Warning: Having a 'black-sounding' name may cause your resume to be ignored by employers

A 2003 study conducted by researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago Graduate school of Business, based on "black sounding" names, (e.g., Lacreesha, Sharnita, Taiqwondoleeza) versus "white sounding" names, (e.g., Meghan, Bethany, Rebecca Anne.)

Researchers surveyed the employer resume selection process, and discovered names which were perceived as black sounding were 50 percent less likely to get a response from a prospective employer.

The research study involved the mailing of 500 resumes to companies in response to 1,300 job advertisements listed in the Boston Globe and Chicago Tribune newspapers. Four resumes were sent for each ad where two resumes would have "black sounding names;" one pseudo "black" applicant with adequate qualifications and the other pseudo "black" applicant with inadequate skills. Pseudo "white" applicants with comparable levels of qualifications were submitted for consideration on employment.

According to CBSNews.com:
"White names got about one callback per 10 resumes; black names got one per 15. Carries and Kristens had call-back rates of more than 13 percent, but Aisha, Keisha and Tamika got 2.2 percent, 3.8 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively. And having a higher quality resume, featuring more skills and experience, made a white-sounding name 30 percent more likely to elicit a callback, but only 9 percent more likely for black-sounding names."

The study also uncovered the fact that self-professed "equal opportunity employers" companies were guilty, too, of name discrimination during this research process.

Is there a lesson here? Run your own business or think twice about the naming of your children?

Reference:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/29/national/main575685.shtml
'Black' Names A Resume Burden? Study: 'Black-Sounding' Names Prompt Fewer Job Callbacks
http://www.povertyactionlab.com/papers/bertrand_mullainathan.pdf