Ethical question - discriminatory hiring?
MidBest
1 Post
Hello all - I've recently been tasked with hiring for my department, and my company hires through large placement conferences.
At these conferences, candidates post profiles with their resumes included, and employers post profiles with position descriptions. The two groups are free to contact each other as desired.
However, I've been instructed by my supervisor to only request interviews, and accept interview requests, from people with names that "sound like minorities", as that supervisor has the goal of creating a more racially diverse staff.
While I have absolutely no issue at all with the creation and promotion of a diverse and inclusive staff - in fact I promote it - I do have an issue with only selecting candidates for interviews who display "minority names". Shocker, I know, but not all black men are named Jamal - and I'm uncomfortable dismissing quality qualified candidates with race-neutral names like (obviously false examples) Michael Jordan, Cornel West, or Cory Booker.
Also, this appears to me to be discrimination based on race (ie, Title VII)- but I'd love to hear validation for an argument either way.
Thoughts?
Comments
Title VII does not protect, specifically, people who are not white. It says that race may not be used as a factor in an employment decision. People disagree about how non-quota affirmative action plans impact upon that general rule.
Tell your boss to read about unlawful employment practices at www eeoc gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm