It’s been well documented that people with names like LaKeisha or DeShawn, which became popular among African Americans during the civil rights era, can face disadvantages in the job market.
But that’s not the only place they are likely to bump up against conscious or unconscious biases. A recent studyfinds that a LaKeisha is much less likely to get a response when they contact public librarians or school district officials than, say, a Becky. And when they do, it’s less likely to be polite.
The researchers looked into a range of public sector institutions—from school districts and libraries to sheriff’s offices, county officials, and even job center veteran representatives. They focused on these because they offer public services, like education, knowledge, safety, or employment, that help cities run and potentially help narrow racial and economic gaps in society. “A lot of these services have a human component,” said Mirco Tonin, an economics professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy, who coauthored the report. “People are the main assets.”
[For more on this story by TANVI MISRA, go to https://www.citylab.com/equity...arian-racist/550085/]
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