. Research limitations/implications: The findings may be specific to Denmark. Denmark is renowned to be a non-hierarchical, egalitarian society, which may have implications for personnel management practices. Originality/value: Contrary to this study, most studies analysing ageist stereotypes do not assess the extent to which stereotypes are translated into discriminatory personnel management practices in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Only data from developed countries were used to estimate the sexual orientation difference in wages. This paper is the first, which aims to identify the wage discrimination of gay men in Russia – a country where institutional discrimination and ignorance against gay men are known to present. Design/methodology/approach: Gays are identified as men who reported having sex with other men in several waves of the national household survey. A wage equation is used to estimate the gay wage penalty. Extending the wage equation to implement a difference-in-difference design, the paper also evaluates the effect of the gay-propaganda law of 2013 on gay wages. Findings: No wage discrimination is identified. The law also has no adverse effect on gay wages. Practical implications: Cross-country comparison and theoretical generalizations are premature, and better identification strategies are needed to understand sexual orientation differences. Social implications: Policymakers should be aware that in both discriminatory and equitable environments, there may be hidden inequality even if researchers do not detect it. Originality/value: The findings are implausible and add to existing evidence that gay discrimination measured with wage equation suffers from endogeneity and should be interpreted with caution. Particular caution should be exercised in cross-sectional and time-series comparisons, as a tendency to report the orientation honestly and unobserved confounders vary by location and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the significant and high death toll of COVID-19 on care home residents and social care staff in England and Wales. These mortality figures, alongside differential treatment of residents and staff during the pandemic, are conceptualized as a form of structural abuse. Arguments are made for the inclusion of structural abuse as a separate category of elder abuse. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is predominantly conceptual but it also draws on available secondary data, such as mortality statistics, media reports and developing research. Findings: The lack of appropriate personal protective equipment, paucity of guidance and high mortality rate among care home staff and residents during the pandemic is indicative of social discourses that, when underpinned by ageism, reflect structural elder abuse. Research limitations/implications: The research is limited by its focus on a specific time period and its recency. It is also limited in not being based on primary empirical research but it remains exploratory and conceptual and provides a base for ongoing research in this area. Social implications: If structural elder abuse was to be included in classifications, it demands a rethink of social and health-care services and the policies and practices associated with them and reinforces the government message that safeguarding is everyone's business. Originality/value: Research concerning the effects and impact of COVID-19 are still in their early stages. However, the central element of originality in the paper concerns the linking of practices, policies and underlying social assumptions and structural, or societally ingrained, elder abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss the implications of government responses to COVID-19 for older people. Governments in England and in Wales faced complex decisions when responding to COVID-19. This paper considers the impact of their actions on the human rights of older people. It argues that there is a case to answer of potential breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights. Although it is too early to come to firm conclusions as more scientific and medical evidence is required, some actions by governments seem to be based on using age as a basis for decision-making. Human rights are complex, and it is important that claims of violations satisfy the Convention, the Human Rights Act 1998, the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and other international instruments. Design/methodology/approach: The paper considers the legal framework of the European Convention and its relevance to Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) and older people. Case law, academic research, guidance and media coverage form the basis of the research. Findings: The governments have a strong case to answer. In defending their positions against allegations of discrimination against older people, they need to produce strong and convincing evidence including medical and scientific evidence that formed the basis of their decisions. Originality/value: This paper is based on original research into human rights, older people and COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines whether and how labour market duality can be alleviated through legislation that prohibits discrimination based on employment type. Design/methodology/approach: In 2007, the Korean government undertook a labour reform banning discriminatory treatment against fixed-term, part-time and dispatched workers. By exploiting a gradual implementation of the anti-discrimination law by firm size targeting a subset of non-regular workers, the paper identifies the treatment effects of the anti-discrimination law, taking a difference-in-difference-in-differences approach. Findings: The results suggest that the anti-discrimination law significantly increases hourly wages and the probabilities of being covered by national pension, health insurance, and employment insurance for targeted non-regular workers in small firms relative to other workers. Anticipatory behaviours of employers and selective transitions of employees in response to the implementation of the anti-discrimination law do not underlie the estimated effects. The presence of labour unions contributes to reducing gaps in labour conditions between regular workers and targeted non-regular workers. Originality/value: The main contribution of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on