Biased

by Jennifer L. Eberhardt

She found that those with criminal records received fewer callbacks from prospective employers than those with clean records. Black applicants received fewer callbacks than white applicants. In fact, even blacks with clean records received no more callbacks than white applicants with criminal records.

White applicants with criminal histories were much more likely to be interviewed by employers than blacks with similar records. The rapport-building opportunities that a personal interview offers yielded dividends: whites were better able to persuade someone to take a chance on them. White job seekers with criminal records were 30 percent less likely to be hired than whites with no criminal record, whereas blacks with criminal records were 60 percent less likely to be hired than blacks with no such record.