Also, there are other experiments such as the audit which consists of and between Whites and minority actors in "actual economic settings". At the end of the experiment, many of the minority failed and were not called back again for the second interview. However, this experiment has weakness and one of them is that the white people are actors and they can alter the experiment.
This says much about this society. There is still the discrimination barrier among us when it is supposed to be gone long time ago. However, it is not fair for these people that are applying for a job to not be considered because their names have African or other foreign names.
-As an employer, what would you consider priority into hire for a job?(looks, background, work experience, education)
As an employer, work experience and education would be my priorities when hiring. It shouldn't be anything more than the individual's qualifications, and the fact that so many employers still judge based on gender and race is sad. It's yet another part of the system that can only change little by little over time.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately we are still living in a world of discrimination. It is sad to say but if an employer sees the name Lakisha versus Jennifer most likely Jennifer is going to get called out of the two. A name determines how an employer perceives us workout even meeting us first . Even if an African American is qualified most likely the opposite race will be considered a better candidate, I still don't understand why the world is this way and I really don't know what it's going to take to make a change and end all this racism.
ReplyDeleteThis reading was reminiscent of a movie that I watched recently, called "Crash." There was a scene where a Caucasian, obviously racist, police officer was having a phone conversation with an African American woman. In the scene, he is asking to speak to her supervisor, in which she responds that she is the supervisor. Next, he asked for her name. When her response was "Shaniqua," he reacted with "oh, well that figures." His response to her declaration of her name was not only rude, but it reflected a clear, preconceived notion that the police officer had with African Americans with popular, African American names.
ReplyDeleteThis type of misconception that people with names like "Lakisha" and "Jamal" are lesser people, and less skillful workers, than those whose parents chose the names of "Emily" or "Greg", is extremely discriminatory. If I were an employer, I would evaluate a person holistically rather than a checklist of education, background, and previous experience. Those who judge potential employees based off a name, and even off their education, disregard the upbringing and life experiences of people. People do not choose their names, nor do they choose which socioeconomic status to be born into- both of which influence whether or not opportunities will be available to this person in the future. Names have an impact on everything, not just the job market. For example, college admissions departments! It would be false to say that certain people do not receive more preference than others when it comes to their name, acceptances, and financial packages. The fact that a persons life and future could be determined based off a title- is absolutely absurd.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine with a traditional Indian name used to work for a very large banking coorporation with what appeared to be a multicultural group of employees. One of her superiors, a korean woman who constantly mispronounced her name, suggested she change it to something easier to pronounce (something her superior did for herself). I suppose her boss thought she was doing my friend a favor with her advice, instead she was just reinforcing institutional racism by suggesting she change her name to something more Western and Americanized.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting. Personally, my name has a pronunciation of "isha" in it as well but it is spelled different. I always felt like my name may be discriminated when it was looked at on my resume and this article proves that it can be depending upon the employer. It's sad that we still live in a world where racism exists in work environments. Even if "Lakisha" and "Jamal" are more qualified for a position than "Emily" and "Greg" , it is overlooked. "Lakisha" and "Jamal" may even have better personalities and work ethics but their race plays a major role. When you study about slavery and the civil rights movement in history you would think that our society would overcome racial discrimination but it clearly hasn't.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s unfortunate that we live in a society that places so much emphasis on race. It’s a shame that the “American Dream” that so many people strive for, is just that a dream. That fact that race plays such a huge role in employment and many other aspects of our lives is a shame in a country that is made up of immigrants from all over the world. This article helps explain many of the reasons why African Americans as well as minorities struggle to move up and break the cycle that keeps them from progressing. It’s hard to move up when the people who hold the power are the same ones that discriminate you. I think that employment should be based on your skills, qualification for the job, education, and experience. Employment should not be based on a name because a name does not determine your qualification or skills for a job.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question as an employer I would look at a persons education followed by their work experience for these are vital when hiring someone then comes the personality because if the person doesn't have the spirit to perform the job they are applying for they would slack off on the work.
ReplyDeleteWe all know that that there is a great deal of racial and sex inequality in our labor market. This is evident through stats about CEO's, which results with a very high percentage of white males being on top. Often times ones resume quality depends on race but employers have to be smart, most times that is dependent on the amount of experience one has and the issue is with all these race/sex relations people aren't giving people equal opportunities to enhance their resume quality.
Reading Comment
DeleteTo answer your question, while in the military it is a superiors job to recommend soldiers for promotion. While promotions are time based and automatic, special waivers are given to soldiers who establish themselves as "better" in which they can attain rank faster then others. I feel that this is a similar to the interview process, and have never based my decision on someones name, race, background, or anything other then their qualifications for the job. this is truly sad that this is the reality of the world we live in. In fact i find sort of gross. I worked hard to get were i am and would be offended greatly if my work ethic and qualifications were over looked simply because of skin color, name, of family background.
ReplyDeleteWhat's funny about these type of names is that a lot of them are variations of European names. Leticia becomes Latisha, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis discriminatory practice is expected so much that most people I know go out of their way to not give their child an "ethnic" sounding name.
Any employer that would or wouldn't hire someone solely based on a name should not be an employer. Clearly, a name is just a label and when it is used to decipher someones' race it becomes an extremely discriminatory label. Work experience, education and skills should be the deciding factor. However, when faced with resumes which are similarly enticing in all of these areas, the only other things to look at are names and addresses. Ideally all candidates would be called in for an interview, but the reality is a resume is a potential employer's first impression of you. It would be interesting to see this study done again in the future with the increase of unusual names like Apple and Blu Ivy.
ReplyDelete