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Q&A: Study by Pritzker Prof. Chika Okafor finds minorities still receive fewer opportunities in ‘color-blind’ settings
['Ashley Wei', 'Assistant Campus Editor']
The Daily Northwestern
A recent study from Pritzker Prof. Chika Okafor found that minorities receive disproportionately fewer jobs through referrals due to their smaller social group, a term Okafor coined as “social network discrimination,” even with color-blind hiring policies.
The Daily: What initially led you to investigate the phenomenon of social network discrimination, especially given the existing economic models of discrimination?
I found that, over time, the minority group will receive disproportionately fewer economic and social opportunities, all in equal and colorblind settings, simply because their social group is smaller.
Okafor: Part of the research I’m hoping to explore is, what are the ways we respond to social network discrimination?
In a setting in which everything is equal between the majority of the minority group, the minority group has disproportionately fewer opportunities.