Attitudinal Racism in the Workplace - Essay Example

The black population continues to face problems in getting jobs despite their qualifications because of the existing racial bias and prejudice. This has led to a situation in which they continue to be economically disadvantaged compared to white people who have the same qualifications. The study by Pager, Western, and Boniwoski sought to find out if discrimination still exists in the hiring practices of different organizations. They therefore sought to find out if the minority races were indeed faced by prejudice in their attempts to secure a job, which would mean that race was an important consideration for the employers as they look for employees for their organization.

The study showed that race was indeed one of the main factors in determining whether one would be hired or not. Despite having the same resume, the racial bias towards black prevented them from securing a job. In designing the study to ensure that the most accurate representation of racial bias as it affects the hiring practices, the study made use of people who were within the same age group. The participants were also similar in terms of their gender, self-presentation, class, attractiveness and even had a similar resume.

The only difference between the participants was that they belonged to different races. They were even made to wear uniform to ensure that they looked similar. The study then proved that racial discrimination is indeed rampant in the hiring practices. The white people in the group were most likely to get hired while the blacks were the least likely to be hired. In the process of hiring, discrimination has been seen to occur in different ways. One way in which the racial discrimination occurs is through job channeling.

This is where people of different races are steered towards different jobs based on their race. This bias comes from the belief that different races are able to handle specific jobs. This causes the blacks to be left to do low paying and manual jobs despite being qualified for better paying jobs. Latinos on the other hand are expected to perform well in jobs such as housekeeping while the whites are hired for the better paying and more prestigious opportunities. The discrimination in the hiring practices also occurs through shifting standards.

This is where the standards that have been set for qualification for employment in a given job are applied selectively depending on the race of the applicant. This leads to discrimination where the white candidates are not subjected to the thorough vetting to ensure that they fit the exact description of the required candidate. The black applicants on the other hand are disqualified if they do not fit any part of the candidate description. The standards are therefore higher for them to get the same job leading to discrimination.

This is said to be the most rampant form of discrimination when it comes to hiring (Pager, Western and Boniwoski 787). Another form of discrimination in the hiring process is the categorical exclusion. This is said to be the most obvious or blatant form of discrimination. It refers to the situation in hiring when one is hired purely because of their race. This form of discrimination also means that one is denied a job opportunity simply because of their race. The racial bias in this for of discrimination is based on the preexisting ideas that one holds on the different races.

In the study, the black testers were constantly told that the job