Employers discriminate in hiring. This is a fact. It’s been a fact for generations. It’s the main reason anti-discrimination statements show up on job postings. That and it’s the law for Public employers and Government contractors who are required to have these statements. Many private employers use these as well to show they don’t discriminate in hiring.
For fifty years we’ve seen these statements on job descriptions and job advertisements. Recently, two Economists from the University of Chicago did a study looking at the impact of candidate behavior when these statements are added to a job posting and their findings were shocking!
In their study, the two economists posted advertisements for an administrative assistant job in ten large American cities. Of the 2,300 applicants who expressed interest, half were given a standard job description and the other half were given a description with an equal-opportunity statement promising that “all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, colour, age or any other protected characteristics”.
For racial minorities, those who received the pro-diversity statement were 30% less likely to apply for the job—and the effect appeared to be worse in cities with white majorities (see chart). In a follow-up survey, the prospective applicants said the statement prompted worries that they would be token diversity hires.
30% Less Likely To Apply!!!
What the what?!?!
This isn’t a study that was done decades ago. This was done in the past twelve months!
So, what should we do?
One thing the study found that had a positive impact on increasing diversity application is to show your senior executives, including your CEO, talk in a ‘real’ transparent way on the impact that diversity has on your organization.
No, not some overly-produced puff piece about how we are all part of the same rainbow. Include video on your career site with your CEO telling stories about how D&I isn’t just a marketing tactic, but how it’s really impacted the organization in a positive way.
Have diverse employees ask the CEO question that gets to the heart of where D&I is in your organization. Don’t be afraid about keeping this conversation open and maybe a bit uncomfortable. The more real, the more candidates will understand that you’re really trying to make a difference.
If you really want to make sure you’re not missing great minority applicants who are skipping even applying to you, embed these videos right into your job postings!
Don’t think that when you put an “EEOC” statement at the end of your job posting is letting a diverse candidate pool know you’re a great place for them to work. They don’t buy it! You have to be better than that!
This article is well put together , in our society today we can clearly see that racism is very prevalent all over the world.. Presently I was reading about the war between Russia and Ukraine and those persons of African decents were trying to gain entry into Poland and they were met with hostility all because of the colour of their skin, while they others were able to gain entery. As a people we need to unite and fight to eradicate racism .
Claudia on point, this speaks to the unequal distribution, these challenges are real, it can be touched, while this is not the case in every organization it is prevalent in most ,often times we shy away from the reality because of what the out come might be but I’m glad u took the initiative to investigate this since it highlighted the plight of people of African decent in today’s society..
If only we should see each other as equal image the difference it would make and how much we can get done.
I believe in equality
Well developed points, a good read. This topic was well discussed and has stated much facts.
This is a known fact that seems to be disregarded and which needs to be stopped…. should persons without qualifications be always accepted because of their race? I think not!!! Fair chances should and needs to be given
An ad stated that cigarettes are only and purposely sold in black and minority neighborhoods, most fast foods chains are in black and minority neighborhoods, most of the maintenance staff at most workplaces are black or minority, why though,yet they preach equality,jobs arent based on gender or color,so why we do not have a large number of white maintenance staff,or the mcdonalds in their neighborhoods, i heg to differ.
Discrimination and the reduction of discriminating employment practices is easier said than done because in actuality, to not be biased to one is to perpetuate biases against another. But that’s running ahead of things. Discrimination largely focuses on race relations but also includes factors such as age, gender, national origin, etc.
Employers often claim to never be discriminatory yet comments such as “recent college graduates”, “must be able to speak fluent English”, “should live within the community”, etc all subtly and creatively show discrimination.
In regards to race, perhaps the most contentious factor when speaking about discrimination can only be addressed briefly here. Marxism implies that society thrives on the difference that exists between the proletariats and the bourgeoisie. Infact, the states that the market thrives on this interaction and is primarily for this reason that some persons are given the better paying job opportunities while others sit in wait. Thirty percent only are likely to apply because they recognize the discreet discriminatory points in the various commercials. For instance, in Guyana, it is not common to find Black people living in certain gated communities but the advertisement, stated, “must be living in the community”, immediately Black people will know whether or not it will make sense to apply for the job. Such behaviour is very common in Guyana, some persons are even awarded good paying jobs on the basis of their name, and it is again common knowledge that most Black people have African or English names while others have names originating from other continents. Minorities especially Blacks, will continue to ignore job opportunities that they know they will not be considered for unless the company desires to make a race statement and show inclusiveness and later frustrate the employee until they decide to leave the job or something of similar nature.
The discssion can be prolonged but the solutions to address this issue are equally important_ we can consciously choose to ignore race and just act right, we can implement policies that cater to the issue in totality rather than act as a band-aid and Black people can begin to support each other and develop their communities so that they can be truly independent and liberated.
Well articulated points, very direct and on point. Hope that more employers understand this and stand clear from it.
Today what black people fail to realize is that racism was, is and will always be part of our society…we just need to find ways of coping
Claudia,
I must say, this a well- written piece. I share the same sentiments as well. To expound on your statement, “Black people can begin to support each other and develop their communities so that they can be truly independent and liberated,” this is much more complicated as it seems. Referencing an Instagram post made in November 2021, by the Black Lives Matter Organization(BLM) , which faced immense backlash after requesting the support for black owned businesses and to boycott racist, white corporations. The comments were rather distasteful. Will Cain from Fox News reported to millions that, BLM is asking its supporters to participate in segregation by shopping from black-owned businesses and boycott white corporations This narrative is not only fallacious but problematic, as it fuels the racial tension in a white supremacist nation. Will Cain chose to ignore the racist attitudes of these entities. However, to eliminate the detrimental impact that Western ideologies have done to people of colour, in this case, Africans, poses as a tedious task. However, with more Africans advocating for their basic human rights and liberating themselves from the ex-colonizers’ chains, there is hope!
Facts….
Racism is what the rulers or beneficiaries of society strives on, they know to conquer, one must divide…
Black people have been brain washed over the pass centuries and as a result we find that blacks are not aware of the power we poses if we only stand together.
We are so quick to run away from our own culture and customs and embrace the other man’s all in the name of “style”
But the minute we wake up and open our eyes and realise the power we posess as one, there will be no stopping us
The points stated here are undoubtedly factual and essential in raising awareness to the distasteful act of discrimination. One can only pray that this message gets to the intended audience.
In Guyana discrimination when hiring is obvious so Claudia makes a good point. I would love to see the ways we can move past this and become a better society. We need to move past the skin color and judge people based on the things that truly matter like attitudes and behaviour.
Hi Tim,
Interesting topic! I also wonder whether companies who add EEOC statements to job postings also funnel BIPOC to certain positions. For example, a Company decides to put that EEOC statement in a customer service job posting but does not include it in the job posting for software engineer. Any thoughts?
(Background: Due to challenges with getting offers, I wanted to better understand the recruiting process so I began researching everything I could. I came across an article about the advantages of using EEOC statements in job postings a few months age. So, as a black man, I began curiously looking for these statements while scouring through job postings to see how often they came up for the roles I was interested in–both “dream” roles & roles that I’m a fit for now– & made an observation that led to the above comment. Note that this observation was made while looking at the available positions of only a handful of companies on their career page.)