The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets.

Pager, D., & Shepherd, H. (n.d.). The Sociology Of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination In Employment, Housing, Credit, And Consumer Markets. Annual Review of Sociology, 181-209.

The authors, researchers at Princeton University investigated some of the significant debates in the study of racial discrimination in employment, housing and consumer markets. The article distinguished between differential treatment and disparate impact. Differential treatment refers to the differences in management style, employee discipline and other actions necessary to supervise workers. Disparate impact is a way to prove employment discrimination based on the effect of an employment policy or the intent behind it. Several surveys have questioned African American and other racial minorities regarding their encounters with discrimination in the workplace. In 2001, a survey revealed that more than one-third of blacks and 20% of Hispanics and Asians have experienced employment discrimination because of their race. There have been numerous studies examining this issue. For example, researchers conducted a laboratory hiring experiment in where they asked undergraduate psychology students to evaluate the application materials for black and white applicants’ qualification. They found that when applicants were either highly qualified or poorly qualified for the position, there was no evidence of discrimination. However, participants were approximately 70% more likely to recommend the white applicant than the black applicant, when applicants had acceptable but unclear qualifications. This research relates to our research study because we are examining if individuals measure an applicants qualifications for a job based on an assumed racial ethnicity. This articles aids in analyzing if an applicant was discriminated on based on differential treatment or disparate impact. For our particular study, disparate impact would be disregarded because both applicants have the same qualifications.

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