Supply side or discrimination? Assessing the role of unconscious bias

Temple Law Review

Volumn 83, Issue 4, 2011, Pages 877-902

  Wax, Amy L ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 84255167197     PISSN: 08998086     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (61)

1. 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011).
2. 603 F.3d 571 (2010)
3. rev'd, 131 S. Ct. 2547 (2011).
4. Wal-Mart, 603 F.3d at 577.
5. See Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 222 F. R. D. 137, 145 (N. D. Cal. 2004) ("Plaintiffs submit evidence that Wal-Mart cultivates and maintains a strong corporate culture which includes gender stereotyping.").
6. Id. at 145; see also Lesley Wexler, Wal-Mart Matters, 46 WAKE FOREST L. REV. 95, 105-11 (2011) (providing detailed explanation of plaintiffs' theory on discrimination).
7. See Wal-Mart, 222 F. R. D. at 154-66 (discussing plaintiffs' statistical evidence of gender disparities among Wal-Mart's workforce and anecdotal evidence of discriminatory intent by some Wal-Mart managers).
8. See Brief for Petitioner at 3, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011) (No. 10-277)
9. WL 201045 ("Wal-Mart's company-wide policy... expressly bars discrimination based on sex, and Wal-Mart has consistently promulgated and enforced equal opportunity policies... prohibit[ing] unlawful discrimination. ").
10. See Amy L. Wax, The Discriminating Mind: Define It. Prove It, 40 CONN. L. REV. 979, 987 (2008) (noting allegations of discrimination against employers with professed commitment to equal opportunity).
11. Grace E. Speights & Bernard R. Siskin, The Impact of Statistical Evidence in Class Action Litigation, SS032 ALI-ABA 859, 883 (2011) ("Dr. William Bielby has clearly been the most prominent proponent of the stereotyping theory and has testified regarding the theory in many cases.").
12. Declaration of William T. Bielby, Ph. D in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification at 5, Wal-Mart, 222 F. R. D. 137 (No. C-01-2252)
13. WL 24571701.
14. For a discussion of this controversy, see Adam Liptak, Supreme Court to Weigh Sociology Issue in Wal-Mart Discrimination Case, N. Y. TIMES, Mar. 27, 2011, at A17.
15. See generally Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011).
16. Transcript of Oral Argument at 13, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011) (No. 10-277).
17. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011).
18. For a recent discussion of the Supreme Court's pattern or practice jurisprudence, see Michael Selmi, Theorizing Systemic Disparate Treatment Law, 32 BERKELEY J. EMP & LAB. L. (forthcoming 2011), available at http://papers.ssra.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id=l809944.
19. See generally Wax, supra note 12; Amy L. Wax, Discrimination as Accident, 74 IND. L. J. 1129 (1999).
20. E.g., Hart Blanton et al., Strong Claims and Weak Evidence: Reassessing the Predictive Validity of the IAT, 94 J. APPLIED PSYCHOL. 567 (2009).
21. E.g., John T. Jost et al., The Existence of Implicit Bias Is Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: A Refutation of Ideological and Methodological Objections and Executive Summary of Ten Studies That No Manager Should Ignore, 29 RES. ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAV. 39 (2009).
22. See generally Brian A. Nosek et al., The Implicit Association Test at Age 7: A Methodological and Conceptual Review, in SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE UNCONSCIOUS: THE AUTOMATICITY OF HIGHER MENTAL PROCESSES 265 (John A. Bargh ed. 2007).
23. Id. at 49 (citing Marianne Bertrand et al., Implicit Discrimination, 95 AM. ECON. REV. 94 (2005);
24. Dan-Olof Rooth Implicit Discrimination in Hiring: Real World Evidence (Inst. for the Study of Labor (IZA), Discussion Paper No. 2764, Apr. 2007)).
25. See Alexander R. Green et al., Implicit Bias Among Physicians and Its Prediction of Thrombolysis Decisions for Black and White Patients, 22 J. GEN. INTERNAL MED. 1231 (2007), discussed in Jost et al., supra note 41, at 51-52.
