Many years ago, my family often went to a French restaurant. We got there one night without a reservation, figuring if they had a table, we would eat, and if not, no biggie, we would go somewhere else or eat at home.
We got to the reception desk, and the owner was there.
He knew we didn’t have a reservation but said it was fine because they had plenty of room. Then, a split second later, the owner’s wife came up to him and stated in French, “We are full. Who does she think she is?” I looked at the two of them in horror with my mouth agape and said, “It really isn’t a big deal. We can go somewhere else.”
Well, surprise, surprise, we were seated, and “on the house” food started showing up. Apparently, I didn’t “look” like I spoke French. The surprise was on the restaurant owners.
How often do we judge people based on what we see, but we don’t always know what is behind the surface?
Harvard actually did a study about ‘whitening of resumes’ and determined that the odds of an applicant receiving a call back increased when the resumes were stripped of any reference that might give away their race.
Do your employment practices ensure that books aren’t being judged by their covers? If not, contact us for help.
