Attitudinal Vs. Structural Discrimination - Essay Example

Attitudinal bias in hiring results from beliefs that some individuals are unproductive, lazy or harmful. This paper gives a critical analysis of the differences between attitudinal and structural discrimination racially biased practices in hiring people. The hiring practice in the work place, which stem from attitudinal discrimination, is the elimination of individuals from job opportunities based on individual attitudes against a certain ethnic group (Bertrand and Mullainathan 991). A hiring party may consider a specific group as a minority leading to racial bias.

On the other hand, structural discrimination form of hiring bias is a result of legislation, institutional norms, policies and behaviour of institutions, which obscure individuals from job opportunities. The racial bias in hiring employees, which arise from structural discrimination, is about exclusion of individuals from employment based on equality (Collins 41). Therefore, unlike the attitudinal discrimination in hiring which stems from individual attitudes and perceptions, structural discrimination is results from of organizational practices, which are employers consider normal organizational behaviour.

The discriminatory intent in attitudinal discrimination reduces some ethnic groups based on individual beliefs that they are unproductive. . Racial bias in hiring due to structural discrimination is because of patterns or routines within institutions, which act as obstacles for some individuals and hence leading to denial of employment opportunities. In addition, social structures in organizations are not accommodative to some ethnic groups making the individuals who according to the norms of the institutions are inferior or minority to loss the chances of employment (Collins 45).

The hiring practices, which are a determinant of attitudinal discrimination, based on the existence of an individual or a group (Bertrand and Mullainathan 1009). Therefore, an employer may discriminate individuals during job interviews because he or she perceives the existence of a certain group of people in a particular society as unwarranted. For example, employers may discriminate against immigrants because the employing party sees their existence as being out of order. On the other hand, institutional discrimination a formal organizational practice of hiring which causes bias against some people based on the usual practices of the organization.

Either structural discrimination in hiring can be intentional or non-intentional but attitudinal discrimination is usually intentional (Collins 49). Moreover, structural discrimination may be difficult to notice but attitudinal discrimination is normally open. When the legislation or organizational policies have bias against a certain ethnic group, the employer will discriminate potential employees from a specific ethnic background non-intentionally. In attitudinal discrimination, employees normally reject some employees because of negative attitudes such as they are not productive or they would portray a negative