Using interviews, a laboratory experiment, and a résumé audit study, we examine racial minorities’ attempts to avoid anticipated discrimination in labor markets by concealing or downplaying racial cues in job applications, a practice known as “résumé whitening.” Interviews with racial minority university students reveal that while some minority job seekers reject this practice, others view it as essential and use a variety of whitening techniques. Building on the qualitative findings, we conduct a lab study to examine how racial minority job seekers change their résumés in response to different job postings. Results show that when targeting an employer that presents itself as valuing diversity, minority job applicants engage in relatively little résumé whitening and thus submit more racially transparent résumés. Yet our audit study of how employers respond to whitened and unwhitened résumés shows that organizational diversity statements are not actually associated with reduced discrimination against unwhitened résumés. Taken together, these findings suggest a paradox: minorities may be particularly likely to experience disadvantage when they apply to ostensibly pro-diversity employers. These findings illuminate the role of racial concealment and transparency in modern labor markets and point to an important interplay between the self-presentation of employers and the self-presentation of job seekers in shaping economic inequality.

References

Bertrand, M., Mullainathan, S. 2004 “ Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination .” American Economic Review, 94: 991 – 1013 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Bielby, W. T., Baron, J. N. 1986 “ Men and women at work: Sex segregation and statistical discrimination .” American Journal of Sociology, 91: 759 – 799 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Blank, R., Dabady, M., Citro, C. 2004 Measuring Racial Discrimination. Washington, DC : National Academy Press .

Google Scholar

Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 “ Employment, hours, and earnings from the current employment statistics survey .” http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES0000000001?output_view=net_1mth.

Google Scholar

Castilla, E. J. 2012 “ Gender, race, and the new (merit-based) employment relationship .” Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 51: 528 – 562 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Castilla, E. J., Benard, S. 2010 “ The paradox of meritocracy in organizations .” Administrative Science Quarterly, 55: 543 – 576 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Correll, S., Bernard, S., Paik, I. 2007 “ Getting a job: Is there a motherhood penalty? ” American Journal of Sociology, 112: 1297 – 1338 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Corrigan, P., Matthews, A. 2003 “ Stigma and disclosure: Implications for coming out of the closet .” Journal of Mental Health, 12: 235 – 248 .

Google Scholar Crossref

Crispin, G., Mehler, M. 2011 “ 10th annual CareerXroads source of hire report: By the numbers .” http://www.careerxroads.com/news/SourcesOfHire11.pdf.

Google Scholar

Dobbin, F., Schrage, D., Kalev, A. 2015 “ Rage against the iron cage: The varied effects of bureaucratic personnel reforms on diversity .” American Sociological Review, 80: 1014 – 1044 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Fernandez, R. M., Fernandez-Mateo, I. 2006 “ Networks, race, and hiring .” American Sociological Review, 71: 42 – 71 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J., Glick, P., Xu, J. 2002 “ A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: Competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition .” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82: 878 – 902 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Gaddis, M. S. 2015 “ Discrimination in the credential society: An audit study of race and college selectivity in the labor market .” Social Forces, 93: 1451 – 1479 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Goffman, E. 1959 The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, NY : Doubleday .

Google Scholar

Goffman, E. 1963 Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. New York : Simon and Schuster .

Google Scholar

Gray, J. A., McNaughton, N. 2000 The Neuropsychology of Anxiety: An Enquiry into the Functions of the Septo-Hippocampal System. Oxford : Oxford University Press .

Google Scholar

Hirsh, J. B., Mar, R. A., Peterson, J. B. 2012 “ Psychological entropy: A framework for understanding uncertainty-related anxiety .” Psychological Review, 119: 304 – 320 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Hobbs, A. 2014 A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press .

Google Scholar Crossref

Jussim, L., Palumbo, P., Chatman, C., Madon, S., Smith, A. 2000 “ Stigma and self-fulfilling prophecies .” In Heatherton, T. F., Kleck, R. E., Hebl, M. R., Hull, J. G. (eds.), The Social Psychology of Stigma: 374 – 416 . New York : Guilford Press.

Google Scholar

Kaiser, C. R., Major, B., Jurcevic, I., Dover, T. L., Brady, L. M., Shapiro, J. R. 2013 “ Presumed fair: Ironic effects of organizational diversity structures .” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104: 504 – 519 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Kalev, A., Dobbin, F., Kelly, E. 2006 “ Best practices or best guesses? Assessing the efficacy of corporate affirmative action and diversity policies.” American Sociological Review, 71: 589 – 617 .

