Evidence of discrimination
Racism: a very short introduction tipped me off to this: "Social audit studies, which test for discrimination by sending white and non-white applicants with additional qualifications, consistently find that employers are less likely to offer interviews or jobs to non-whites." (p 144)
Discrimination can seem like something hard to identify or measure. For any individual event, it's easy to think of some other explanation, or to wonder if someone saying they were unfairly treated was jumping to conclusions, or to have a vague impression that discrimination does occurs, but only occasionally. A survey across many events such as this provides hard evidence that discrimination happens.
I've got a number of leads to follow up, but here's a review article that's readily available online:
Bendick, Mark. Situation Testing for Employment Discrimination in the United States of America. Horizons Stratégiques 5 July 2007 pp 17-39.
http://www.strategie.gouv.fr/revue/article.php3?id_article=512
or http://www.bendickegan.com/pdf/Situation%20testing%20in%20USA%20July%202007.pdf
Here's the abstract:
"Over the past decade, more than 30 situation testing studies have been conducted in the USA on race, gender, age, and other forms of discrimination in the labor market. This research has typically documented discriminatory behavior, conscious or unconscious, by 20% to 40% of employers. These findings have influenced public opinion and government policy by publicizing the continued prevalence of discrimination in a particularly persuasive way. They have also been used to change employers' behavior through legal action, and they have added to our understanding of the psychological and organizational processes of discrimination. Expanded use of this investigative technique can contribute importantly toward addressing the serious problem of employment discrimination in industrial societies."
(Must try and find similar studies done in Australia.)
Discrimination can seem like something hard to identify or measure. For any individual event, it's easy to think of some other explanation, or to wonder if someone saying they were unfairly treated was jumping to conclusions, or to have a vague impression that discrimination does occurs, but only occasionally. A survey across many events such as this provides hard evidence that discrimination happens.
I've got a number of leads to follow up, but here's a review article that's readily available online:
Bendick, Mark. Situation Testing for Employment Discrimination in the United States of America. Horizons Stratégiques 5 July 2007 pp 17-39.
http://www.strategie.gouv.fr/revue/article.php3?id_article=512
or http://www.bendickegan.com/pdf/Situation%20testing%20in%20USA%20July%202007.pdf
Here's the abstract:
"Over the past decade, more than 30 situation testing studies have been conducted in the USA on race, gender, age, and other forms of discrimination in the labor market. This research has typically documented discriminatory behavior, conscious or unconscious, by 20% to 40% of employers. These findings have influenced public opinion and government policy by publicizing the continued prevalence of discrimination in a particularly persuasive way. They have also been used to change employers' behavior through legal action, and they have added to our understanding of the psychological and organizational processes of discrimination. Expanded use of this investigative technique can contribute importantly toward addressing the serious problem of employment discrimination in industrial societies."
(Must try and find similar studies done in Australia.)