In 1997, authors Arthur P. Brief, Robert T, Buttram, Robin M, Reizenstein, S. Douglas Pugh, Jodi D. Callahan, Richard L. McCline, and Joel B, Vaslow conducted a series of research studies on what is now known as implicit bias in the workplace. Their research cited several examples and argued the following:

Blatant racism has been replaced by a more subtle form of racism that reflects an adherence to such traditional American values as individualism rather than open bigotry. Managers, in attempting to fulfill seemingly reasonable business objectives, may create conditions conducive to these new racist attitudes. Only by understanding the nature of the new racism, including how it is activated, can managers avoid the unintentional promotion of segregation and discrimination in their organizations.

Nearly 20 years later, in 2015, Harvard Economics Professor, Sendhil Mullainathan, examined implicit bias in the government and private employers, arguing in a New York Times article:

Ugly pockets of conscious bigotry remain in this country, but most discrimination is more insidious. The urge to find and call out the bigot is powerful, and doing so is satisfying. But it is also a way to let ourselves off the hook. Rather than point fingers outward, we should look inward and examine how, despite best intentions, we discriminate in ways big and small.

Please read both of these articles carefully and base your responses to the following questions on the reading assigned on Equality in the Workplace from the textbook and D2L for this week, rather than personal experience. You may also incorporate outside research into your response.

Has American society made progress in regard to discrimination in the workplace over the last twenty years? Or are employers just treading water, throwing policies into handbooks that dont achieve real or lasting progress in regard to workplace equality and diversity? Have employers and managers replaced overt discrimination and prejudice with the mask of political correctness? Are companies engaged in similar levels of discrimination through more insidious means?