2008 Woodie Awards
Minority recruitment arouses minor controversy
By: Muping Gan
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: News
Last update: 1/28/08 at 6:59 AM EST
Last update: 1/28/08 at 6:59 AM EST
|
Firms hiring for summer internships often aim for a diverse workforce and often look favorably on students with diverse backgrounds.
But junior Mark Uh said he feels personally harmed by recruiting practices aimed at students who are diverse.
"The way it's set up right now is totally unfair. The idea that you're going to prefer certain race categories just doesn't seem correct," Uh said. "Companies are forced to put too much effort into recruiting underrepresented minorities, and I see a lot of people that get jobs because of the benefit of diversity recruitment."
Today's recruitment efforts focus on drawing in interested black and Hispanic students, said Emma Rasiel, director of undergraduate studies and associate professor of the practice in economics.
Because Asian and Southeast Asian students are well represented on Wall Street, they do not qualify as diversity candidates, Rasiel added.
"Until [a firm] has a diverse in-house, [it] can't address the diverse issues and problems [it] encounters," Rasiel said.
Senior Simone Randolph, president of the Black Student Alliance, said despite other students' concerns of a reverse discrimination, diversity recruitment is necessary.
"It's not a zero-sum game with diversity recruitment," Randolph said. "I don't think because a black person gets hired, a white person misses out."
Malcom Riley, assistant director for the Career Center, said diversity recruitment is not about hurting non-diversity students, but rather is meant to extend equal opportunities to all students once they become a part of the Duke community.
"We need to remember that Duke is a predominantly white campus," said Riley, who is also the Career Center's adviser for business, finance, consulting and entrepreneurship. "When [minorities do] not have the same understanding of the resources that are available, [they] may not have had the same access and in a lot of cases [they] feel like [they] are always the minority."
Viewing Comments 1 - 8 of 10
Duke Alum
posted 1/28/08 @ 8:57 AM EST
And what about those students whose families are not immigrants or a minority but do not have "connections?" It would appear that these students get squeezed out of the process. (Continued…)
Joe
posted 1/28/08 @ 11:49 AM EST
I'd like to hear more about Simone Randolph's reasoning that diversity recruiting is not a zero sum game. Does she really believe that companies create extra positions just so they can have more diversity on their staff?
It is a zero-sum game, and the advantages given to other minorities come at the expense of whites and Asians. (Continued…)
Barack Obama
posted 1/28/08 @ 12:26 PM EST
So, to rectify past decisions allegedly made on the basis of skin color, the solution is to make present decisions based on skin color?
In that vein, to ensure a desegregated campus, let's build and trumpet the need for an African-American House and a Japanese House. (Continued…)
Gunfight Jones
posted 1/28/08 @ 12:38 PM EST
For how many of the Group of 88, some of them recruited based upon considerations of race, gender and sexual orientation, does race, gender and sexual orientation become a way to look at life because it was so important in their lives? Have recruiting policies created a body politik at Duke which can only think in terms of race, gender and sexual orientation? Will this be an issue discussed in the Cultural Anthropology department at Duke University? I would take that class. (Continued…)
Yankee Fan
posted 1/28/08 @ 7:03 PM EST
" Duke is predominantly a white campus." Correct me if Iam wrong but isn't this a predominantly a white country?
Smith
posted 1/28/08 @ 8:20 PM EST
""I wouldn't say there's discrimination in the industry-it's too strong of a word-but something's not equal. By sheer numbers, I don't see that many women-African-American women-as managing directors," said Erin James, a Bank of America recruiter who graduated from Duke last year. (Continued…)
Really?
posted 1/29/08 @ 12:16 AM EST
It's interesting to note that no one makes mention of the positives of having diversity within a company. If you want to get different input and ideas, it does not pay to have a "good ol' white boys" club and I think we now see businesses addressing that. (Continued…)
An American looking for a job in America
posted 2/28/08 @ 10:32 PM EST
I guess I'm a little late responding to this article, but let's just say this: Mr. Obama (Mr. President)et el.. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise UP and live out the TRUE meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal. (Continued…)
Post a Comment