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

Caro

Caro

New Member
AsianActivist said:


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.
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That's ridiculous. Any black American whose ancestors were slaves have the WHITE PERSON'S name of the slave holder who owned them, unless they've changed it. Ever heard of Shaquille O'Neal? O'Neal is an IRISH surname. Do you think Shaquille is Irish? Either he bears the name of his ancestors' owner, or his mother has an ancestor who married an Irishman, as Irish were initially lumped in with blacks as "undesirables" in society, so they sometimes inter-married. In any case, there are no "black sounding" names, unless you're talking about family surnames FROM Africa, such as Obama.
 
Twilight Hue

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
George-ananda said:
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.
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I still remember the huge push for African sounding names in children particularly in the late '80s you get names like Tisha, Alessia, or Roneesha to name a few.

Obviously there's really no harm in it and certainly doesn't reflect the person's qualifications and abilities in the hiring process which is the most important aspect that an employer looks for in most cases.

If the sound of a name is that important to an employer, more than ability and qualifications , likely isn't even worth getting hired by in the first place.
 
Regiomontanus

Regiomontanus

Eastern Orthodox
AsianActivist said:


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.
Click to expand...

Racism is, sadly, indeed still a problem in the US.
 
PureX

PureX

Veteran Member
Viker said:
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.
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I would not associate the name Dwight with a black man. I would associate it with an older man, however. I wonder if that might have been a factor.
 
Revoltingest

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
Watchmen said:
That means other than Jesse, all the Jacksons you’ve known have been white.
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It is true that the one's I've personally know have been white.
However, as an avid reader of news, I'm aware of the existence
of many many more Jacksons (both given, & family name).
 
Nakosis

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
AsianActivist said:


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.
Click to expand...

Sure, name your daughter Misty and she is more likely to get a job interview. Most of this bias is not done consciously. It was shown that people who are being rushed to pick among applications are more likely to select names they have a preference for. However they'd deny that they've done anything discriminatory, they are just not conscious of it.

They just need to educate folks about their natural inclination to be biased toward certain names while picking applicants. Like most companies had to educate people on sexual harassment.
 
Watchmen

Watchmen

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Revoltingest said:
It is true that the one's I've personally know have been white.
However, as an avid reader of news, I'm aware of the existence
of many many more Jacksons (both given, & family name).
Click to expand...
Do you personally know Jesse Jackson? Not trying to be smart. Just genuinely curious.
 
Kathryn

Kathryn

It was on fire when I laid down on it.
Nakosis said:
Sure, name your daughter Misty and she is more likely to get a job interview. Most of this bias is not done consciously. It was shown that people who are being rushed to pick among applications are more likely to select names they have a preference for. However they'd deny that they've done anything discriminatory, they are just not conscious of it.

They just need to educate folks about their natural inclination to be biased toward certain names while picking applicants. Like most companies had to educate people on sexual harassment.
Click to expand...
You know what? Names and regions are interesting to me. Apparently I have a southern given name and people where I was from were ALWAYS trying to spell my last name wrong, but even when I told them that it was the name of a big country in Europe, they couldn't wrap their head around it. But now that I have moved to Ohio, no one is named my first name, and no one misspells my last name. So I have to spell my first name but not my last name. I just think that's interesting. I used to live in the south and I never had to spell or worry about my first name. I honestly never thought about it! But it's a relief not to have to worry about my last name, anyway.
 
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