Anonymous recruitment tests can still create unequal barriers

Researchers found risks of unequal selection outcomes for applicants with migration backgrounds, including during stages where identities were concealed.

Language-heavy tasks and culturally loaded scenarios could disadvantage candidates even when their formal education was comparable. Anonymity can prevent an evaluator from reacting to a name, but it cannot establish that every test item measures only the competence the job requires.

The study therefore asks institutions to examine selection criteria alongside recruitment campaigns promoting diversity. It does not imply that police work needs no language proficiency or situational judgment. The question is whether the chosen assessment distinguishes relevant ability from familiarity with a particular social background, and whether that distinction has been tested rather than assumed.