A very interesting read... http://www.xtremerecruiting.org/blog/archives/ss/001064.html Can a Black-Sounding Name Hurt Your Career Can a 'Black' Name Affect Job Prospects? It's the first major decision new parents face, and their choice will stick with their child for a lifetime: what to name the baby. And today simple is out and variety is in, especially for many black Americans. Many African-American parents say they're returning to their roots by choosing names that sound uniquely black. For some a unique name has been an asset. For stars like Oprah Winfrey or Shaquille O'Neal or Denzel Washington, a distinctive first name can become a unique, identifiable brand, almost a trademark. But some ordinary folks say being different is just too difficult. Tiqua Gator says people just can't seem to get her name right. But she says her real burden runs even deeper. She's concerned about getting a better job, and sees her name as a potential handicap. "Something that was supposed to separate you from everyone else is now at the same time hindering you," she said. Gator has come to believe she'd have an easier time lining up a job in her chosen field of marketing if she had a plain name like Jane. "I think that they feel that they can identify better with a Pam or Amber rather than a Tiqua," she said. The Résumé Test And Gator may be on to something. A recent University of Chicago study, "Are Emily and Brendan More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal?" by Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan, found that people with names like Pam or Amber got 50 percent more callbacks for job interviews than applicants with similar résumés and names like Lakisha and Shaniqua. (To read the full study, click here.) Even though the study looked at 5,000 résumés, a group of young professionals didn't quite believe the name on top of their résumés could make that big a difference. The skeptics included Carita, an attorney; Tavoria, a law student; Orpheus, an educator; Arsenetta, a statistician; Tremelle, a financial adviser; and Ebony, an M.B.A. student. So 20/20 asked the six to participate in an experiment. 20/20 put 22 pairs of names to the test — the six skeptics included. Each person posted two résumés on popular job-search Web sites — one under his or her real name, and the same identical résumé under a made-up, "white-sounding" names like Peter, Melissa and Kathleen. You'd think the identical résumés would get the same attention. Instead, the résumés with the white-sounding names on them were actually downloaded 17 percent more often by job recruiters looking for candidates. "You really never know why you don't get called back for that interview. I thought it was because of my job skills, or my résumé wasn't appropriate, but I never thought it was because of my name," Carita said. She was shocked by the calls from potential employers — not to her, but to her fictitious white counterpart. "I was just blown away that Kathleen got phone calls for three of the four weeks of the study, and I didn't get any. And Kathleen does not exist," she said. Arsenetta also was envious of her fictitious white alter ego, Kimberly. "They were calling her morning, noon and night," she said. "I was standing there looking at my phone going, 'God, I want to answer that phone call and tell the man I'm interested in this job!' " Ebony felt frustrated that companies were quick to stereotype her by name. "Once they get to know me, they say, 'Oh, you know, she is Ebony but she's not that militant one or she's not that rowdy little girl or she's not the ignorant one. She's very smart and very capable of doing this job,' " she said. What kind of companies were responsible? Our independent research found biased responses from employment agencies, law firms and even large financial corporations. Recruiter: ‘There Is Rampant Racism’ But capable doesn't always matter. A job recruiter for Fortune 500 companies in northern California revealed an ugly secret. "There is rampant racism everywhere. And people who deny that are being naïve," said the recruiter, who spoke on the condition her name would not be used. The recruiter said if she were given two résumés, all else being equal, except one says Shaniqua, and the other says Jennifer, she would call Jennifer first. It's a choice she says she was trained to make: When representing certain companies, do not send black candidates. And on a résumé, a name may be the only cue of the applicant's race. "I think that the way that I had been taught and what has helped me to succeed in the industry is unfair," she said. It's also racist, and, quite possibly, illegal. That's why author Shelby Steele feels African-Americans must think long and hard before giving their children unusual or "black-sounding" names. "It's a naïveté on the part of black parents," Steele said, "to name their children names that are so conspicuously different than American mainstream names. … It suggests to people outside that community who hear those names a certain alienation. Certain hostility." Steele, a researcher specializing in race relations and author of A Dream Deferred: The Second Betrayal of Black Freedom in America, is essentially telling black folks, don't name your child Deshawn or Loquesha. "Yes. … I'm saying don't name your son Latrelle. Don't do that. … He's going to live 50, 60 years in the future. Give him a break. You know, call him Edward." Challenge the Bias, Not the Names But sociologist Bertice Berry says there are prominent African-Americans who've overcome the stigma of a black-sounding name, including top presidential adviser Condoleezza Rice. "We've learned to say Condoleezza. And you just can't get more ghetto than Condoleezza," Berry said. Opera diva Leontine Pryce also overcame any stigma attached to her name. "We hear Leontine and you