Discrimination based on race in the hiring process has remained unchanged in the past three decades, according to a study released in 2017, resulting in large racial employment gaps and an extreme racial wealth gap in our country.
A new meta-study, conducted by Northwestern University, Harvard University, and the Institute for Social Research, found hiring trends focused on race have not changed in the past three decades. The studies focused on 21 field experiments among racial hiring trends from 1989-2015. Researchers tracked more than 54,000 applications submitted for more than 25,000 positions.
No change was found in racial discrimination in the hiring process over the twenty-six-year period. Since 1989, people who are white received an average of 36% more call backs than people who are black, and 24% more call backs than people who are Latino.
Racial discrimination in the hiring process naturally results in a huge employment gap among races. A Pew Research study revealed the unemployment rate of people who are black has remained twice the rate of unemployment for people who are white. The height of the employment gap among races reached its peak in 1983, when 19.5% of black people were unemployed compared to 8.4% of white people. That number is only slightly better today, with a 13.4% unemployment rate for black people and a 6.7% unemployment rate for white people.
Such a large employment gap among races results in an even larger racial wealth gap. The median white household had $111,146 in wealth holdings (financial assets) in 2011, while black households held a median of wealth holdings at just $7,113 and $8,348 for the median Latino household, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Survey of income and Program Participation. Top reasons for this racial wealth gap include homeownership (usually the largest portion of family assets), education, and inequality in labor markets.
Skewed perspectives on race in America largely contribute to the racial disparity recognized in this article. Change will only begin when we start to think differently and talk differently about racial discrimination in our society. For ideas on how to get started, watch the TED playlist “Talks to help you understand racism in America.”
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