For many white Americans, and some non-white Americans, affirmative action is fundamentally unjust. After all, judging someone based on the color of their skin is racism, isn't it? Should it matter whether the judgment is positive or negative, or whether the person is white or black? Some people see it as compensation for the injustices of the past, or as a form collective punishment. Others see it as a clumsy attempt at redistributing wealth. The imagined scenario in which a less-qualified minority candidate for a job gets hired instead of the more-qualified white candidate is very effective, and breeds thousands of anecdotes. You would think that employers had a big red rubber stamp that says, "DENIED: TOO WHITE".
Well, I have a personal anecdote that is a little less dramatic. No racial epithets are exchanged and no employer brings up race or ethnicity. But it is hard for me to believe that race is not beneath the surface.
I am only 24, so I have no memory of the Civil Rights struggle. I was raised by very conservative, white, southern parents. They are not overtly racist - in fact, quite the contrary. When my cousin married a woman from Mexico, my parents filled in for his parents, who would not attend out of sheer bigotry. Any time a friend or relative made even a mildly racist remark in front of me, my parents corrected them. When I was 10, we left the all-white church that we had been attending and joined a mostly black gospel church that was about 30 minutes from our house. My mother later confided that she was worried that my siblings and I would be racist, since we had had almost no contact with non-white children. I replied that racism isn't natural, it has to be taught - or sometimes untaught.
Pardon a very bad pun, but I saw it as a black and white issue. I did not see how unequal treatment could possibly lead to anything but more inequality and resentment. I continued to think so even as I became more and more liberal on other issues. Then my boyfriend and I went job hunting in Boston.
My boyfriend and I are both the same age, the same height, and (if I may say so) both attractive and outgoing. I am blond and blue-eyed, however, and my boyfriend is obviously hispanic with a slight accent. I am also much lazier than he is and I am still working on my undergraduate degree while he already has his bachelor's in business. His resume is better, hands down.
I quickly found an administrative job at a liberal non-profit where I have been very happy. After a year, my boyfriend is still looking. He goes to interviews, to second interviews, and to third interviews, without ever making the final pick. Several times he has been told that he is overqualified. One woman worried that customers wouldnt be able to understand him, even though, as I said, his English is fluent. Usually they just narrow it down to him and one or two others who are qualified and then give the job to someone else.
While we were visiting his family in Colombia over Christmas, a few people wanted to know if I am treated differently in the US because I am white. The truth is, I don't know. When I am hired, or promoted, or accepted, or chosen, how do I know what role skin tone plays? Maybe my boyfriend just happens to be beaten out time after time by better candidates. My sneaking suspicion, however, my gnawing doubt that I just can't put aside, is that it is race. Of course no one would deny him because he is hispanic, but there might be some concern about whether he would "fit in". Even though he has a green card, the "immigration debate" has hardened many hearts and minds against "illegals". When he is compared to a white person with the same qualifications, he is the "risky" candidate.
I have suggested that he hilight his ethnicity as a strength. Because he is bilingual he is able to open up new oppurtunities in the hispanic market. But companies must be open to growing and adapting as well. This is why I think that affirmative action is so important in hiring. Our corporate culture is built around the assumption that most workers are white and male. It will always be easier to hire the candidate that looks the most like the other employees - this is institutional inertia as much as racism. It takes a conscious effort to overcome that inertia, to see diversity as a valuable asset, not just a potential source of conflict and confusion.
Meanwhile, several companies are missing out on a top notch employee.