4 ms·

Perhaps "protect against potential lawsuits" is a better phrasing. Fear of accusations of disparate impact hiring is very real for HR, not to mention the negati

Perhaps "protect against potential lawsuits" is a better phrasing. Fear of accusations of disparate impact hiring is very real for HR, not to mention the negative press even if you beat the charges. In the specific case of Github, fallout from the Horvath fiasco. Better to spend some resources preventatively to make sure your employee composition can reasonably help fend off attacks.

erikpukinskis 10y ago
I understand the kind of company you are talking about, I was just asking if you really intended to say that all companies are like that, or if you are talking about a specific kind of company. In my experience people don't generally think about potential lawsuits all that much. I'm only curious because you must have experience in a different kind of company than me. I'm gently trying to encourage you to narrow your statement because it is too broad to make sense to me.
- wpietri 10y ago
  I'd agree with that. When I've been a hiring manager, I've definitely gone to a lot of trouble to "attempt to counteract the institutionalized discrimination against minorities". Lawsuits were never my worry.
- lr4444lr 10y ago
  I am not privy to what goes on inside secret meetings of the C suite, but as a tech employee who also owns a side business (non tech) with a couple of partners who've run other businesses, protecting yourself from lawsuits is always a concern. My guess is, if you ever find yourself in a casual conversation with someone in HR you will get an affirmative answer as to whether candidates' diversity in their non-necessary attributes (e.g. sex, ethnicity, country of origin, religion) are considered assets to the company beyond their relevance to qualifications to do the job for the sake of EEOC. No, I won't narrow the statement any further, but I will disclose that I work in a major and "politically liberal" metropolitan area in the USA. Granted, it may be less so in areas with a more homogeneous population, but I'd wager there's still even a concern even with regards to ageism.
  - erikpukinskis 10y ago
    thank you, that is really helpful context for me!

erikpukinskis 10y ago

I understand the kind of company you are talking about, I was just asking if you really intended to say that all companies are like that, or if you are talking about a specific kind of company. In my experience people don't generally think about potential lawsuits all that much. I'm only curious because you must have experience in a different kind of company than me. I'm gently trying to encourage you to narrow your statement because it is too broad to make sense to me.

wpietri 10y ago
I'd agree with that. When I've been a hiring manager, I've definitely gone to a lot of trouble to "attempt to counteract the institutionalized discrimination against minorities". Lawsuits were never my worry.
lr4444lr 10y ago
I am not privy to what goes on inside secret meetings of the C suite, but as a tech employee who also owns a side business (non tech) with a couple of partners who've run other businesses, protecting yourself from lawsuits is always a concern. My guess is, if you ever find yourself in a casual conversation with someone in HR you will get an affirmative answer as to whether candidates' diversity in their non-necessary attributes (e.g. sex, ethnicity, country of origin, religion) are considered assets to the company beyond their relevance to qualifications to do the job for the sake of EEOC. No, I won't narrow the statement any further, but I will disclose that I work in a major and "politically liberal" metropolitan area in the USA. Granted, it may be less so in areas with a more homogeneous population, but I'd wager there's still even a concern even with regards to ageism.
- erikpukinskis 10y ago
  thank you, that is really helpful context for me!