causal impacts of equal pay legislation on the gaps in labour conditions between different categories of workers, using a difference-in-difference-in-differences estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to observe how the cohabiting lesbian earnings differential in the USA has changed since the early 2000s, a time period during which the lesbian, gay and bisexual rights movement has been very successful. Design/methodology/approach: The author analyzes the 2012–2017 American Community Survey using Mincer-style income regressions. Findings: The author finds that cohabiting lesbians earn approximately 11 percent less than married heterosexual women. The earnings penalty has emerged as a result of the disproportionately large penalty young lesbians' experience. While older lesbians (over 45) do not experience an earnings penalty, younger lesbians appear doubly disadvantaged. They now face a lesbian wage gap of approximately 24 percent in addition to the previously documented gender wage gap. Research limitations/implications: The paper shows that cohabiting lesbians earn approximately 11 percent less than married heterosexual women. The earnings penalty has emerged as a result of the disproportionately large penalty young cohabiting lesbians experience. While older cohabiting lesbians (over 45) do not experience an earnings penalty, younger cohabiting lesbians face a wage gap of approximately 24 percent. Originality/value: The study finds, contrary to most previous research, a cohabiting lesbian earnings penalty instead of premium. The findings highlight that there is considerable heterogeneity in the economic experience of cohabiting lesbians, and that young cohabiting lesbians comprise a particularly vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Discriminatory abuse has been a distinct category of abuse in safeguarding adults policy since 2000, but it is rarely used in practice, according to recent official statistics. As part of a larger project, the authors undertook a literature review to clarify the concept, explore reasons for low reporting and consider recommendations for practice. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of this literature review. Design/methodology/approach: This literature review comprises 35 sources, which were identified using three academic databases, reference harvesting and sector-specific websites. Findings were developed through thematic analysis of the data. Findings: The literature review demonstrates that definitions of discriminatory abuse stretch from an interpersonal emphasis in policy documents to a more structural approach. There are open questions about the status of discriminatory abuse as a category of abuse due to the complicated interface between discriminatory motivations and the abusive acts through which they are experienced. A range of factors can obscure its identification, particularly the hidden, stigmatised and normalised nature of discriminatory abuse. Some recommendations for practice are identified, but more work is needed to develop the practice vocabulary and required skills. Originality/value: This study brings together existing research on discriminatory abuse to argue that it is time to revive this understanding of abuse and develop safeguarding practice with adults who have protected characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the level and structure of the wage inequality between nonrefugee and refugee workers in Palestine and the extent to which such wage gap reflects any marginalization and discrimination against refugees. It also investigates how the disparities in distribution to individual worker characteristics contribute to the wage inequality in Palestine. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use both Oaxaca and Blinder (OB) (Oaxaca, 1973 and Blinder, 1973) and Fortin et al. (2011) unconditional quantile decomposition approaches to measure the size of the wage gap along with the wage distribution and to decompose the wage differences into productivity (i.e. explained or the composition effects) and wage structure effects (i.e. unexplained or discrimination effects). Findings: Results indicate that most of the wage gap between refugees and nonrefugees is attributed to the wage structure effect (possibly explained by discrimination) against refugees in the Palestinian labor market. The wage gap between refugees and nonrefugees is not uniform throughout the wage distribution and supports the "sticky floor effect." Practical implications: This work introduces important policy implications for the policymakers in the Palestinian labor market. It reveals the economic and social factors, individual worker characteristics as well as labor market characteristics contribute to the wage inequality in Palestine. Social implications: This research reveals a crucial social challenge in the Palestinian society, represented by the wage discrimination against refugees in Palestine. This is despite the denial of such discrimination from official bodies, local institutions and many other policymakers. It also captures gender inequality between men and women. Originality/value: This is the first empirical work in Palestine that contends with a very sensitive issue in the Palestinian society, that is, the discrimination against refugees in the Palestinian labor market. Most of the existing studies have approached this issue from a humanitarian view in order to show the deterioration of social and economic situations in the refugee camps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Mental illness is associated with high unemployment rates, limited working opportunities, work-related discrimination, stigma and prejudices. For people with severe mental illness, the work reality is even more burdensome. This paper aims to explore in-depth and presents research results in the past decade on the meaning of work for people with severe mental illness. