Does it matter whether you’re called Melissa or Rahul?
It does if you want to do a PhD at Australia’s most prestigious universities.
They’re supposed to be places where all students can learn, free from discrimination.
Are academics more likely to reply to “Melissa” or “Rahul”? The results might not surprise you
🔹 Researchers sent 7,000 emails to Aussie universities, asking for PhD supervision.
🔹 Emails from “Melissa Smith” got more replies than those from “Rahul Kumar” by 12%
🔹 White-sounding names had a 9% higher positive response rate than non-white names.
