Do Jobseekers Value Diversity Information? Evidence from a Field Experiment

Abstract

We examine how information about the diversity of a potential employer’s workforce affects individuals’ job-seeking behavior. We embed a field experiment in job recommendation emails sent from a leading career advice agency in the U.S. The experimental treatment involves highlighting a diversity metric to jobseekers. Our results indicate that disclosing diversity scores in job postings increases the click-through rates of jobseekers for firms with higher diversity scores, with such effects varying across jobseeker demographics. A follow-up survey provides some evidence on the potential explanations for why jobseekers value diversity information. We further examine how jobseekers’ preferences for diversity relate to disclosure choices under the U.S. SEC Human Capital Disclosure requirement. We find that firms in industries characterized by higher jobseeker responsiveness to diversity information tend to voluntarily disclose diversity metrics in their 10-Ks under these new disclosure requirements