Examining the 'Class Ceiling' in Big Tech

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The project examines whether and how the class ceiling impacts the STEM workforce by focusing on the application and hiring process of elite internships, a key juncture in the path towards careers in Big Tech. By simultaneously studying the hiring process at Big Tech firms from the demand side evaluations of job applicants by employers and supply side choices and preparation of job applicants, the research will illuminate the hidden factors that shape who is offered elite internships. It fills a fundamental gap in the knowledge base by investigating the role of class background in hiring for these STEM jobs. While assumed to be minimal due to the emphasis on ?objective? technical skills, pilot data suggest hiring decisions for these internships are influenced by tacit markers of class background such as organizational fit, individual fit, social networks, and communication style. Such inductive findings motivate the current project, which will examine the relationship between class background and the attainment of elite internships with a larger sample and more rigorous mixed-methods design. The research will provide STEM organizations with concrete ways to facilitate equitable and inclusive hiring practices and enable underprivileged applicants to navigate the hiring process by equipping them with knowledge about the expectations of the dominant hiring culture.The goal of the project is to examine how class figures into the attainment of elite research internships in the top tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon. Investigators will examine two research questions: (1) How does the role of class background shape internship attainment through gatekeeper evaluations? and (2) How does class background shape internship applicant preparation, interview performance and outcomes. Data will be collected primarily through interviews, observations at Big Tech recruitment events and internship preparation seminars, questionnaires. The study is the first to study how class background shapes hiring in a technical profession, extends our understanding of how class shapes hiring beyond the influence of childhood participation in organized activities, and investigates how class shapes applicants? preparation, self-presentation, and hiring outcomes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.