think opera," Berry said, "… When they're associated with power and wealth we learn them." Berry says what needs to change is society, not black names. But the bias against those names, it seems, starts very early. University of Pittsburgh Vice Provost Jack Daniel studied 4- and 5-year-old children and found racist perceptions were deeply ingrained at an early age. White children had a tendency to associate negative traits with black names, according to Daniel. "Your name can hurt you," Daniel said, "but you've got to change the people who hurt you because of your name.' So, Daniel and his wife, Jeri, rejected white-sounding names for their own children. They chose African names — Omari and Marijata. "We thought that it was really important that the assimilation process not dissolve who we were as a people," Jeri Daniel said. The Daniels' children carried on the tradition, naming their children Amani, Akili, Deven and Javon. They see the names as a source of pride. But some of today's black-sounding names are more about conspicuous consumption than tradition. There is a trend to name children after luxury goods, like Moet, Lexus, even Toyota. Steele said that trend "suggests real cultural deprivation. And it's heartbreaking to hear it." Berry feels that "There's a responsibility, when anybody names a child, to name them something that means something." But she added, "I don't think we need to tell people, 'Don't name them that, because I don't like the way it sounds.' " Unhappy with her own name and her experience in the job market, Tiqua Gator named her son Derek to help him get by in white America. "If I was to have any more children, it wouldn't be any Tiquas or it wouldn't be any Tamikas or Aishas. It would be something common," she said. "I wouldn't want my child to go through the same thing that I've went through."
Racism is steal alive but we're just concealing it. -Kanye West I'm gonna say it right now, the U.S. the has done a phenomenal job in race relations. We are light years aheadd of every one else as far as melting pot the world togther. However, while I hate the whole PC situation, which is just forcing everyone to wear a mask. The root of the festering racism in this country is still there and we need to address it, instead of screaming a race card when anyone plays it. Not that it hasn't being played for less needed reasons either, just that sometimes, it's warranted.
I always find it strange when I come across a name that is obviously made up or taken from a current cultural item ~ Diamante'. However, it's no different than coming across a name like Patchouli Sunshine. Either way it doesn't have an effect on my judgment of the person ~ in fact it makes them stand out from the crowd.
I had a friend of a friend who's name was Lamont who received very few responses to his job applications (as an network admin). He later changed his resume to use his middle name, which was Edward, and he suddenly started getting about 3x as many calls.
I saw a comedian do a pretty funny bit about this same phenommenon a few years ago. He said, "I'm not naming my kids one of those black-French names like Aldente. I'm gonna name my son Fred so he'll show up to the interview before they don't hire his black ass." I guess being a good comedian really is all about having a great perspective on things...
I'm not going to post my real name on here, but I am a white guy with a Black name. On several occasions, I have gotten phone calls, mailings, offers, etc designed or targeting African Americans beause of my name. When I first started college I got invited to a special advising session. When I showed up I was the only non-Black person there. They just apologized and said that they had made a mistake. Even people had church that know me describe me to people that may not know exactly who I am as "that white guy with the brotha's name."
I'm white and my first name is Reggie, but pronounced reg-gi (reg like regular not reg like register). As bad as this sounds, I was told to put my middle name on my resume, but I don't do it. And in real life I go by my middle name, always have.
Oh hell yes, I couldnt get a job until I started to put my middle name first. My middle name is as white as it gets. I tell people all the time, name your child something that will help him get a job. Naming your child Laquita Shrlondra is going to put her behind everyone else early in the game. Unfortunately the name screams ghetto even just by the sound and sight of it. Now this is not racism this is stereotyping. Alot of people here get the two confused "Furious Jam "....
FOR THE RECORD *ALL* NAMES ARE MADE UP just some were made up years/decades/centuries ago It seems if u made up something crazy 200 yrs ago in Euro It is all good but make it up 17 yrs ago . . in an 'urban' environment well . .that is just ghetto and wrong and an example of stupidity in some folx minds I like different sounding names. . . I think discriminating against a person by name is stupid and ridiculous and anyone that accepts that or blame the parent of the person for their IGNORANCE [judging people by name] is just stupid Rocket River
I think it depends on what job you're applying for and what type of company. For example, my company is huge on diversity. If they can have 2 candidates of equal merit, I have no doubt they would choose a minority. Without debating affirmation action, I can envision a situation where we might subconciously favor a candidate with a "black sounding name" and we're a Fortune 100 company. Colleges also love recruiting minorities who are comparable to non-minority candidates. I can say with a high degree of certainty that if you applied to any major university with the same SAT scores and GPA, your chance of getting in is probably a lot higher than someone who is caucasion, or even asian.
