If fits mine better if the only supply you are looking at is the one that most closely resembles yourself. This, btw, is what has always happened in hiring. People look for something safe and since they see how X type of person works in the environment, they want to hire more people exactly like X. Maybe with some different skill sets but otherwise: more of the same. X can be a sex/gender, a skin color, a religious affiliation, a regional background, educational background in familiar schools, etc. Businesses are pretty conservative, actually and business people tend to wish to minimize risk which means preferring the familiar.
I don’t know why you insist on stuffing insinuated racism into our interaction here. Especially since the racism you talk about really isn’t happening in reality.
First of all, I was not insinuating racism. Second of all: yeah, it still happens. I see it. I hear it.
But I wasn’t particularly thinking of race when I wrote that. People have always tended to want to hire someone who is familiar: went to the same college or like/played the same ( sport usually), grew up in the same region or a similar one, etc. and in not too long ago times, came recommended by your old college room mate/frat brother who happens to be the uncle or second cousin of the young man standing before you.
I actually understand this. It’s always risky to hire someone and you want someone who ‘fits’ into the culture of the workplace, who is reliable, who will get the job done. There’s some social pressure involved, not to let down Uncle Charles, etc. but the pressure goes both ways.
The only thing wrong with that is, as you pointed out, racism, and of course sexism and provincially that limits the candidate pool and also limits the perspectives brought to the table.
I've had dozens of jobs throughout my life, in several different states, both the north and the south, east and west. Over and over again, the priorities I've seen employed in hiring are 1) can they do the job we need done and 2) will they work well with others. That's it.
Maybe once in a while someone will have a bias for a school, or due to a common acquaintance. That is something that ought to be avoided, when possible, but it's not necessarily a bad thing - a recommendation from someone who you already know has done good work is a useful indicator. But that goes the other way too, there are a few people who've asked me to refer them or to recommend them for a job and I've refrained because I know they're a pain in the ass to work with. I'll give them a link to a posted job, but I'm absolutely not going to tie my name to theirs because I know they're the source of the problems they've faced in their careers.
Basically, the things you keep referencing as "how things get done" haven't been my experience. And my experience crosses a wide range of locations and jobs. So I think either you've had a sample that isn't representative, or you're hearing hoofbeats and assuming zebras.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That said... I do have a very definite bias toward military veterans. It may not be a perfect indicator... but military service is the closest thing I've found to guarantee that the person will show up on time, dress appropriately for the setting, be able to work with a variety of people whether they like them as people or not, and will get the job done. They'll be effective and reliable. They're highly unlikely to be the ones causing problems... well... except for a tendency toward gallows humor that some sensitive types won't be able to handle.
).
Think about elementary kids. Imagine that they got to choose what classes they wanted to study. What portion of kids in elementary school would choose to study PE and Band and Art and would decline to study Math and Spelling? 