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a systematic literature search in Medline, Science Direct, PsycINFO databases between 2000 and 2019. The review concluded in 13 studies. Findings: This research showed actual results regarding the meaning of work for individuals with severe mental illness from a medical, social, psychological and financial perspective. Work is of great importance for people with severe mental illness, influencing their lives on many levels. Practical implications: The present research results can contribute to the information and further awareness of experts in mental health and vocational rehabilitation services. This review lightens the meaning of work and challenges the state's priorities in creating active and not marginalised citizens. Originality/value: This review is original and adds to the existing knowledge that employment may benefit people with severe mental illness, especially the youngest adults, despite their labor market obstacles. It is for communities' benefit, employers, but mostly for people with severe mental illness themselves, to work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose In the context of increasing interdisciplinarity in academia and professional practice, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the contribution of information science (IS) to education and practice in social work (SW), specifically in the area of disabilities at the workplace. As a case in point, a work environment of academia and faculty members with disabilities and their managers are chosen. The paper also stands to improve interdisciplinary understanding between IS and SW.Design/methodology/approach Combining SW and IS perspectives and building off selective exposure, cognitive dissonance and uncertainty management theories, the paper looks at one of the root-causes of continuous workplace discrimination against and bullying of people with disabilities – information avoidance (IA).Findings The paper conceptualises discrimination and bullying as an inherently information problem, for which an SW solution could be proposed. Two types of information are noted to be avoided: information about disabilities and information about the effect of discrimination and bullying on employees with disabilities. The paper distinguishes between defensive and deliberate IA, each of which poses different challenges for social workers who are likely to intervene in the cases of bullying and discrimination in their capacity as workplace counsellors and advisors.Originality/value It is the first known paper that explores the intellectual and practice-based synergy between SW and IS in application to change-related interventions and preventative plans that counteract discrimination against people with disabilities at the workplace. It proposes creative solutions for intervention, including bibliotherapy. It also opens up a broader conversation on how critical the knowledge of IS is for social workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine if credit rationing persists even in the era of financial liberalization, the extent to which individual, firm and loan characteristics influence the rationing behavior of commercial banks and whether the agricultural sector is discriminated against in the commercial bank credit market.Design/methodology/approach The study employed a probit model with marginal effects and a generalized Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition estimation on a randomly selected data of 1,239 entrepreneurs from eight commercial banks’ credit records about their individual, firm and loan characteristics.Findings The study revealed that credit rationing persists and that applying for a relatively longer payment period, providing collateral and guarantor, being illiterate, being relatively older and being in the agricultural sector increases the likelihood of being credit rationed, while having some relationship with the bank, having non-mandatory savings and applying from a bank with relatively high interest rates reduce the likelihood of being credit rationed. The study also revealed a credit gap of 17.77 percent and a positive discrimination against borrowers in the agricultural sector as the gap was largely being influenced by unexplained factors.Research limitations/implications The research was intended to cover a large number of commercial banks in Ghana. However, most of the banks were unwilling to provide such information about their borrowers; hence, the research was limited to only eight commercial banks who provided the author with the information needed for the study.Practical implications The study concludes that policies that enhance human capital, women, and older access to credit and agricultural-oriented financial services and others, will go a long way to reduce rationing and increase access to credit, especially to the agricultural sector.Social implications The research proposes the use of group lending as a form of collateral and monitoring to ease risks and default, and hence supports sustainable funding to increase access and outreach.Originality/value The paper looks at the comprehensive way about the various factors determining credit rationing in that it considers not only the individual, economic/firm and loan characteristics but also the extent to which discrimination toward the agricultural sector exists in the commercial banks credit market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess field experiments of labour and product markets that have attached photos to identify applicants (in the case of labour markets) or sellers/crowd funders (in the case of product markets).Design/methodology/approach The experiments seek to identify the contribution of attractiveness, race/ethnicity, skin colour, sexual orientation or religion to the behaviour of agents in markets. These experiments attach photos to CV to signal attractiveness, or the basis of being tested such as race/ethnicity, skin colour or religion.Findings Many experiments report significant findings for the impact of attractiveness or the identity revealed on positive callbacks to applicants.Research limitations/implications The issue considered here, however, is to what extent it is attractiveness or other perceived characteristics that may have had an impact on the behaviour recorded in the experiments. The results of the studies covered in this paper, to a lesser extent those of Weichselbaumer (2004) and Baert (2017), are compromised by including photos, with the possibility the responses received were influenced not only by the basis being tested such as attractiveness, race/ethnicity or religion but by some other characteristic unintended by the researcher but conveyed by the photo.Practical implications There is evidence in the experimental work of a range of characteristics that photos convey of individuals and their impact on