The Human Mind and Human Rights: A Call for an Integrative Study of the Mechanisms Generating Employment Discrimination Across Different Social Categories

J. Law & Ethics of Human Rights ( 2016)

24 Pages Posted: 11 Dec 2015

See all articles by Yuval Feldman

Yuval Feldman

Bar-Ilan University - Faculty of Law

Tamar Kricheli‐Katz

Tel Aviv University - Buchmann Faculty of Law

Date Written: December 7, 2015

Abstract

The paper highlights how our knowledge about the ways the human mind works and people behave in social interactions may contribute to our understanding of employment discrimination and the effective ways of addressing it. It calls for a rigorous empirical study of the mechanisms generating different forms of discrimination against disadvantaged groups and the implications that follow for law and policy. The paper’s focus is theoretical, criticizing the current state of research on employment discrimination and calling for an integrative approach to the research in this area. In particular, the paper criticizes the lack of mutual communication among the various disciplines that study discrimination. Over-reliance on one type of methodology limits scholars' ability to address nuances of most discriminatory settings. We criticize the "one policy fits all" approach, in which discrimination against all types of disadvantaged groups is viewed as capturing all types of discrimination as well as the lack of truly accounting for the interplay between deliberative and automatic modes of reasoning. The paper suggests that adopting an integrative perspective would raise awareness among policy-makers and employers to variations in the effects of social categories on hiring, promotion, and firing practices.

Keywords: Employment Discrimination, Stereotypes, Empirical Legal Studies, Dual Reasoning, Differentiated Approach to Regulation

JEL Classification: J71

Suggested Citation

Feldman, Yuval and Kricheli Katz, Tamar, The Human Mind and Human Rights: A Call for an Integrative Study of the Mechanisms Generating Employment Discrimination Across Different Social Categories (December 7, 2015). J. Law & Ethics of Human Rights ( 2016), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2700090

Yuval Feldman (Contact Author)

Bar-Ilan University - Faculty of Law ( email )

Faculty of Law
Ramat Gan, 52900
Israel

Tamar Kricheli Katz

Tel Aviv University - Buchmann Faculty of Law ( email )

Ramat Aviv
Tel Aviv, 69978
Israel

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