Blackstone Corp. employs three hundred employees and has an opening for an accountant. One of the applicants for the position, Jane, is a brilliant accountant and a personable, competent professional. Fred Blackstone, the president of the Blackstone Corporation, is handling the interviews and decision making in the hiring process. Fred is a nice guy, but he views women as inherently less competent than men. As a result, after interviewing all of the people that his Human Resources director has sent to him, Fred decides to hire Bill Smith, who is less competent than Jane, but male. When Human Resources questions the decision, Fred says, "It is my company! I started it and made it what it is today!"

• Should it make a difference what motivates Fred? For example, what if, instead of his opinion about women, Fred is motivated by spousal pressure?
• Fred's spouse is the jealous type and asks him not to hire women because she feels insecure when she knows that Fred is spending his days in the company of other women. Should it make a difference if Fred, personally, is simply shy around women and wants, therefore, to work with men?