labour and product market outcomes such as success in obtaining a positive response to job applications and success in obtaining funding to finance projects in the product market. Suggestions are made for future experiments: evaluation of photos for a range of characteristics; use of a “no photo” application together with the photo applications; and evaluation of responses for any bias from unobservable characteristics using Neumark (2012).Originality/value This paper discusses for the first time three questions with some tentative answers. First, the researcher faces introducing further unobservable characteristics by using photos. Second, the researcher cannot fully control the experimental approach when using photos. Third, the researcher is able to accurately evaluate the impact of the photos used on the response/probability of call back. Field experiments using photos need to ensure they do this for the range of factors that have been shown to affect judgments and therefore potentially influence call back response. However, the issue remains whether the researcher has, in fact, identified all potential characteristics conveyed by the photos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there is unequal treatment in hiring depending on whether a job applicant signals living in a bad (deprived) neighborhood or in a good (affluent) neighborhood.Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a field experiment where fictitious job applications were sent to employers with an advertised vacancy. Each job application was randomly assigned a residential address in either a bad or a good neighborhood. The measured outcome is the fraction of invitations for a job interview (the callback rate).Findings The authors find no evidence of general neighborhood signaling effects. However, job applicants with a foreign background have callback rates that are 42 percent lower if they signal living in a bad neighborhood rather than in a good neighborhood. In addition, the authors find that applicants with commuting times longer than 90 minutes have lower callback rates, and this is unrelated to the neighborhood signaling effect.Originality/value Empirical evidence of causal neighborhood effects on labor market outcomes is scant, and causal evidence on the mechanisms involved is even more scant. The paper provides such evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiences that people with HIV faced as they navigated through the intricate processes of trying to access adoption services in the south of England. It proposes the need to pay more attention to people living with HIV (PLWHIV) able to adopt children. The study aims to develop an increased focus on PLWHIV able to adopt.Design/methodology/approach The paper is an exploratory study using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach. Open-ended interviews were conducted with seven participants including individuals and couples. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using IPA’s cross-case and ideographic analysis.Findings The paper provides empirical insights about the challenges that PLWHIV experienced with social workers. Positive experiences were in the minority. Lack of information, inadequate support, stigma and discrimination, cultural insensitivity and disempowerment were frequently reported. The paper suggests that greater understanding and better education for social workers would improve access to adoption by people with HIV.Research limitations/implications Given the chosen approach and small sample size, results may not be generalisable.Practical implications This study increases knowledge, promotes positive attitudes and improved support for PLWHIV who are stable and able to offer permanency to adoptive children.Originality/value This paper provides new ideas in an area that is scarcely researched. It identifies the need to undertake further studies to understand how social workers assess PLWHIV and what can be done to provide adequate support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Mentioning car and motorcycle licences on a resume sends a signal of strong mobility, which should increase the chances of getting a job in congested traffic areas. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether this is the case for both women and men.Design/methodology/approach The authors implement an experimental design in order to test for the existence of gender discrimination. The authors use the first-order stochastic dominance (FOSD) criterion and estimate components models.Findings The authors find that holding a motorcycle licence leads to a counterproductive selection of female candidates, since the highest commuting mobility meets the lowest hiring rate.Research limitations/implications The methodology developed in the paper can be used for all correspondence test data.Originality/value The authors examine effects that have not been observed thus far in the literature, namely, the effects of gender crossed with the effects of the class of driving licence that is mentioned on the resume. The authors also advocate the use of the FOSD criterion to discrimination studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to put the findings of the Secure, Accessible, Friendly and Equal (SAFE) Housing study, which explored older LGBT* people’s housing concerns, preferences and experiences, in a sociological context.Design/methodology/approach The SAFE Housing study was based on a mixed methods research design that included focus groups and an online survey conducted in two areas of England. The paper draws heavily on the theoretical concept of social capital to help to understand and explain the findings.Findings Findings are grouped into three broad themes: safety, comfort and trust; connections and community; and imagining the future.Originality/value This is the first time that an older LGBT housing study has used social capital theory to interpret its findings. This shows how a focus on issues of trust, social networks and connections is expedient to avoid reductive approaches in research, policy and practice to older LGBT* people’s housing choices, preferences and expectations that concentrate on the individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical patterns regarding trans people's self-esteem-oriented evaluations during observations of positive workplace actions. The case of a 2015 UK workplace guide is utilized to fulfil