Its study of 1,200 workers found 26.5% of those in the accounting sector reported discrimination and for the majority (38.5%) it was because of their gender. The next biggest issue was age, cited by 23.1%, while around 8% reported experiencing discrimination on grounds of either race, religion or the school/university they attended. Furthermore, over three quarters (83.7%) of workers in the accounting sector believe that interview discrimination happens often and that the best way to solve this is by creating more awareness of the issue (27%).

Suggestions included better training of interviewers (26.5%), interviewers following a set list of questions for all candidates (20.4%), and two or more interviews being present at the interview (12.2%).

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, said: ‘It’s certainly worrying that so many accounting professionals believe discrimination is a common occurrence during interviews. That said, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of this happening, and raising awareness around the situation is the first hurdle to tackle.

‘If you believe you’ve been discriminated against it’s important to speak out – this is a subject that needs to be discussed.’

The data also found that nearly two thirds (61.2%) of accounting workers were unaware of their rights when it comes to interview discrimination.

Biggins said: ‘If you feel as if you’ve experienced prejudice during an interview, be sure to get in touch with the business and request comprehensive feedback as to their decision not to hire you’.