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