Gen Z workers experience bias in hiring

A survey of 2,000 employees, conducted in June 2024 by ethical hiring platform Applied, found that over a third of Gen Z workers (36%) believe they have experienced discrimination during a hiring process compared to 22% of all respondents.

The proportion of millennial employees (aged 25-34) who believed they experienced recruitment bias was similar at 37% .

When asked what they thought the reason for discrimination was, Gen Z workers (defined as people aged 16-24) cited age (21%); ethnicity (19%); gender (15%) and hair colour (15%).

Millennials cited accent (21%); ethnicity (21%); gender (20%); class (14%); and height (14%) as the reasons they thought they had been discriminated against.

Khyati Sundaram, Applied CEO, said: “The best proof of a hiring process’s inclusiveness will be its outcome.”

And she pointed out that Applied’s research shows that “60% of hires made following an anonymous, skills based approach would be missed during traditional CV sifts. In particular, ethnic minority hires can increase by up to 300%.”

Research published by recruitment firm ManpowerGroup in July revealed that 45% of employers struggled to hire and engage Gen Z and millennial workers.

This was due to employers’ lack of flexible working, lack of career progression opportunities and lack of commitment to sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion.