Equity and Efficiency in Anti-Discrimination Policy: Evidence from an Anonymous Hiring Pilot

Abstract

Anonymous hiring restricts the information available to hiring managers, potentially creating a trade-off between equity and hiring efficiency. To study this trade-off, we leverage a pilot program by the City of Helsinki in which hiring for some, but not all, job titles was subject to anonymization. We find that foreign-named applicants were more likely to be hired without detrimental effects on job turnover or wages. Announcing anonymization increased job applications, but not by groups that ex-post had the most to gain. Our results suggest that anonymization can be an effective tool to combat discrimination.

Citation

Ohto Kanninen, Sanni Kiviholma, and Tuomo Virkola. 2025. “Equity and Efficiency in Anti-Discrimination Policy: Evidence from an Anonymous Hiring Pilot.”