Michael McBain
Sep 1, 2018 · 1 min read

This echoes studies done with resumes with foreign-sounding names or even female names, where there is a noticeable disparity in response rates.

I live in Australia, where roughly 30% of the population is foreign-born. Even with that high proportion, someone with a name like Papadopoulos, Nguyen, Mavondo, Balasubramanian, or Fierravanti-Wells [all names of prominent parliamentarians] is quite likely to be native-born. So, at least in this country, names are not always a good indicator of foreignness. But before I make a hiring decision, I have to ask even Brian Smith [who came here from South Africa five years ago] if he has the right to work. I can’t employ him if his visa status prohibits it. My internalised racism [and thank you for that phrase] does make it more likely that I will ask the question of someone without an Australian accent, but it is something I need to know as part of the hiring process. For the past ten years I have always had to show my passport and confirm my right to work before I could start a new job, and I don’t an exotic name.

    Michael McBain

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