Job discrimination: 1 in 5 won’t hire Trump supporters
www.washingtonexaminer.com ^ | by Paul Bedard | December 03, 2019 10:10 AM
www.washingtonexaminer.com ^ | by Paul Bedard | December 03, 2019 10:10 AM
It’s not legal in most cases, and certainly not right, but 1 in 5 left-leaning bosses “will not hire” supporters of President Trump, and huge majorities of hiring managers want to know the positions job candidates have on highly controversial issues including race and immigration, according to a sweeping new survey.
What’s more, job seekers reluctant to cough up their views and positions in interviews can’t hide them because nearly all employers sift through social media posts, mostly Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, of those they are considering for jobs.
“Workplace discrimination is a real and pressing issue, and candidates get their applications sidelined or overlooked due to these factors all the time,” according to the survey from Airtasker provided exclusively to Secrets.
“And even when they do make it past the hiring filter, employees can also be the victims of prejudice and biased behavior when interacting with their bosses and colleagues,” according to the survey.
Not surprisingly, about half of those interviewed said that talking politics on the job is a no-no.
But even being political off the job can be a danger.
In a section titled “Lets talk Trump,” the survey found that 20% of left-leaning hiring managers will not hire Trump supporters. Remarkably, 9% of right-leaning hiring managers won’t either.
Right-leaning bosses, by a margin of 2-1, however, would hire Trump supporters.
And if they are hired, Trump supporters face some discrimination and criticisms from colleagues. The study analysis said that 28% joke about Trump supporters, and “23% observed people being both overly critical and making assumptions about that person’s character.”
Hiring bosses also press to know the views of job candidates on some of the most controversial issues.
According to the analysis:
The majority of hiring managers said it was important to understand a candidate’s stance on racial equality (65%), gender equality (59%), and LGBTQ+ rights (54%). Another 38% felt the same about immigration, and 32% would want to know about an applicant’s politics.
While not as many hiring managers actually turned away a job seeker based on a strongly held belief, each of these controversial topics led to some level of rejection: For example, 29% of hiring managers vetoed a candidate for his or her stance on racial equality, and 27% did so for gender equality. Even if those people had been hired instead of passed over, it’s important to understand that a U.S.-based company can still terminate you for your political opinions.