the aims. The guide provides suggestions to employers for recruiting and retaining trans people. Design/methodology/approach: A new questionnaire is created which forms a 20-item scale capturing a variety of self-evaluations. Trans people provided their responses in a 2018–2019 survey and the study's patterns were captured. Findings: The outcomes suggest that trans people's self-esteem and self-respect are enhanced by policy makers' positive actions to promote inclusivity in the workplace. In addition, due to these actions trans people feel more accepted, valued and trusted by the government. The authors suggest that a lack of positive workplace actions may be detrimental to trans people's self-esteem. However, if a workplace policy is perceived to be a recognition of trans people's worth this may be internalized, resulting in positive self-evaluations. The authors suggest that the 2015 workplace guide aims to ensure that trans people's self-expressions are not constrained in ways that could cause them self-esteem difficulties. Practical implications: The study also finds that firms which have implemented the workplace guide have informed human resources strategies, affected corporate profiles and staff organizational behaviours, created a more inclusive workplace culture, and addressed LGBT business and trans staff members' needs. The authors suggest that when employers utilize policy makers' positive workplace policies they may be able to realize positive organizational outcomes in their firms. Social implications: The World Health Organization perceives self-esteem as a public matter and this study suggests that inclusive workplace strategies can positively affect the psychological states of a highly marginalized population group. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge this is the first attempt to quantify how a workplace guide impacts on self-esteem-oriented evaluations among trans people. Each one of the 20 items in the scale brings new insights into the subject matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine associations between: family support during the school-age period, and school-age bullying (short-term associations); and family support during the school-age period and workplace bullying (long-term associations) for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults in Britain. Design/methodology/approach: The authors employ retrospective questions regarding family support for LGB children and school-age bullying and questions regarding workplace bullying in the respondents' present jobs. A 2016 data set was utilized which was created by attending events during the UK LGBT History Month. Findings: The empirical investigation demonstrates that supportive family environments toward LGB children reduce both school-age and workplace bullying. Practical implications: Given the increasing number of people self-identifying as LGB, the significant percentages of school and workplace bullying incidents and the corresponding negative effects on people's lives, it is important to examine the benefits of family support with regards to reducing school and workplace victimization. This study also reports that family support could have an enduring influence on the experiences of LGB children and adults. Originality/value: No known research has considered the possible developmental benefits of family support on reducing future workplace bullying for LGB children. In addition, this might be the first study which simultaneously examines family support toward LGB children, school-age and workplace bullying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between experiencing ageism in the workplace and working conditions on perceived job sustainability among current workers aged 40 and over in Europe, within the context of positive and active ageing strategies and programmes. Design/methodology/approach: Data are from the 6th round of the European Working Conditions Survey (n=22,229), and the analytical sample contains adults aged 40 and older in 28 European Member States grouped by employment regime: social-democratic regime, corporatist regime, liberal regime, Southern European regime, post-socialist corporatist regime and post-socialist liberal regime. Perceived job sustainability estimated based on whether the respondent thinks (yes/no) that they can do their current job or similar role until the age of 60 or in next five years if the respondent is aged 56 and over. Experience of ageism in the workplace (yes/no) is self-reported. Generalised structural equation modelling was used to control for both individual- and organisational-level influences and to correct for potential endogeneity in estimating the impact of experienced ageism on perceived job sustainability. In addition, employment regimes are included in the model to investigate differences in this relationship by setting. Findings: Adults who have not experienced ageism are more likely to have positive perceptions of job sustainability, net of other factors and employment regime. Job sustainability is positively associated with age, being male, being in good health status and higher levels of work satisfaction. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of this study is that data are cross-sectional, and time variant factors and individual fixed characteristics are excluded from the estimation. The results are influenced by the self-reported data about experienced ageism and evaluation of workplace environment, which may lead to potential endogeneity caused by unobservable personal characteristics such as personality type. Originality/value: Although the average reported prevalence of ageism in the workplace is 3.4 per cent across the 28 European Union Member States, this study shows that ageism imposes significant negative influence on current workers. This study has highlighted the interrelationship between ageism, workplace satisfaction and job sustainability in this comparative setting. Efforts to reduce ageism in the workplace are likely to lead to improved working conditions and job sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the earnings differentials between the locals and the rural–urban migrants in urban labor market in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approach Using the new Vietnam Rural-Urban Migration Survey 2013 (VRUMS2013) that is specifically designed for rural–urban migration, the author applies