Racial Realism Using membership in a racial group

Racial Realism • Using membership in a racial group as a qualification • Basing decisions on ethnicity/race to increase organizational effectiveness (read: profits)

Term Used by John D. Skrentny (2013)

After Civil Rights: A Synopsis Only Minorities Need Apply

Racial Realism • Facts About Race/Color Discrimination – “Title VII also does not permit racially motivated decisions driven by business concerns – for example, concerns about the effect on employee relations, or the negative reaction of clients or customers” (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).

Racial Realism: How about Positive Reactions of Clients or Customers? • Racially match physicians and patients to improve health care • Place minority teachers in schools with large numbers of minority students because they supposedly understand their learning styles better and serve as racial role models • Police departments try to reduce crime and police brutality by racially matching police officers and neighborhoods they serve • Many low-skilled jobs go to immigrants because employers deem them more likely to work hard, without complaints and for lower wages, than African-Americans or Whites. • Match African-American, Asian-American, and Latino sales employees to corresponding markets because of their superior understanding of these markets, or because customers prefer to see employees of their own race, or both (e. g. , car dealership may have Black sales persons approach Black customers to increase the probability of a sale; women too? )

Influence