A study of individual values and employment equity in Canada, France and Ireland

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper, in the context of the employment equity (EE) field, is to explore the relationship between individual values/beliefs and simulated hiring decisions of minority candidates in Canada, France and Ireland.

Design/methodology/approach

Individual values/beliefs were elicited using Likert type scales; subjects responded to a series of simulated hiring scenarios.

Findings

The link between individual value and belief systems and EE‐related HR decision making on recruitment of minority candidates is modestly supported by the findings presented here. The values/beliefs of students from leading business schools influenced, if in part, their simulated hiring decisions on minority candidates presented in the scenarios. National context also matters as EE institutions differ at the societal level of analysis.

Research limitations/implications

The subjects were business school students of limited work experience addressing scenario situations, not practicing managers making real hiring decisions. The use of self‐reports leads to the usual issues related to common method variance, the consistency motif, social desirability bias, and so on and we note the limits due to the reverse ecological fallacy. Research findings provide modest support to this argument but should be treated with caution.

Practical implications

Individual values and beliefs matter in HR decision making on recruitment of minority candidates.

Originality/value

Much EE research focuses on antecedents of values/beliefs; this paper is one of a handful of investigations that attempts to establish possible outcomes of values/beliefs towards EE.

Citation

Saha, S.K., O’Donnell, D., Patel, T. and Heneghan, J. (2008), "A study of individual values and employment equity in Canada, France and Ireland", Equal Opportunities International, Vol. 27 No. 7, pp. 629-645. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610150810904328