Appleton et al.'s (1999) procedure correcting for potential selectivity to decompose the offered earnings gap between the locals and the rural–urban migrants into within- and between-occupation pay differential. Bootstrapping is used to derive the standard errors for the decomposition results. The author further applies the propensity score matching (PSM) method to check whether the results are robust by restricting the sample to the "common support."Findings Within-job difference, particularly, the favorable treatment toward urban workers contributes significantly to the overall and total unexplained earnings gap. Further, between-job pay differential attributed to the over-representation of urban workers in high-paying job also helps to widen the gap. These results are robust restricting to the "common support" sample using PSM.Research limitations/implications Due to the sample size, occupations are only classified into three broad categories. Finer classification will allow a better comparison between the contributions of between and within-occupation to earning inequality. The data are only limited to a few cities and do not include other urban centers that also receive rural–urban migrants.Practical implications Policies to promote equal pay and alleviate within-job "discrimination," especially the preferential treatment favoring the locals (rather than to provide equal access to different jobs) are crucial for migrants' labor outcome. Moreover, this study can, to some extent, be seen as a timely contribution for the debate on household registration reform in general and in Vietnam specifically. Given China's announcement to grant permanent household registration (hukou) to unregistrated migrants in late 2015, investigating whether there is a two-tier labor market in the cities in Vietnam is particularly important for the ongoing debate regarding future of household registration system (ho khau).Originality/value This is the first study in Vietnam on rural–urban migration and occupation segregation – an area that has been relatively less well studied in developing/transitional countries. Vietnam is also one of the few developing countries who have household registration system in place. This has made it an interesting case. The author uses a new survey data to apply the Appleton et al. (1999) decomposition on the offered wage gap rather than observed wage gap. Standard errors of the decomposition results are bootstrapped and a robust check using propensity score method is conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The paper aims to investigate why organizations often opt to reject Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)-sponsored mediation of employment disputes (in contrast to employees who tend to readily agree to it). It is guided by recent research associated with Shapiro and Kirkman’s (1999, 2001) theory of “anticipatory justice”, whereby (in)justice is anticipated, or expected, when people think about an event they have not yet experienced whose likely fairness they are questioning. In contrast, “organizational justice” reflects people’s retrospective assessments of how fair they have been treated to date.Design/methodology/approach The paper relied upon data made available by the mediation program administered by the US EEOC. The EEOC provided the names and contact information for the officially designated EEOC contacts for each dispute. The authors distributed surveys to each of these organizational representatives and received completed surveys from 492 organizations (a response rate of 85.8 per cent).Findings The authors tested the extent to which organizational representatives’ decision to accept or reject mediation as a means of settling discrimination claims is influenced by representatives’ expectation of more versus less fair treatments – by the opposing party as well as by the third-party mediator – during the mediation procedure. The pattern of findings in the study support all hypotheses and, thus, also the expectation-oriented theories that have guided them.Research limitations/implications The study relies on self-reports. However, this concern is somewhat lessened because of the salience and recency of events to the time of surveying.Practical implications The paper provides new insights on the need for organizations to implement rules, policies and procedures to constrain decision-maker choices consistent with organizational goals. The authors offer specific procedural proposals to reduce this organizational tendency to reject mediation.Social implications Employee grievances are costly to organizations in terms of finances, reputation and to the emotional climate of the organization. Moreover, it is similarly costly to employees. This study provides new insights to better understand why employees (as opposed to organizations) are almost three times more likely to elect mediation of employment disputes. As such, it offers some promising ideas to narrow that gap.Originality/value The paper investigates a little-studied phenomenon – the differential participation rate of employees versus organizations in EEOC-sponsored mediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The Ñopo (2008) method of non-parametric decomposition, a matching-based alternative to Oaxaca (1973) and Blinder’s (1973) method of wage gap decomposition, is subject to the so-called “index number problem” common to the Oaxaca-Blinder and many related methods: its results are sensitive to the (arbitrary) choice of either male or female sex as the reference category in decomposition. