Behavioral Economics for Leaders

CHAPTER 2The Job Interview—It's Tougher for Women

Equality between women and men in the labor market is far from perfect. It starts with the job interview, in which women are already at a disadvantage. Let's take a look behind the scenes of the arts, entertainment, and academic hierarchies.

The violinist steps on stage and walks toward the center. The floor is covered with a thick carpet. Nobody is on the stage but the violinist. The curtain to the auditorium is closed. Via a loudspeaker, she is asked to start playing. The woman has opted for a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach. Fully concentrating, she lowers the bow onto the strings and commences. The melody sounds heavenly. But who's listening?

Five people sit behind the curtain in the auditorium who pay close attention to every note. They have no idea who is currently auditioning for the open position of a violinist in their orchestra, whether a man or a woman is playing, whether the person is young or old, whether they are white or a person of color. Since the thick carpet on the stage floor absorbs the sound of steps, the jurors cannot guess the gender of the violinist by listening to the clacking of high heels. The five people simply have the task of finding the best qualified person—of any gender—for the vacancy.

Today, many orchestras around the world handle auditioning for a vacancy like this. To ensure equal opportunity for all genders, musicians of any, white people or people of color, the auditioning is blind as it's ...