It seems as though your name can really tip potential employers off about your ethnicity and race. And for some, that’s not always a good thing, despite the fact that our society claims to be racially tolerant, diverse and accepting.
A New York Times article presented a very interesting perspective on this “racial inequality” in the workforce. It seems like the all-American workforce may not be as tolerant as one would hope, according to this article. And despite the fact that we have a president named “Barack Obama”, sometimes “Barry Obama” would have an easier time landing a job.
Take the example of Barry Jabbar Sykes, who goes by “Barry J. Sykes” on his resume, in order to level the racial playing field.
Or let’s consider a different New York Times article that speaks of a Chicago woman, Tahani Tomkins, who struggled to get interviews until she changed her resume name to “T.S. Tomkins”, due to the racial inequity in hiring.
First impressions matter. Well, that’s what they say. And if New Yorker writer and bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell has anything to say, it’s that the average human makes decisions within the first two seconds. Macolm Gladwell has written several books, most notably The Tipping Point, about consumer behavior. But Blink is the book that speaks to the phenomenon of first impressions and gut instinct.
According to Gladwell, the subconscious of the human mind processes information that we, ourselves, don’t even realize we are intaking. Basically, we are capable of drawing conclusions at a very early stage in the game.
Many firms have implemented supposed “Diversity Initiatives” in recent years as a response to the underepresentation of minorities in the practice of law. How honest are these initiatives? How many firms honestly care about increasing diversity in the workplace? Lately, many firms have been taking supposed pro-active steps to foster an environment that favors diversity. But do the words “equal opportunity employer” on a firm’s website really mean that they intend to hire visible minorities? Does hiring a Diversity Director exonerate a firm from it’s duty to create a true and reflective environment where diversity can thrive?
Are high-powered careers really what they are cut out to be? How mother-friendly is the working world?
Several years ago, I learned the hard way and I am still struggling to reconcile the managing a high-powered career with the demands of motherhood. I was so happy when I finally got a job, for 30 hours a week, at one of the most prominent boutique tax law firms in the state of California. Of course, I never did tell them I was a mother, or even married, for that matter. The truth did have to comeout inevitably when my one-year old daughter got a really bad cold and didn’t sleep at night. As a result, I didn’t sleep and the next day, I was not functional, even with three cups of coffee. In true Murphy’s Law fashion, that was also the day a major Circuit Court Appellate brief was due, and to be informed that your new hire has a sick child at home was not news the firm took too lightly.
