Research on Discrimination: Access to Professional Networks is Crucial
Half of all jobs in the USA are found through recommendations in informal networks, such as LinkedIn. High-paying jobs are usually filled by influential people with inside knowledge. Groups that are underrepresented on the job market have less access to high-profile jobs and benefit less from their professional networks. However, previous research does not explain why their networks are less effective. In an experimental study, Mannheim economists Yulia Evsyukove, Felix Rusche, and Professor Dr. Wladislaw Mill investigated whether discrimination affects the size and quality of the job networks of Black Americans and is therefore a cause of their underrepresentation in high-profile jobs. The study shows that the core problem for this group is gaining access to professional networks. Overcoming this hurdle is not easy because Black Americans are discriminated against because of their appearance. But once they are members of a network, they receive the same information and the same support as White people. The study was recently published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, one of the leading journals in economics.