> It's also not surprising, considering the gender balance of HR departments [2], and women tend to hold gender biased beliefs (female teachers in the UK mark b

> It's also not surprising, considering the gender balance of HR departments [2], and women tend to hold gender biased beliefs (female teachers in the UK mark boys worse for identical work, for example [3]). I agree it's not surprising, but you're making it sound a lot more dramatic than it is. Employers are getting raked over the coals by activists and the press for not being "diverse enough". Of course when all else is equal (and maybe not so equal), they'll prefer to hire women/minorities. They'll be willing to go higher in bidding wars with other employers over female/minority applicants. It's not a conspiracy by female HR departments. I've never worked anywhere that HR decided who to hire anyways.