Resumes and Discrimination
Are there things that you should not put in a resume so that you increase your chances of getting the job that you want? The differences in the resumes submitted by two people can be good as it shows where a person’s strengths and skills are. However, the information on a resume can be used to discriminate.
I believe that the information we put in a resume can also show a person’s heritage, ethnicity, and even their sexual preferences and may limit their access to certain positions based on who is evaluating or reviewing the resume for the job opportunity. For instance, two men submit resumes for a job that they are both equally qualified to hold. One man’s name is Martin Luther King and the other person’s name is Anthony Manucci, based on these two names it is assumed that Mr. Manucci is white and Mr. King is black. The employer may choose Mr. Manucci just because he is white.
Another example is there are two white women that are qualified for a job however one woman lists that she is the president of a Gay and Lesbian Rights Groups and the other lists that she is the secretary for well known and respected Church group. Based on this one piece of information the reviewer may think that the first woman is a lesbian or that she is bisexual while the other is straight and religious. The woman who is believed to be straight gets the job. Is that discrimination?
How does what we put in a resume effect one’s life when applying for a job? Is it always going to be this way or how do we change the way people look at these things? Does one have to lie in their resume, or on job applications, because they are afraid of what might happen when putting the truth? Prejudice comes in many different forms and is shown in people’s attitudes. This problem limits people in what they are able to do, the opportunities that are open to them and their ability to succeed because of these limitations.
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I think that this is a very
I think that this is a very pressing issue and one that needs more attention. The American dream states that it should be possible for any person to work their way up to financial success, however, as it is impossible to account for the biase of individual employers we are left with a society where the racial and sexual divide is still prevalant in our work force. I think that it is possible to change an individual employer's mindset, but that that's not enough. We need to work toward changing the prejudice of our society as a whole, specifically by raising our children to know that all people are equal.
the best cure
In my experience the best cure for that IS experience. When children of different backgrounds grow up together, go to school together etc it makes all the difference. But there is still redlining in this country - the practice of steering black folks to black communities and white to white communities...which then reflects in our schools and thus our limited experiences.
To me that's the root of it. That's not saying that if white and black live side by side everything will be perfect - there are cultural differences and more that each would have to tolerate, and sometimes that just doesn't work. Not to mention whatever baggage each comes to the scene with. But kids, if they aren't poisoned from the start, seem to take it all in stride. To them it's normal, because it's all they know. That's our hope.
In the meantime, what to do about this discrimination? The civil rights commissions in various states used to send out test cases to see what was going on and then nail employers who treated the black applicants different than the white. (i'm guessing they'd do the same for sexual orientation except that discrimination isn't yet outlawed in most states far as I know...) But of course those agencies get drained of resources and become less and less effective...and lo and behold, employers slip back to their old ways...
Sure don't know the answer to that one.