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue by proposing an extension to the method that is invariant to the choice of reference category. Design/methodology/approach – The Ñopo method is modified such that the wage structure of the average worker instead of either male or female worker’s is used as the reference, enabling one to distinguish the “male advantage” and “female advantage” portions of the gender wage gap. As an illustration, a decomposition of the gender wage gap is performed with the modified method, using data from 15 OECD countries. Findings – The empirical results using the Ñopo decomposition indicate substantial differences in estimates of the unexplained gap depending on which sex is used as the reference category. Moreover, this disparity varies significantly with the choice of covariates used in the decomposition. This confirms there is significant cross-country variation in the asymmetry between male advantage and female disadvantage and that a decomposition method making this explicit would be relevant in real world settings. Originality/value – The extension of the Ñopo method proposed in this paper offers a way of decomposing the wage gaps in a way that is not sensitive to the choice of the reference category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to explore how both gender and facial attractiveness affect job candidates' chances of obtaining interviews in China's dynamic internet job board labor market. It examines how discrimination based on these attributes varies over occupation, location, and firms' ownership type and size. Design/methodology/approach -- The authors carry out a resume audit (correspondence) study. Resumes of fictitious applicants are first carefully crafted to make candidates appear equally productive in terms of their work histories and educational backgrounds. The authors control gender and facial attractiveness. The authors establish the facial attractiveness of candidate photos via an online survey. In total, 24,192 applications are submitted to 12,096 job postings across four occupations in six Chinese cities. Callbacks are carefully tracked and recorded. Discrimination is estimated by calculating the differences in the rates of callbacks for interviews received by individuals whose applications vary only in terms of facial attractiveness and gender. The authors reuse the same resumes repeatedly through this project such that names and photos of each of the candidates: attractive man, attractive woman, unattractive man, and unattractive woman is attached to each resume hundreds of times for each occupation in each city. Findings -- The authors find sizable differences in the interview callback rates of attractive and unattractive job candidates. Job candidates with unattractive faces need to put in 33 percent more applications than their attractive counterparts to obtain the same number of interview callbacks. Women are preferred to men in three of the four occupations. Women, on average need put in only 91 percent as many applications as men to obtain the same number of interview callbacks. Research limitations/implications -- The analysis of this paper focusses on only four different occupations. Its scope is also limited to exploring only the first part of the hiring process -- obtaining a job interview. Furthermore, its fictitious applicants are all young people, approximately 25 years old. It would be useful to explore how gender and facial attractiveness affect candidates' chances of landing a job after getting an interview. Originality/value -- This paper contributes to and expands the literature on hiring through China's internet job boards. It also contributes to the literature on the role of facial attractiveness in hiring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence of the effect of labour market status on the current probability to be invited to a hiring interview. The authors compare the effect of periods of unemployment, part-time job and short-term contracts (STCs).Design/methodology/approach Correspondence tests were conducted for accountants and sales assistants. The authors estimate the discrimination components from the response rate of each candidate by the asymptotic least squares method.Findings The authors find that men with a part-time profile suffer discrimination in both professions. Other differences of treatment are specific: for accountants, the authors find that the probability of success decreases with the time spent in unemployment, while for sales assistants the probability of success is smaller with a history of STCs.Originality/value This study compares the effect of different dimensions of career history (part-time versus full-time, permanent versus short-term, unemployment versus employment) for experienced job candidates. It also proposes an alternative way to exploit the design of a correspondence experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the association between firm size and hiring discrimination against women, ethnic minorities and older job candidates.Design/methodology/approach The authors merge field experimental measures on unequal treatment with firm-level data. The resulting data enable the authors to assess whether discrimination varies by indicators of firm size, keeping other firm characteristics constant.Findings In contrast with the theoretical expectations, the authors find no evidence for an association between firm size and hiring discrimination. On the other hand, the authors do find suggestive evidence for hiring discrimination being lower in respect of public or non-profit firms (compared to commercial firms).Social implications To effectively combat hiring discrimination, one needs to understand its driving factors. In other words, to design adequate policy actions, targeted to the right employers in the right way, one has to gain insight into when individuals are discriminated in particular, i.e. into the moderators of labour market discrimination. In this study, the authors focus on firm size as a moderator of hiring discrimination.Originality/value Former contributions investigated this association within the context of ethnic discrimination only and included hardly any controls for other firm-level drivers of discrimination. The authors are the first to study the heterogeneity in discrimination by firm size with respect to multiple discrimination grounds and control for additional firm characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Economic pluralism proposes that economists and social planners should consider alternative theories to establish a range of policy actions. Neoclassical, Feminist and Marxian theories evaluate well-grounded causes of wage discrimination. However, a reluctance to consider less-dominant theories among different schools of economic thought restricts analysis and proposed policies, resulting in a monism method. