| This topic is something that I feel strongly about as a minority that has worked in tech/new media. I don’t think any reasonable people at this point would disagree that affirmative action/hiring for the sake of racial quotas is the equivalent of passing up qualified candidates based on race. That is to say it’s a destructive practice that creates resentment and unnecessary racial tension. The main problem with this line of thinking is that it ignores the tremendous societal forces in place that lead to a predominantly white executive work force instead focusing only on the outcome and attempting to change that with affirmative action and minority hires for the sake of diversity. This is so narrow minded and results-oriented that I have a hard time believing intelligent people signed off on it and it was actually legally mandated at one point. What we should be doing is examining the processes and infrastructure that leads to a predominantly white male executive workforce to determine where discrimination occurs and attempt to curb it there. This discussion is not the one we’re having, instead focusing on sensationalist headlines and click-bait articles that do more harm than good to racial relations in America. Top that off with clowns like Jesse Jackson who just the other day showed up at the facebook shareholders meeting "advocating for hiring more minorities at technology companies, especially into board seats." and you get the sad state of affairs we find ourselves in today. Louis CK tells a joke in which the general idea is “You know you really trust someone when you reveal to them your inner most racist thoughts”. It’s funny because it’s true, but the prevailing air of secrecy and shame about ones prejudices is a big part of what's preventing us from having honest dialogue about race in this country. Just the other week Mark Cuban was lambasted by a desperate journalist/blogger who took quotes out of context and misrepresented his remarks to paint him as racist. With an atmosphere like that it’s no wonder white people are afraid to discuss race relations. It's the same reason this thread is full of people getting defensive about "Google isn't racist!" Now I'm going to lose a lot of you on this next part, but based ONLY on my subjective experiences in the corporate workforce whenever we had new hires, the white males always seemed to be treated as "potential leadership material" not based on merit but simply because they looked the part. Being tall and easy on the eyes helps too. Meanwhile minority hires, even in the same position as their white male counterparts were seen as foot soldiers and worker bees. This perception was prevalent in the last 2 companies I've worked for. Take from that what you will, that's been my experience. |
Going out a bit on a whim here, but if we accept that a) beauty has a substantial subjective element b) standards of beauty are modifiable/learned c) that people can derive an advantage through their status of being beautiful (ie, that all things being equal, in a choice between two identical candidates except that one is judged more beautiful than the other, that the more beautiful one will tend to be favored) and d) that North American and European norms of beauty are still rooted deeply in being white (which is fairly reasonable, and not their fault), then you can see where problems kick in.
It's honestly really shitty. I could rant on about your example re: looking the part of leadership material. But I won't cause... it'll be rambling and awkward. Suffice to say that we're in this really awkward in between phase, trapped between a history of clear white majority, and a future of clear heterogenerality - and worse, it's a transition taking place unevenly in nearly every respect.