If you need yet another reminder that we’re not in a post-racial society, look no further than this recent study about racial discrimination in hiring. Racial inequality is so bad in our country that it’s practically impossible for racial equity in the job market, according to ThinkProgress.
But these wage disparities don’t even account for another major problem facing black Americans: getting a job in the first place. In another recent study researchers from Harvard, Northwestern University and the Institute for Social Research in Norway have found there has been no change in the level of hiring discrimination in more than 25 years.
The study applied to job openings using resumes with the same qualifications but different names that are associated as predominantly white, black, or Latinx. They also had people of different races—but with similar qualifications—apply to jobs in-person. The results are bleak.
Researchers concluded that, on average, a white job applicant was 36 percent more likely to receive a callback for an opening than an equally qualified African-American candidate. White job seekers also received 24 percent more callbacks than equally qualified Latinx candidates. “These findings lead us to temper our optimism regarding racial progress in the United States,” the study read. “At one time it was assumed that the gradual fade-out of prejudiced beliefs, through cohort replacement and cultural change, would drive a steady reduction in discrimination treatment. At least in the case of hiring discrimination against African-Americans, this expectation does not appear to have been born out.”
White Americans may think that things are less racist than they used to be, but it’s only because some of the most pervasive forms of racism are easier to hide and happens behind closed doors.