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach The authors provide a brief review of the theoretical literature on wage discrimination. The significance of a pluralistic analysis is demonstrated by addressing correspondence test patterns of wage discrimination.Findings In considering Neoclassical, Feminist and Marxian theories, racist attitudes, uncertainties regarding minority workers’ productivity and power relations in lower-status sectors might generate discriminatory wages. Each cause deserves corresponding policy action.Research limitations/implications Time is needed to provide a pluralistic evaluation of wage discrimination. In addition, pluralism requires rigorous investigations to avoid incoherencies. Pluralism might be jeopardised if there is a limited desire to engage with less-dominant theoretical frameworks. Also, pluralism might be misled with rejection of dominant theories.Practical implications Given pluralism, wage discrimination might be reduced by implementing equality campaigns, creating low-cost tests to predict workers’ productivity and abolishing power relations towards minority workers.Originality/value Little work has been on economic pluralism in the study of wage discrimination. The current study addresses the gap in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to call to public leaders to exercise moral courage in choosing to understand and address phobic biases and prejudicial attitudes toward Muslims in the workplace. With reference to developments in the USA, workplace discrimination is framed as an ethical issue, with Islamophobia viewed as a rapidly growing concern. Design/methodology/approach - This work is a practical application of existing theory and research in positive organizational scholarship to address the concern of workplace discrimination; specifically Islamophobia. Propositions are developed to depict how public leaders can address Islamophobia and other forms of discrimination by role modeling moral courage. Findings - The findings show that Islamophobia is an ethical challenge for public leaders, one that can begin to be addressed by exercising character strength that promotes tolerance, civility, and respect. This proactive approach will enable public leaders to serve as pillars of openness, inclusion, and thoughtful regard for others, regardless of organizational members' faith or culture. Social implications - The social implications are to encourage discourse among global public leaders, prompting awareness and concern for Islamophobia and promoting more informed paths for productive scholarship. Originality/value - Studies of workplace discrimination typically focus on race and gender, with few considering how Muslims face increasing Islamophobia. This work adds value to the existing literature by explicitly encouraging public leaders to respond, rather than react, to discrimination with moral competency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Economic outcomes are compared for university graduates in Israel belonging to four different ethnic groups. A unique data set is used that includes all individuals who graduated with a first degree from universities and colleges in Israel between the years 1995 and 2008 and which tracks them for up to ten years from the year they graduated. The main finding is that education and experience appear to have a strong effect on earnings in the long run and that an ethnic group can improve its position relative to certain groups while there is no effect relative to other groups. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors consider three of the main factors determining the success of assimilation: size of the ethnic group; cultural differences between groups and skin color; and examine how these factors affect economic outcomes. The authors use a unique data set that includes all individuals who graduated with a first degree from universities and colleges in Israel between the years 1995 and 2008. Findings – The results obtained in this study show that on average native Jews attain the best economic outcomes, followed by FSU immigrants, Israeli Arabs and finally Ethiopian immigrants. Education and experience appear to have a strong effect on earnings in the long run. An ethnic group can improve its position relative to other groups as they accumulate work experience. Originality/value – This is the first time that the Ethiopian immigrants where taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explores the contemporary workplace experiences of lesbian and gay officers who serve across the UK. Design/methodology/approach – Using an online survey, the research asked lesbian and gay officers to share their experiences in law enforcement environments. Acknowledging the changing climate in many law enforcement environments, this respondents here were asked to focus on both positive and negative experiences in the workplace. Findings – The responses of 243 police officers revealed that lesbian and gay officers face barriers to equal employment opportunities similar to those faced by women and other minorities in law enforcement, but lesbian officers appear to experience and witness lower levels of discrimination than gay male police officers. Attitudinal bias against lesbian and gay officers remains a significant problem in the force. Lesbian officers report feelings of tokenism at higher levels than gay male police officers. Research limitations/implications – Future research endeavors should analyze any differences between the experiences of different lesbians and gay men at different levels of visibility within law enforcement, including “out” and “closeted” officers. Research about when officers come out as lesbian or gay – during training, on the force, after they retire – would be insightful in understanding officers’ perceptions. Practical implications – The research suggests that police departments in the UK have made good strides in opening the law enforcement workforce, but continue to face on-going challenges in creating fair, diverse, and representative work environments for lesbian and gay officers. Specifically, agencies should review policies where supervisor have discretion over the employment-related actions. By not meetings the challenges of a more diverse workplace, agencies risk lower job satisfaction, and decreased police effectiveness, especially on community policing environments. Originality/value – This research joins a small, but growing body of research that offers specific barriers and opportunities – as perceived by the officers. As other agencies engage in efforts to recruit and retain diversity police forces, the results of this research can enhance policies and practices, with regards to lesbian and gay officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]