New research has highlighted a significant concern among younger workers, with over a third believing they have faced discrimination during a hiring process.

The national survey, commissioned by ethical AI hiring experts Applied, surveyed over 2,000 UK working adults. The results show that 37 percent of workers aged 25-34 and 36 percent of workers aged 16-24 believe they have encountered bias in recruitment.

Overall, one in five (22%) UK workers reported experiencing bias during a hiring process at least once. The survey also delved into the specific reasons behind the perceived discrimination. Among 16-24-year-olds, the top reasons cited were:

  • Age (21%)
  • Ethnicity (19%)
  • Gender (15%)
  • Weight (15%)
  • Hair colour (15%)

For the 25-34 age group, accent bias was the most frequently mentioned, alongside other significant factors:

  • Accent (21%)
  • Ethnicity (21%)
  • Gender (20%)
  • Class (14%)
  • Height (14%)

Supporting these findings, separate research revealed that over a third (36%) of hiring managers admitted to being biased against Gen Z candidates (those aged 12-27).

This issue comes at a time when 63 percent of businesses in London and the South East are struggling with a lack of qualified workers, according to research by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the Open University.

Older Workers Least Likely to Believe They’ve Faced Hiring Bias

The survey from Applied also found that older workers are less likely to believe they have experienced discrimination during a hiring process. Only 12 percent of workers aged 55+ reported such experiences. However, when older workers did encounter bias, ageism was cited significantly more often. Over half (50%) of these workers attributed the discrimination to their age, compared to just 26 percent across all age demographics.

One respondent, “looking for a job at 65 years old,” expressed the difficulty faced by older job seekers, stating they “have more chance of winning the lottery.”

Khyati Sundaram, CEO of Applied, responded to the findings, said: “It’s deeply sad but wholly unsurprising that our research has found that more than a third of younger workers believe they have experienced discrimination during a hiring process. All humans hold biases, whether they’re conscious of them or not. Hiring managers are no exception. Traditional hiring practices are riddled with opportunities for these biases – around age, gender, race, and much more – to influence our decisions. Workers are suffering the consequences and they are aware of it.”

“Employers must focus on removing opportunities for biases to interfere in the hiring process. To do this, they should anonymise applications, assess candidates using skills tests, and only use trustworthy AI models which have been trained on bias-free data sets. This way, candidates are all given an equal opportunity to show they have what it takes to succeed in roles, and hiring managers can find the person with the best skills for the job – irrelevant details, like their age, don’t come into it.”

Amelia Brand

Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.