26. See, e.g., Esteban González Burchard et al., The Importance of Race and Ethnic Background in Biomedical Research and Clinical Practice, 348 NEW ENG. J. MED. 1170, 1174-75 (2003) (discussing need to further understand "variations among racial and ethnic groups in the prevalence and severity of diseases and in responses to treatment" (emphasis added)).
27. Jerry Kang & Mahzarin R. Banaji, Fair Measures: A Behavioral Realist Revision of "Affirmative Action," 94 CAL. L. REV. 1063, 1064 (2006).
28. Id. For a more recent article, also co-authored by Jerry Kang, that makes similar points, see Jerry Kang & Kristin Lane, Seeing Through Colorblindness: Implicit Bias and the Law, 58 UCLA L. REV. 465 (2010).
29. See Anthony G. Greenwald et al., Understanding and Using the Implicit Association Test: III. Meta-Anafysis of Predictive Validity, 97 J. PERSONALITY & SOC. PSYCHOL 17 (2009), cited in Kang & Banaji, supra note 72, at 1073.
30. Id. at 1074 (citing Jonathan C. Ziegert & Paul J. Hanges, Employment Discrimination: The Role of Implicit Attitudes, Motivation, and a Climate for Racial Bias, 90 J. APPLIED PSYCHOL. 553, 556 (2005)). The Zeigert study has been vigorously criticized as unsound by Blanton and colleagues based on their review of the data underlying the report. Blanton et al., supra note 40, at 578-80.
31. See generally Robert Belton, Mixed-Motive Cases in Employment Discrimination Law Revisited: A Brief Updated View of the Swamp, 51 MERCER L. REV. 651 (2000).
32. See generally Richard Goldstein, Two Types of Statistical Errors in Employment Discrimination Cases, 28 JURIMETRICS J. 32 (1985).
33. See, e.g., Ralph Richard Banks & Richard Thompson Ford, (How) Does Unconscious Bias Matter?: Law, Politics, and Racial Inequality, 58 EMORY L. J. 1053, 1100-01 (2009) (noting that, for unconscious bias theorists who believe "racial discrimination remains widespread," the existence of "[racially] skewed outcomes alone become potentially persuasive evidence of discrimination").
34. Katie R. Eyer, That's Not Discrimination: American Beliefs and the Limits of Anti-Discrimination Law, 96 MINN. L. REV. (forthcoming 2011), available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfin?abstract-id=1780235.
35. See Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U. S. 324, 340 n. 20 (1977) ("[A]bsent explanation, it is ordinarily to be expected that nondiscriminatory hiring practices will in time result in a work force more or less representative of the racial and ethnic composition of the population in the community from which employees are hired.").
36. See Amy L. Wax, Disparate Impact Realism, 53 WM. & MARY L. REV. (forthcoming 2011).
37. 401 U. S. 424 (1971).
38. Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, 29 C. F. R. § 1607. 4 (D) (2010).
39. See, e.g., Eric A. Hanushek, How Well Do We Understand Achievement Gaps?, FOCUS, Winter 2010, at 5, 6-7 (citing data from national tests showing "stunning" gaps in academic performance between black and white high school students, with the average seventeen-year-old black student "achieving at the 22nd percentile" for math and reading);
40. Sharon Ottoman, 37 Percent of New York Graduates Are College-Ready, Data Show, N. Y. TIMES, June 14, 2011, at A23 (discussing New York State study on math and English scores which found that 51% of white students and 56% of Asian-American students were "college ready" after completing high school, versus only 13% of black students and 15% of Hispanic students)
41. see also RICHARD ARUM & JOSIPA ROKSA, ACADEMICALLY ADRIFT: LIMITED LEARNING ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES 111-112 (2011) (noting that black students on average learned less during college than whites even when entering academic credentials were controlled);
42. THOMAS J. ESPENSHADE & ALEXANDRIA WALTON RADFORD, NO LONGER SEPARATE, NOT YET EQUAL: RACE AND CLASS IN ELITE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS AND CAMPUS LIFE 226-29 (2009) (discussing research on group differences in scores and academic achievement);
43. Richard C. Hunter & RoSusan Bartee, The Achievement Gap: Issues of Competition, Class, and Race, 35 EDUC. & URB. SOC'Y 151, 154-56 (2003) (same).
