On their resumes they had equal levels of education and experience. They alternated presenting fictitious criminal records (drug felonies) which they disclosed in the application forms. The findings were disheartening - to say the least!
Among the applicants with a criminal record, white applicants were twice as likely to receive a callback. But even worse is the fact that white applicants with a criminal record fared just as well and sometimes even better than black applicants with a clean record! So companies would rather hire a white criminal than a qualified black man with no record!
The stark reality seems to be that being black in America is the same as having a felony conviction against your name before you even start looking for a job. The result of this study implies that black men have to work at least twice as hard as their white equals just to overcome the stigma of their skin color!
