向前一步:第212期 让我们开始讨论吧(18)

 Even today, gender-blind evaluations¹ still result in better outcomes for women. 甚至到今天，因忽略性别所做出的评价仍然会对女性产生更有利的结果。

Unfortunately, most jobs require face-to-face interviews. 遗憾的是，大多数工作都要求面对面地考察申请者。

All of us, myself included, are biased³, whether we admit it or not. 所有人，包括我在内，不管我们承认与否，都是带有成见的。

And thinking that we are objective can actually make this even worse, creating what social scientists call a "bias² blind spot." 假设我们都能做到客观，这实际上反而会让事情变得更糟糕，产生社会学家所说的“偏见盲点”。

This blind spot causes people to be too confident about their own powers of objectivity so that they fail to correct for bias. 这种盲点将导致人们对自己的客观立场过分自信，使得他们无法克服偏见带来的影响。

When evaluating identically described male and female candidates for the job of police chief, 例如，当申请警察局局长职位的男性和女性资历相当时，

respondents who claimed to be the most impartial⁴ actually exhibited more bias in favor of male candidates. 自认为最客观的受访者实际上也会表现得更倾向于支持男性。

This is not just counterproductive but deeply dangerous. 这不仅有违直觉，而且相当危险。

Evaluators in that same study actually shifted hiring criteria⁵ to give men an advantage. 同样，调查中评估员的背景也会影响到雇用标准，使它变得具有倾向性。

When a male applicant⁶ possessed⁷ a strong educational record, that quality was considered critical to the success of a police chief. 当一个男性申请者拥有过硬的教育背景时，这会被认为是一个成功的警察局局长所具备的重要特质；

But when a male applicant possessed a weaker educational record, that quality was rated as less important. 但如果一个男性申请者其教育背景不够理想，那么这项指标就变得不那么重要。

This favoritism was not shown to female applicants⁸. If anything, the reverse happened. 女性申请者则没有享受到这种偏袒，即使有的话，也是正好相反。

When a woman possessed a particular skill, ability, or background, that quality tended to carry less weight. 如果一位女性申请者拥有特定的技术、能力或背景，那么这些指标的重要性就有可能被削弱。

The infuriating takeaway from this study is that "merit" can be manipulated to justify⁹ discrimination. 研究显示出的这种不公平的偏见恰好说明，所谓的“实力”可以被用来将歧视合理化。

 

1 evaluations   

估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断

参考例句：

• In fact, our moral evaluations are merely expressions of our desires. 事实上，我们的道德评价只是我们欲望的表达形式。 来自哲学部分
• Properly speaking, however, these evaluations and insights are not within the concept of official notice. 但准确地讲，这些评估和深远见识并未包括在官方通知概念里。

2 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

3 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

4 impartial   

adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的

参考例句：

• He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
• Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。

5 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

6 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

7 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

8 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

9 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？