| Abstract: | A survey of 486 managers was designed to examine how well employment equity is being implemented in Australian public and private sector organizations. Respondents were asked to report on the procedures they themselves used in their most recent staff selection. The findings on the incidence of the various selection techniques generally confirmed those of previous studies, specifically that the interview is the single most common technique. Although the large majority of managers professed pro-equity attitudes, most also displayed a belief in gender stereotypes and almost half misunderstood the requirements of affirmative action in Australia. Most selection decisions appear to have been based on merit-related factors, but a surprisingly high proportion of managers admitted to potentially discriminatory practices. Factors such as age, good looks and the absence of physical disability were rated as having been important in more than a third of selection decisions. Also, factors such as gender, marital status, race and colour influenced some managers in job selection. However, such discriminatory factors appear to have been less important in the public sector and in larger organizations which would have had more exposure to equity and affirmative action programs. |
