Before someone starts working, they first have to go through a selection process. And it is precisely there that many of the inequalities that later become visible in the workplace begin. Age, gender, name, or background often play a greater role in practice than employers realize. Not always consciously, but no less influential because of it. 

  

Age as a Barrier 

At both the beginning and the end of a career, people encounter assumptions. Younger candidates are often perceived as unreliable or immature, while older candidates are seen as too expensive, too set in their ways, or too difficult to employ on a flexible basis. In sectors such as logistics and manufacturing, where physical capacity plays a role, this translates into implicit age limits that may not exist on paper but nevertheless influence selection decisions. 

  

Research by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) shows that older job seekers are significantly less likely to be invited for interviews than younger candidates with comparable qualifications. For flexible jobs, which are already considered less secure by nature, this barrier is even stronger. 

  

Gender and the Distribution of Roles 

In agriculture, logistics, and manufacturing, the division of roles along gender lines is still visible. Physically demanding work is generally associated with male candidates, while administrative or support roles are associated with female candidates. These assumptions influence how vacancies are written, who is approached, and who is referred. 

  

Female candidates applying for positions in heavy logistics or field services may encounter doubts about their physical capabilities that are not expressed toward male candidates. The reverse is also true: men who choose administrative or support roles within manufacturing companies sometimes experience similar resistance. 

  

Name and Ethnic Background  

Research on labor market discrimination consistently shows the same pattern: candidates with a non-Western background have a lower chance of receiving an invitation, even when they have the same education and work experience. A study by Utrecht University found that applicants with a Moroccan-sounding name received up to 40 percent fewer responses than candidates with Dutch names and identical CVs. 

  

In flexible sectors where selection often takes place quickly and based on limited information, the risk of such forms of exclusion is real. Speed in the recruitment process increases the likelihood that decisions are made based on assumptions rather than facts. 

  

Unconscious Bias in a Fast-Paced Process 

Flexible work is characterized by a high-speed recruitment and selection process. Vacancies need to be filled quickly, recruiters face significant pressure, and the time spent evaluating each candidate is limited. These are precisely the conditions in which unconscious biases thrive. When there is no structured selection process, no fixed criteria, or no standardized assessment, intuition takes over. And research shows that intuition is susceptible to bias. 

  

This does not mean that recruiters or employers act with bad intentions. It does mean that a fast and informal process without explicit criteria systematically disadvantages candidates who do not fit the unconscious standard profile. 

  

Selecting Based on What Someone Can Do, Not Who They Are 

Organizations that actively work toward fairer selection processes implement standardized assessment criteria, anonymous applications, or structured interviews in which every candidate is asked the same questions. In sectors where the pressure to place candidates quickly is high, such as logistics, manufacturing, and agricultural work, this is not always standard practice. Nevertheless, there are employment agencies in the South Holland region that include a personal introductory interview as a fixed part of their process, specifically to look beyond what is immediately visible.