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Levelling the playing field in police recruitment: Evidence from a field experiment on test performance

General Information

Project description

How to increase diversity in the police is an unanswered question that has received significant political and media attention. One area of intervention is the recruitment process itself. This study reports the results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in a police force that was experiencing a disproportionate drop in minority applicants during one particular test. Drawing on insights from the literatures on stereotype threat, belonging uncertainty and values affirmation exercises, we redesigned the wording on the email inviting applicants to participate in the test.

Detailed information

Final report: Is there a final report presenting the results and conclusions of this project?

Yes

Final report

Who is behind the project?

Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Team: The People Lab

Project status:

Completed

Methods

Methodology: Experiment, Field Experiment
Could you self-grade the strength of the evidence generated by this study?: 1

What is the project about?

Policy area(s): Labour and Employment
Topic(s): Survey uptake

Date published:

23 January 2023

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