44. See Frank L. Schmidt, The Role of General Cognitive Ability and Job Performance: Why There Cannot Be a Debate, 15 HUMAN PERFORMANCE 187, 187 (2002) r (noting "overwhelming research evidence showing a strong link between general cognitive ability... and job performance");
45. see also Philip L. Roth & Philip Bobko, College Grade Point Average as a Potential Selection Device: Ethnic Group Differences and Potential Adverse Impact, J. APPLIED PSYCHOL. 399, 399 (2000) (discussing correlation of grade-point average to job performance);
46. Paul R. Sackett et al., High-Stakes Testing in Higher Education and Employment, 63 AM. PSYCHOLOGIST 215, 216-19 (2008) (discussing predictive power of admission test results); Wax, supra note 12, at 994
47. (citing Mark Kelman, Concepts of Discrimination in "General Ability" Job Testing, 104 HARV. L. REV. 1157 (1991)) (discussing pros and cons of general aptitude job testing as method for predicting job performance).
48. See Paul R. Sackett & Steffanie L. Wilk, Within-Group Norming and Other Forms of Score Adjustments in Preemployment Testing, 49 AM. PSYCHOLOGIST 929, 934 (1994) (discussing studies in organizational psychology reporting that blacks receive on-the-job performance ratings that average about.3-.4 standard deviations below ratings for white workers).
49. For examples of this literature, see Tristin K. Green, Race and Sex in Organizing Work: "Diversity," Discrimination, and Integration, 59 EMORY L. REV. 585 (2010);
50. Tristin K. Green & Alexandra Kalev, Discrimination-Reducing Measures at the Relational Level, 59 HASTINGS L. J. 1435 (2008);
51. Christine Jolls & Cass R. Sunstein, The Law of Implicit Bias, 94 CAL. L. REV. 969 (2006); Kang & Banaji, supra note 72.
52. For a discussion of the social contact hypothesis, see Jerry W. Robinson, Jr. & James Preston, Equal Status Contact and Modification of Racial Prejudice: A Reexamination of the Contact Hypothesis, 54 SOCIAL FORCES 911 (1976).
53. See, e.g., Daria Roithmayr, Tacking Left: A Racial Critique of Grutter, 21 CONST. COMMENT. 191, 192 (2004) (noting median black LSAT score in 2002-2003 of 142.2 vs. 153.9 for whites, and observing that blacks make up fewer than one percent of candidates scoring above 165 on test).
54. CHRISTINA THEOKAS, EDUC. TRUST, SHUT OUT OF THE MILITARY: TODAY'S HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE READY FOR TODAY'S ARMY 3, 5 (2010), available at http://mldc.whs.mil/download/documents/Readings/ASVAB-4.pdf.
55. Id. at 1104-05; see also Katharine Bartlett, Making Good on Good Intentions: The Critical Role of Motivation in Reducing Implicit Workplace Discrimination, 95 VA. L. REV. 1893, 1951 (2009) (noting that contact with people from other groups "can either reinforce bias or reduce it").
56. See generally Green & Kalev, supra note 108. The authors draw heavily on a number of influential articles in the field, including Susan Sturm, Second Generation Employment Discrimination: A Structural Approach, 101 COLUM. L. REV. 458 (2001)
57. and Linda Hamilton Krieger, The Content of Our Categories: A Cognitive Bias Approach to Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity, 47 STAN. L. REV. 1161 (1995);
58. see also Suzanne B. Goldberg, Discrimination by Comparison, 120 YALE L. J. 728 (2011);
59. Tristin Green, A Structural Approach as Antidiscrimination Mandate: Locating Employer Wrong, 60 VAND. L. REV. 849 (2007).
60. 1See generally AMY L. WAX, RACE, WRONGS, AND REMEDIES: GROUP JUSTICE IN THE 21ST CENTURY (2009) (arguing that many racial inequalities today elude policy-based correction).
61. E.g., Kate Bartlett, supra note 118, at 1926-30 (reviewing proposals); Tristin K. Green, The Future of Systemic Disparate Treatment Law, 32 BERKELEY J. EMP. & LAB. L. (forthcoming 2011) (manuscript at 5, 36), available at http://papers.ssm.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id=1793425 (recommending a "context model" that imposes liability for policies that are "likely to be producing" disparate treatment).