Don’t Hire Arabs?
Friends, Politics April 4th, 2008Shadow and I were talking the other day. He was filling out an online application for a job at Blockbuster. He was making small comments about some of the questions asked. Then he got to one that he honestly couldn’t answer.
He is Arab. None of the above. Yet there is no “Other” option. His race is not listed, as if it doesn’t exist or as if it does not matter or as if the company does not hire it. Which is true?
In post 9/11 America, this is a big no-no. I just did a research essay on Muslim Americans and, trust me, many companies have either gotten in trouble for this kind of thing or they have taken efforts to make their Muslim workers feel comfortable in the workplace.
“Census 2000 measured a U.S. population of 281.4 million, including 1.2 million who reported an Arab ancestry” - Census.Gov
I believe that’s enough to warrant a checkbox on an application. Either that or invest in an “Other” field that you can fill-in-the-blank.
April 4th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I’m curious as to why Blockbuster would even have that field on their application form. Does one’s race or the colour of one’s skin affect the way one would scan a DVD/video for rental? Obviously not.
Response: Most, if not all, applications here have that. I believe it is a result of affirmative action. To be able to maintain a certain level (or higher) of minorities, the company has to know what you are. Its almost never a required question, though. On that particular Blockbuster application, required questions were bolded.
April 5th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Amanda: Because they’re idiots.
I just applied at Borders Book & Music yesterday night and I didn’t get asked this ridiculous question.
April 5th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Wow, even having that question on there is ridiculous. Usually if it is on some paper/survey/application, it is optional!
April 5th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Did you guys call up and complain? I sure hope you did.
April 6th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I would be PISSED! I really hope he does something about that. That’s so wrong =[.
haha I don’t think two men wanting me is necessarily a ‘good’ thing.
April 6th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
This kind of thing happens in Malaysia as well, where they only give a selection of the 3 main races (Malay, Chinese, Indian.) The problem? They’ve left out the minority races such as the Eurasians, Ibans, Kadazans etc - and some of us (not me) who are of mixed parentage (i.e. Chinese-Indian) kinda go through living hell deciding.
I’m not amused, really. At least after a massive load of complaints (some also from pure-blood Malays etc), the government’s got this new policy for application forms to solve the problem.
So maybe a complaint or so might help? But I feel the pain, though…
April 7th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Ouch, no form should ever exclude the “other” option for ethnicity or race. It’s just going to cause a lot of problems for everyone.