Black man only got job interview after using White-sounding name

[AsianActivist]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/11/dwight-jackson-job-discrimination-resume-name/

A Black man has accused a hotel in Michigan of racial discrimination after he says he was only invited to an interview after he changed the name on his application to one that “sounded more Caucasian.”

Dwight Jackson, 27, applied for jobs at the Shinola Hotel in Detroit “on multiple occasions” between January and April this year, according to a lawsuit filed last week. For more than 10 positions, including front desk jobs and back-end roles, Jackson sent the applications under his own name. None led to an interview.

He then applied for two similar positions, as a reservation agent and front desk manager, “under a more readily apparent Caucasian name,” John Jebrowski, and used the same résumé and cover letter as before, the lawsuit said. Shinola contacted him for interviews the same week.

I'd heard of studies where "Black" names were less likely to receive callbacks but never heard any news articles until now.
I guess the reality is that despite what a lot of people say there's a lot of discrimination against the African-American community these days. Discrimination based on names is a troubling reality that many individuals from diverse backgrounds experience, and it's deeply unfair.

Your name is an integral part of your identity, chosen with care by your parents or passed down through generations. It should never be a barrier to equal treatment and opportunities. It's unfortunate that prejudice and bias can overshadow someone's qualifications, skills, and character.

 

[The Hammer]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/11/dwight-jackson-job-discrimination-resume-name/

Ok and what's your take on it? Or are you just spamming?

 

[Shaul]

I suppose the Washington Post wants us to rush to a conclusion that the only possible reason for this is racism. But that isn't the only possible explanation. For example the article states that he applied on multiple occasions but never got an interview. It is quite possible that the hotel pre-screened him and for a non-race related reason determined he was not suitable. As it says in Proverbs "The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him." We haven't even heard the hotel's side of this story yet.

 

[Viker]

I don't know. Dwight Jackson sounds pretty "caucasian" to me. I have a white cousin named Dwight. There was a president named Dwight and every other male country musician is named either Dwight or Jackson. The name seems common in America. It's not a very strong case. Someone may have just liked Jebrowski better. It sort of stands out. I don't know.

 

[AsianActivist]

Ok and what's your take on it? Or are you just spamming?

Personally I think it's unfortunate that stuff like this happens in 2024. It's important to continue raising awareness about these issues and advocating for fair and inclusive practices in all aspects of life especially in employment and education.

 

[Revoltingest]

I don't know. Dwight Jackson sounds pretty "caucasian" to me. I have a white cousin named Dwight. There was a president named Dwight and every other male country musician is named either Dwight or Jackson. The name seems common in America. It's not a very strong case. Someone may have just liked Jebrowski better. It sort of stands out. I don't know.

All the Dwights I've known have been white.
And other than Jesse Jackson, same for that last name.

 

[Viker]

All the Dwights I've known have been white.
And other than Jesse Jackson, same for that last name.

I'm surprised but glad Jebrowski didn't get discriminated against for being Polish sounding. That probably stopped around the 70s when I was a kid. I think having a Polish American character positively portrayed on Barney Miller might have helped.

 

[EinGeheimkonto]

"Dwight" is a pretty white sounding name. I think of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Dwight Schrute (yes I know he's fictional), or Dwight Yoakam.

Seeing as how the Shinola Hotel is in Detroit, and Detroit is 77% black, this just doesn't seem likely that they gave him the shaft for being black.

I'm not denying that this exists. A while back I worked for someone who openly admitted that they would bin Asian or Latino-sounding names.

 

[Laniakea]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/11/dwight-jackson-job-discrimination-resume-name/

I'd heard of studies where "Black" names were less likely to receive callbacks but never heard any news articles until now.
I guess the reality is that despite what a lot of people say there's a lot of discrimination against the African-American community these days. Discrimination based on names is a troubling reality that many individuals from diverse backgrounds experience, and it's deeply unfair.

Your name is an integral part of your identity, chosen with care by your parents or passed down through generations. It should never be a barrier to equal treatment and opportunities. It's unfortunate that prejudice and bias can overshadow someone's qualifications, skills, and character.

This only addresses one incident, but ignores all the hiring using DEI practices which favor people who are any color other than white. It's even openly practiced by our federal government. Biden said he wanted a VP who was a black woman. Then he wanted a press secretary who was a black woman. Then he wanted a SCOTUS justice who was a black woman.
Anyone who was not a black woman was overlooked based on skin color and gender. But it seems to be assumed to be somehow virtuous.

 

[Viker]

This only addresses one incident, but ignores all the hiring using DEI practices which favor people who are any color other than white. It's even openly practiced by our federal government. Biden said he wanted a VP who was a black woman. Then he wanted a press secretary who was a black woman. Then he wanted a SCOTUS justice who was a black woman.
Anyone who was not a black woman was overlooked based on skin color and gender. But it seems to be assumed to be somehow virtuous.

That's only because generally qualified black women have been overlooked. You're basically saying none of those women were qualified.

 

[Soandso]

All the Dwights I've known have been white.

I've known a few Dwights who happened to be black, but the name was pronounced more like Du-wight. I wonder if it's more of a regional thing?

