The rise in popularity surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives was an attempt to transform the U.S. workforce into a more inclusive one. In 2024, the effects of DEI are more well-known. Businesses are now aware that when they focus on diversity, they can see benefits such as increased procurement ROI, revenue, and productivity levels. Despite the advantages companies experience from investing in diversity, HR professionals must remain aware that discrimination is still an urgent issue, especially the presence of racial bias in the hiring process.
It’s a fair expectation to think that a rise in DEI initiatives would help the hiring process be more inclusive, and while that may have been a reality for some companies, there is still work to be done. In a paper analyzing 90 studies that included 174,000 job applicants, the researchers found that there has been no major change in hiring discrimination. Another survey from Greenhouse found that 34% of respondents experienced discriminatory interview questions, and 45% of respondents went as far as changing their names on applications to sound “less ethnic.” Unfortunately, those who feel the need to change their names are not unfounded in their reasoning due to the ever-present issue of name-based discrimination. A study performed by economists from the University of California Berkeley and the University of Chicago sought to identify the extent to which discrimination is a systemic problem among companies, using names as a factor in the research. After sending over 80,000 applications to 108 Fortune 500 companies, the economists found that those with “distinctively Black-sounding names” were 10% less likely to receive callbacks overhaul compared to those with “traditionally white-sounding names,” and the likelihood continued to decrease with specific companies.
Name bias isn’t the only way that racial discrimination can manifest during the hiring process. When analyzing job applicants, perceived identity also plays a major role. In 2018, researchers from Texas A&M University sought to determine just how much the presumed racial identity of African American women and Latinas affected their job opportunities in their article “Bias against Latina and African American women job applicants: a field experiment.” The researchers found that cues were being used from applications to form conclusions on the applicant’s racial identity. Applicants perceived as strongly identifying with their racial group received fewer hiring recommendations and a suggested salary that was (on average) $2000 less than those with weakly perceived associations to their racial group. These actions may not be performed consciously, which makes it even more crucial for HR professionals to approach the hiring process with a knowledge of how bias can present itself and negatively impact the way applicants are reviewed.
To properly combat racial bias in the hiring process, HR professionals and recruiters must make this goal a priority. A simple yet powerful first step is to identify that racial bias and discrimination can be present even if it is unconscious. Next, professionals must take the time to learn the different ways that racial discrimination can exist in their own company’s recruitment process. It’s only through identifying the issue that HR professionals can properly find solutions.