Google Scholar

Lin, M. H., Kwan, V. S., Cheung, A., Fiske, S. T. 2005 “ Stereotype content model explains prejudice for an envied outgroup: Scale of anti-Asian American stereotypes .” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31: 34 – 47 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Link, B. G., Phelan, J. C. 2001 “ Conceptualizing stigma .” Annual Review of Sociology, 27: 363 – 385 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Luo, M. 2009a “ In job hunt, college degree can’t close racial gap .” New York Times, November 30 . http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/us/01race.html.

Google Scholar

Luo, M. 2009b “ ‘Whitening’ the resume .” New York Times, December 5 . http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/weekinreview/06Luo.html.

Google Scholar

McNaron, T. A. H. 1997 Poisoned Ivy: Lesbian and Gay Academics Confronting Homophobia. Philadelphia : Temple University Press .

Google Scholar

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M. 1994 Qualitative Data Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage .

Google Scholar

Oreopoulos, P. 2011 “ Why do skilled immigrants struggle in the labor market? A field experiment with thirteen thousand résumés .” American Economic Journal: Public Policy, 3: 148 – 171 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Pachankis, J. E. 2007 “ The psychological implications of concealing a stigma: A cognitive-affective-behavioral model .” Psychological Bulletin, 133: 328 – 345 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Paetzold, R. L., Dipboye, R. L., Elsbach, K. D. 2008 “ A new look at stigmatization in and of organizations .” Academy of Management Review, 33: 186 – 193 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Pager, D. 2003 “ The mark of a criminal record .” American Journal of Sociology, 108: 937 – 975 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Pager, D. 2007 “ The use of field experiments for studies of employment discrimination: Contributions, critiques, and directions for the future .” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 609: 104 – 133 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Pager, D., Pedulla, D. 2015 “ Race, self-selection, and the job search process .” American Journal of Sociology, 120: 1005 – 1054 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Pager, D., Quillian, L. 2005 “ Walking the talk? What employers say versus what they do.” American Sociological Review, 70: 355 – 380 .

Google Scholar

Pager, D., Shepherd, H. 2008 “ The sociology of discrimination: Racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and consumer markets .” Annual Review of Sociology, 34: 181 – 209 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Pager, D., Western, B., Bonikowski, B. 2009 “ Discrimination in a low-wage labor market: A field experiment .” American Sociological Review, 74: 777 – 799 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Purdie-Vaughns, V., Steele, C. M., Davies, P. G., Ditlmann, R., Crosby, J. R. 2008 “ Social identity contingencies: How diversity cues signal threat or safety for African Americans in mainstream institutions .” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94: 615 – 630 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Ragins, B. R. 2008 “ Disclosure disconnects: Antecedents and consequences of disclosing invisible stigmas across life domains .” Academy of Management Review, 33: 194 – 215 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Rivera, L. A. 2011 “ Ivies, extracurriculars, and exclusion: Elite employers’ use of educational credentials .” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 29: 71 – 90 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Rivera, L. A. 2012 “ Hiring as cultural matching: The case of elite professional service firms .” American Sociological Review, 77: 999 – 1022 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Saperstein, A., Penner, A. M. 2012 “ Racial fluidity and inequality in the United States .” American Journal of Sociology, 118: 676 – 727 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Smith, S. 2005 “ ‘Don’t put my name on it’: Social capital activation and job-finding assistance among the black urban poor .” American Journal of Sociology, 111: 1 – 57 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Tahmincioglu, E. 2009 “ Like it or not, name can impact your career: Hiring managers tend to seek out ‘mainstream’ applicants .” http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34063244/ns/business-careers/t/it-or-not-name-can-impact-your-career.

Google Scholar

Tilcsik, A. 2011 “ Pride and prejudice: Employment discrimination against openly gay men in the United States .” American Journal of Sociology, 117: 586 – 626 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

U.S. Census Bureau 2014 “ Frequently occurring surnames from the census 2000 .” http://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2000_surnames.html.

Google Scholar

U.S. Social Security Administration 2015 “ Top names of the 1990s .” https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/names1990s.html.

Google Scholar

Weichselbaumer, D. 2015 “ Testing for discrimination against lesbians of different marital status: A field experiment .” Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 54: 131 – 161 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Wiesenfeld, B. M., Wurthmann, K. A., Hambrick, D. C. 2008 “ The stigmatization and devaluation of elites associated with corporate failures: A process model .” Academy of Management Review, 33: 231 – 251 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Yasgur, B. S. 2015 “ Stigmatizing patients with borderline personality disorder .” Psychiatry Advisor, April 30 . http://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/practice-management/stigmatizing-patients-with-borderline-personality-disorder/article/407316/.

Google Scholar

Yoshino, K. 2006 Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights. New York : Random House .

Google Scholar