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Employment Discrimination for Blacks with Criminal Records
May 14th, 2009

Finding unskilled employment for recently released inmates can be challenging in itself, but it can be even harder for blacks in that situation. According to a recent article published in the journal the Annals of the American Academy, just getting a call back from prospective employers in New York City can be twice as hard for blacks with a criminal record than for their white counterparts. Only 10 percent of black ex-offenders in the study received a callback after dropping off an application, while 22 percent of their white counterparts got one. The difference in callbacks between those without records was much smaller, where 25 percent of blacks did compared 31 percent for whites.

Just over half of inmates in New York prisons are black.

The report – written by Devah Pager, an associate professor at Princeton, Bruce Western, a professor at Harvard, and Naomi Sugie, a PhD student at Princeton – also stresses the importance of building a personal rapport in getting a job. They found that personal contact with a prospective employer improved the chances by 15 percent of those with criminal records in getting a callback or interview.

“Employment is clearly a need for people coming home from prison,” says Anna Crayton, a researcher at the Prisoner Reentry Institute, “not only in terms of supporting themselves and their families; but employment creates a sense of self-worth, you have a goal, a direction.”

To get the results of this test, they sent out trained job seekers with fake criminal records to 250 actual job listings. The applicants were sent in pairs of the same race, all males aged 22 to 26 and with a height of around 6-feet tall. Each were supplied with the same history – high school only, steady unskilled employment – and were paired to match similar verbal skills and even physical attractiveness. But one was told to say he was recently released from prison, having been incarcerated for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. The jobs they sought out were restaurant positions, telemarketing, retail work and such, all found through the major papers and on Craigslist.

What effect does employment have on recidivism? The early results of one employment program here in the city have proven encouraging. Ex-offenders that enrolled in the Center for Employment Opportunity within three months of release “were significantly less likely to have their parole revoked, to be convicted of a felony, and to be reincarcerated.” The program provides a job readiness class, a temporary job at work under programs with state and city contracts, help finding permanent jobs, and employment retention services.

By Mike Muller on May 14, 2009, 2:02 pm
In category: Crime & Safety | 2 Comments »

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2 Responses to “Employment Discrimination for Blacks with Criminal Records”

  1. Becky Says:
    May 16th, 2009 at 1:30 am

    I think that it is great that NYC has implemented the Center for Employment Opportunity program. I believe that the only chance these Ex-offenders will have is by getting educated on how to get a job. Everyone should get better educated on how to get a job… I myself just finished reading Susan Kennedy and Karen Baker’s latest book,”The Job Coach for Young Professionals.” This book is filled with great resume writing and interview tips. However I used this book to help give me suggestions on managing myself on the job that I currently have. Love this book!

  2. Jenkem Huffington III Says:
    May 16th, 2009 at 7:06 pm

    maybe if the “culture” put more value in having a job than a prison record some “cultures” would not have to worry about some businesses wisely choosing to not hire criminals

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