Actually untrue. That's more of an affirmative action issue which schools have tried to go around by utilizing the 10% rule. Im talking about 2 kids with very similar credentials. For example, when I went to HS, we had an African American female whose father was a judge and she was in all honors courses. She graduated in the Top 10% of our class (a very difficult HS and scored 1350 on her SAT- before they revised the SAT scoring). Would she even sniff UT or A&M? Hell no. Because her credentials were so good, she chose to go to a higher ranked university. That's the problem for UT and A&M. They can't attract the tier 1 minorities (because they are so sought after) so to boost their minority enrollment, they have to have different standards than the traditional SAT/GPA - more allowances for GPA (even if their HS was academically less challenging and less emphasis on SAT). Whether that's right or not is another issue. Minorities who have great credentials are absolutely invaluable to academic institutions/employers.
This thread is not a matter of opinion. I just finished reading a book that pointed out that "ultrablack" (their word not mine) names are detrimental to eceonomic and employment situation. I'll break it down later.
Agree. But I have this question then: if we were to accept this as a 'fact', who should adapt to eliminate this problem: should it be on a personal level (ie having Black parents/Arab parents avoid naming their kids 'ethnic' names), or should society itself adapt and be more accepting? Sorry, can't help but incite a debate
Actually, after the last few weeks of Katrina-gate this is a welcome debate. I found this while digging around the net a few weeks ago: The rules of naming your kid: 1. Don't make up a name. You have to give your child a name that already exists and is a commonly accepted name. That may sound restrictive, but there are literally thousands of perfectly good names to choose from. We don't need any new ones. Civilization is more than 6,000 years old; the brainstorming session is over. I'm sorry you didn't live 200 years ago, when exciting new names were still being forged. But now, in 2005 WE'RE DONE. No new names. 2. Don't misspell your kid's name on purpose. Seriously, what are you trying to pull? Violation of Rule No. 2 is usually an effort to circumvent Rule No. 1: We can't make up new names, so we'll misspell an existing name, thus, in a way, making a new name! No. You can't do this. It's not clever; it just looks like you can’t spell. It also does not distinguish your child from the other children with the same name. When the teacher calls on Michael, it will sound the same as if she is calling on Mikkal, MyKle or Mighkull. She should not have to differentiate between traditional-spelling Michael and all the train-wreck-spelling Michaels in the class. 3. You are entitled to one capital letter per name. Do not deplete our nation’s supply of capital letters by wedging two or more of them into one name. 4. No one takes women seriously whose first names end with two e's. I'm sorry, but it's true Britnee and Ashlee.
interesting Chance basically. . humanity is incapable to overcome it's on discriminatory preferances so . . . folx must conform or be outcast Rather than d*mn the evil practice of discrimination We should force everyone to conform to a set of rules You know the world would be easier if all black folx bleached their skin . . all hispanics lost their accent and we become a uniform human race All one color all one language all one mind all one thought .. . . Difference should be STOMPED out with extreme PREJUDICE is that basically what I am feeling I know you saying .. oh no . . i'm only talking about names but how is that ANY different than any other Cultural difference? Make up a name? In the bible it is Adam and Eve. . .so did they have a big book of ACCEPTABLE NAMES. .cause i surely missed it . . . . JOHN - good . . . LaJohn - Bad Sorry missed that paragragh So which is correct JOHN or JON or JOHNN cause OBVIOUSLY only one can be correct the others are purposeful misspellings and doom the child to a life of poverty because / / why would one hire someone based on their parent's name conventions I guess all the O'Neills O'reilly's etc should get those removed ooops. . .last names are ok I guess. . . . and well . . If my name is just LEE I should just goto L. . . cause I would not want to be characterize by my double e's oh . .. just a name .. . i am being toooooooo sensative PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE DESTROYED BECAUSE SOMEON DOESN'T LIKE HIS NAME??????? Is that not silly? Is that not RIDICULOUS??? You cannot get good jobs or promotions because they don't like your name. . . Don't you think that is a little wrong Esp from people who claim MERIT BASED promotion but well . . .. it is only a name. . . F*ck 'em . . .let them die so we can have names that those in power APPROVE OF .. . Everyone should submit to the will of those above them BTW How long til your boss is able to RENAME you REMAKE you in his image .. or what he wants you to be . . . Rocket River . . .and no . .I am not overreacting
