November 20, 2003

Newsfeed: Devah Pager

Devah Pager, assistant professor of sociology and fellow of the Institute for Policy Research, discusses discrimination in hiring

According to a recent study, minorities continue to face discrimination when applying for low-wage jobs. Author Devah Pager says her study found race and criminal record greatly affect an applicant’s chances of being hired.

“Both race and criminal record had a huge effect of the likelihood on receiving a callback from employers. Probably the most surprising finding was that a black applicant with no criminal record was no more likely, in fact even slightly less likely, to receive a callback from employers than was a white applicant with a felony conviction.”

According to Pager, discriminatory hiring practices in the low-wage sector have not decreased.

“The last audit study that was conducted measuring this kind of discrimination was conducted about eight years ago and I found very similar levels of discrimination to that study. There’s not a lot of promise that there’s been progress, at least in the low wage sector, of employment. Potentially at higher levels of employment the processes of affirmative action and the value of diversity have played a more important role.”

Pager says low-wage employers are not targeted in anti-discrimination law enforcement efforts.

“There’s not a lot of attention being placed on enforcement in these low-wage job sectors and so employers are not at risk of being audited and litigated against based on their hiring strategies. There are particular local programs that aim to create better links between employers and members of disadvantaged populations but I don’t think there are really large-scale systematic efforts under way.”

Pager believes that many employers do not actively discriminate against applicants.

“I would hesitate to claim that many employers are actively seeking to discriminate against applicants, either on the basis of race and also at times on the basis of criminal records, but I think there are a lot of unconscious processes that come into play that bias or distort employers’ perceptions of the quality or suitability of minority applicants.”

Pager thinks there needs to be greater awareness of discrimination in hiring practices.

“The general public and also a lot of researchers and policy makers have in recent times taken on the belief that direct discrimination no longer serves as a major barrier to employment. And until we address that problem directly, rather than just focusing on improving the skills and education levels of applicants, there’s not going to be substantial improvement.”

— Samira Puskar