5 ms·

Legal and ethical issues aside, if there are indeed excellent older people who are being passed over, then businesses have an opportunity.

asdfdsa1234 13y ago
This. If irrational bias is undervaluing a class of workers, firms can gain an advantage by hiring those workers, ceteris paribus.
- muzz 13y ago
  In theory, yes. I'm not claiming to have the answers, but clearly we don't always see this play out that way. There are many examples of in other industries of undervalued talent not being utilized, things like the absence of black quarterbacks in the NFL for many years, etc
engineer40 13y ago
This is true, but one of the things I've observed about the hiring process for engineers over the past 25 years is this: It's always sucked, and it's not getting better. Example: Recruiters don't know anything about what it means to be a software developer, yet they feel they need to "weed out" the unqualified ones. So they do things like say "So, it says you know SQL, what database were they using at company X?" "OH, I'm sorry, this company is looking for Oracle SQL people, not Microsoft." --- in response to a job looking for Java developers who "know SQL". EG: You'd be writing code, probably dealing with an ORM, not writing too much SQL directly. This problem has existed since the 1980s. Despite it creating massive inefficiencies in placement... the system hasn't (seemingly) gotten any better since then.
ryandrake 13y ago
This is a common argument used against workplace diversity of all kinds: "If hiring [Minority A] provided some sustainable advantage, then someone would have started a company and simply hired loads of [Minority A] and kick ass in the market."
- asdfdsa1234 13y ago
  What is the counterargument?
  - gammarator 13y ago
    Humans aren't purely rational utility optimizers, so markets can remain irrational for long periods.

asdfdsa1234 13y ago

This. If irrational bias is undervaluing a class of workers, firms can gain an advantage by hiring those workers, ceteris paribus.

muzz 13y ago
In theory, yes. I'm not claiming to have the answers, but clearly we don't always see this play out that way. There are many examples of in other industries of undervalued talent not being utilized, things like the absence of black quarterbacks in the NFL for many years, etc

engineer40 13y ago

This is true, but one of the things I've observed about the hiring process for engineers over the past 25 years is this: It's always sucked, and it's not getting better. Example: Recruiters don't know anything about what it means to be a software developer, yet they feel they need to "weed out" the unqualified ones. So they do things like say "So, it says you know SQL, what database were they using at company X?" "OH, I'm sorry, this company is looking for Oracle SQL people, not Microsoft." --- in response to a job looking for Java developers who "know SQL". EG: You'd be writing code, probably dealing with an ORM, not writing too much SQL directly. This problem has existed since the 1980s. Despite it creating massive inefficiencies in placement... the system hasn't (seemingly) gotten any better since then.

ryandrake 13y ago

This is a common argument used against workplace diversity of all kinds: "If hiring [Minority A] provided some sustainable advantage, then someone would have started a company and simply hired loads of [Minority A] and kick ass in the market."

asdfdsa1234 13y ago
What is the counterargument?
- gammarator 13y ago
  Humans aren't purely rational utility optimizers, so markets can remain irrational for long periods.