Employers are willing to pay more for white male employees

A recent study conducted by David Heckman, professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee underscores the factor that race still plays in the hiring and pay decision of business owners.

In the study, researchers at four business schools showed study subjects a video featuring either a black male, a white female, or a white male actor playing the role of an employee helping a customer. The actors demonstrated the same scripted behaviors and dress, and the store background, camera angles and lighting were identical. Those viewing the white male were 19 percent more satisfied with the employee's performance, and they were also more satisfied with the store's cleanliness and appearance.

"Customers are consistently biased in favor of white men," said David Heckman, assistant business professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. "Because customer satisfaction is critical for organizational survival, business owners and managers will hire white men when possible and will pay lower salaries to the women and minorities they do hire."