 

[We Never Know]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/11/dwight-jackson-job-discrimination-resume-name/

I'd heard of studies where "Black" names were less likely to receive callbacks but never heard any news articles until now.
I guess the reality is that despite what a lot of people say there's a lot of discrimination against the African-American community these days. Discrimination based on names is a troubling reality that many individuals from diverse backgrounds experience, and it's deeply unfair.

Your name is an integral part of your identity, chosen with care by your parents or passed down through generations. It should never be a barrier to equal treatment and opportunities. It's unfortunate that prejudice and bias can overshadow someone's qualifications, skills, and character.

IMO its BS. There is not enough evidence tying their name to being black.

The given name Dwight more common..
-white around 68%
-black around 22%

The surname Jackson more common..
-black around 52%
-white around 42%

 

[The Hammer]

IMO its BS. There is not enough evidence tying their name to being black.

Maybe, maybe not in this particular instance. But this is a well known problem with the rental and real estate market, as well as job hiring, though.

Employers' Replies to Racial Names

www.nber.org

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/02/23/516823230/asian-last-names-lead-to-fewer-job-interviews-still

What’s in a name – Rental Discrimination

Shanice. DaQuan. Ebony. Lamar.Black people with any of these names will have a difficult time finding an apartment in Chicago.

chicagocrusader.com

 

[Quintessence]

It is well-known that job hiring discrimination occurs based on names. Doesn't just happen with ethnic minorities, it happens with sexism as well. It's why, when I was doing job applications a while back, I just put in the initials of my first and middle name. It masked all of that from reviewers, while still being identifiable and professional (though last name can still trigger bias, granted). Really, what should happen, is all candidates are assigned a random number when reviewed to eliminate this bias. This only rarely happens. Worse, because some faceless use computers to screen initial candidates, the biases are actually baked in to the hiring tools they use too.

"A research team at Princeton University discovered that algorithms lack access to the absolute truth. The machine corpus contains biases that closely resemble the implicit biases observed in the human brain. Artificial intelligence has the potential to perpetuate existing patterns of bias and discrimination because these systems are typically trained to replicate the outcomes achieved by human decision-makers (Raso et al. 2018). What is worse, the perception of objectivity surrounding high-tech systems obscures this fact."​

Ethics and discrimination in artificial intelligence-enabled recruitment practices - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

This study aims to address the research gap on algorithmic discrimination caused by AI-enabled recruitment and explore technical and managerial solutions. The primary research approach used is a literature review. The findings suggest that AI-enabled recruitment has the potential to enhance...

www.nature.com

​

 

[Twilight Hue]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/07/11/dwight-jackson-job-discrimination-resume-name/

I'd heard of studies where "Black" names were less likely to receive callbacks but never heard any news articles until now.
I guess the reality is that despite what a lot of people say there's a lot of discrimination against the African-American community these days. Discrimination based on names is a troubling reality that many individuals from diverse backgrounds experience, and it's deeply unfair.

Your name is an integral part of your identity, chosen with care by your parents or passed down through generations. It should never be a barrier to equal treatment and opportunities. It's unfortunate that prejudice and bias can overshadow someone's qualifications, skills, and character.

I don't think names necessarily are determining factor. I mean I just googled Dwight Jackson a few minutes ago and then went to images, and found quite a few African Americans named Dwight Jackson.

My real name is actually 'black' sounding and I gotten plenty of interviews.

It's really just individual perception and of course demographics and culture plays a role as well.

Besides what makes a name white or black sounding anyways? How do you tell the difference?

It really comes across as you can't judge a book by its cover attributed to George Eliot in 1860.

 

[Watchmen]

All the Dwights I've known have been white.
And other than Jesse Jackson, same for that last name.

You never heard of Michael?

Or Samuel L?

 

[Watchmen]

IMO its BS. There is not enough evidence tying their name to being black.

The given name Dwight more common..
-white around 68%
-black around 22%

The surname Jackson more common..
-black around 52%
-white around 42%

I wonder what happens when you put the names together.

 

[Laniakea]

That's only because generally qualified black women have been overlooked. You're basically saying none of those women were qualified.

I'm saying only black women were considered while everyone else was ignored, regardless of how qualified they were.
What would you think if you walked past a business that had a "Now Hiring" sign in the window, but then in smaller print below, it said, "Taking applications from black women only".?
And no, the business isn't a movie studio making a movie about Rosa Parks.

 

[We Never Know]

Maybe, maybe not in this particular instance. But this is a well known problem with the rental and real estate market, as well as job hiring, though.

Employers' Replies to Racial Names

www.nber.org

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/02/23/516823230/asian-last-names-lead-to-fewer-job-interviews-still

What’s in a name – Rental Discrimination

Shanice. DaQuan. Ebony. Lamar.Black people with any of these names will have a difficult time finding an apartment in Chicago.

chicagocrusader.com

I'm not saying it doesn't happen. I'm saying I think this one is a BS claim based on the name.

 

[George-ananda]

Some whites might subtly prefer white sounding names. Some blacks might subtly prefer black sounding names.

I don't see how this lawsuit should win as resumes get seen by different people at different times so proving anything would be impossible.