Discrimination by Default: How Racism Becomes Routine

by Lu-In Wang

Much as we “select” computer settings by default—reflexively, without thinking, and sometimes without realizing there are other options—we often discriminate by default as well. And just as default computer settings tend to become locked in or entrenched as the standard, discrimination by default creates a situation in which disparate outcomes are expected, accepted, and taken for granted. The killing of Amadou Diallo, racial disparities in medical care, the dominance of Whites and men in certain professions, and even the uneven media attention paid to crimes depending on their victims’ race and class, all might be cases of discrimination by, or as, default.
Wang contends that, today, most discrimination occurs by default and not design, making legal prohibitions that focus on those who discriminate out of ill will inadequate to redress the largest share of modern discrimination. She draws on social psychology to detail three ways in which unconscious assumptions can lead to discrimination, showing how they play out in a range of everyday settings. Wang then demonstrates how these dynamics interact in medical care to produce an invisible, self-fulfilling, and self-perpetuating prophecy of racial disparity. She goes on to suggest ways in which institutions and individuals might recognize, interrupt, and override the discriminatory default.

187 pages, Hardcover

First published January 16, 2006

Reviews

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have read on discrimination and racism. The premise is that most discrimination occurs by default, almost an automatic programming.

Default does not connote ill will or a bad purpose; it is a passive kind of failing, an automatic selection that is chosen in the absence of some action to prevent it. The default setting might be viewed as expected, the best, or the most popular option/action. It requires the least amount of thought. Default settings become entrenched and systemic.

Wang describes how specific intent and determination are required to dislodge a default. We can override the default. This powerful book helps examine how we can proactively change defaults.

Highly recommend!

[Zeenat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prof. Wang was my contracts prof first year - which is how I found this book. It was a really interesting read, makes you think about discrimination and racism differently ... its all about perspective.