How my life was changed when I began caring about the people I did not hire

Re:How my life was changed when I began caring about the peo... by DanBC on Friday January 09, 2015 @04:36AM (#8861443)

> The point is, "discrimination" is sometimes just applying statistics. Just because some statistical factors correlate with race doesn't mean one is being racist; they are just optimizing their selection process.

If your optimized selection process selects away from Black candidates it is by definition racist.

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Re:How my life was changed when I began caring about the peo... by tomp on Friday January 09, 2015 @04:50AM (#8861477)

So, is college selection process in the US racist? The process is SAT, and AFAIK blacks and Hispanics score less than whites, who score less than Asians. Is is also sexist (as more women than men study)?

I don't think so. Correlation doesn't equal causation.

Edit: also, since more Asians and less blacks are accepted at good universities, if your company relies on the name of university when selecting candidates (e.g. a candidate from Harvard is more likely to have an interview than a candidate from an unknown state school), by your logic that's racist as well.

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Re:How my life was changed when I began caring about the peo... by UrMomReadsHN on Friday January 09, 2015 @05:11AM (#8861550)

We have a term for that in US law - "disparate impact." And yes, if your hiring practices are found to have a disparate impact on a protected class, it is illegal.

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Re:How my life was changed when I began caring about the peo... by tomp on Friday January 09, 2015 @05:51AM (#8861654)

All hiring practices have a disparate impact on protected classes. The only issue is proving it. God I hate such laws!

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Re:How my life was changed when I began caring about the peo... by pbhjpbhj on Friday January 09, 2015 @07:44AM (#8861991)

Hang, on that's not the definition of racism.

Racism is [dis]favouring a particular group based on race. If you choose the 10 highest scorers in a maths test in a group and the racial make-up doesn't match that of the group as a whole that's not racist.

One could manipulate your choice characteristics in order to achieve the racial profile that you want. That's serious conspiracy theory territory though.

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