Microsoft probed by US government over aim to double black staff numbers
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Re: Microsoft probed by US government over aim to double black staff numbers
#2> "We are clear that the law prohibits us from discriminating on the basis of race," the firm's lawyer Dev Stahlkopf blogged.
Pardon my ignorance... But I thought in the case of affirmative action, discrimination based on race was legal?
Reading on...
> It has informed the tech giant that while companies can set affirmative action goals to boost employment of "minorities and women", they "must not engage in discriminatory practices" to achieve them.
How is an "affirmative action goal" different from just a diversity goal? How can you achieve affirmative action if you can't discriminate on the basis of race?
Re: Microsoft probed by US government over aim to double black staff numbers
#3Microsoft (and every other tech company) = Jared in this scene https://youtu.be/Dek5HtNdIHY?t=18
Re: Microsoft probed by US government over aim to double black staff numbers
#4> "We are clear that the law prohibits us from discriminating on the basis of race," the firm's lawyer Dev Stahlkopf blogged. Pardon my ignorance... But I thought in the case of affirmative action, discrimination based on race was legal? Reading on... > It has informed the tech giant that while companies can set affirmative action goals to boost employment of "minorities and women", they "must not engage in discrimin…
Hire from historically black schools could be one legal method.
Re: Microsoft probed by US government over aim to double black staff numbers
#5> "We are clear that the law prohibits us from discriminating on the basis of race," the firm's lawyer Dev Stahlkopf blogged. Pardon my ignorance... But I thought in the case of affirmative action, discrimination based on race was legal? Reading on... > It has informed the tech giant that while companies can set affirmative action goals to boost employment of "minorities and women", they "must not engage in discrimin…
Hire from historically black schools could be one legal method.
Discriminating which schools you hire from based on racial demographics of said schools just seems like racial discrimination by proxy
Re: Microsoft probed by US government over aim to double black staff numbers
#6> "We are clear that the law prohibits us from discriminating on the basis of race," the firm's lawyer Dev Stahlkopf blogged. Pardon my ignorance... But I thought in the case of affirmative action, discrimination based on race was legal? Reading on... > It has informed the tech giant that while companies can set affirmative action goals to boost employment of "minorities and women", they "must not engage in discrimin…
>How can you achieve affirmative action if you can't discriminate on the basis of race?
Interview training to minimize implicit bias in the interview process. Interview training to minimize acts that make certain groups uncomfortable. Removing employees from the interview pool who show a racial bias. Resume review that omits names and other racial indicators. Etc.
Re: Microsoft probed by US government over aim to double black staff numbers
#7> "We are clear that the law prohibits us from discriminating on the basis of race," the firm's lawyer Dev Stahlkopf blogged. Pardon my ignorance... But I thought in the case of affirmative action, discrimination based on race was legal? Reading on... > It has informed the tech giant that while companies can set affirmative action goals to boost employment of "minorities and women", they "must not engage in discrimin…
I think the idea is that you can achieve the diversity goal while still hiring the most qualified people by broadening the recruiting pool. This way you're not discriminating based on race because you are still hiring the most qualified people. To do this, you might increase recruiting at other colleges that didn't have recruiting before (especially if those colleges have different demographics than the colleges you already recruit from), or similar measures.
Re: Microsoft probed by US government over aim to double black staff numbers
#8> "We are clear that the law prohibits us from discriminating on the basis of race," the firm's lawyer Dev Stahlkopf blogged. Pardon my ignorance... But I thought in the case of affirmative action, discrimination based on race was legal? Reading on... > It has informed the tech giant that while companies can set affirmative action goals to boost employment of "minorities and women", they "must not engage in discrimin…
Let’s say you have hiring events at colleges with say 10% black population. You start focused on colleges with higher percentages, this you should have more black candidates.
You can change your recruiting strategies to target a more diverse range of candidates without discriminating on the basis of race.
Re: Microsoft probed by US government over aim to double black staff numbers
#9> "We are clear that the law prohibits us from discriminating on the basis of race," the firm's lawyer Dev Stahlkopf blogged. Pardon my ignorance... But I thought in the case of affirmative action, discrimination based on race was legal? Reading on... > It has informed the tech giant that while companies can set affirmative action goals to boost employment of "minorities and women", they "must not engage in discrimin…
I used to wonder the same, until it hit me that current status quo is actually NOT the meritocracy it pretends to be. There are many individuals with both talent and potential who are currently getting passed over simply because of unacknowledged negative bias.
So it's not about picking someone less talented to make numbers on diversity, it's about revisiting the criteria that make us overlook talented individuals who happen to not fit the stereotype, and broaden our approach to considering candidates.
Re: Microsoft probed by US government over aim to double black staff numbers
#10Probably a lot of people with their fingers in the air until November.