Federal law, state law, university policy, and campus policy all govern our hiring actions at Haas. State law prohibits any preference granted or burden imposed on any individual on the basis of race, gender or any other protected category in connection with a state government action. As a branch of the state government, the University of California, therefore, cannot grant any “plus factor” for applicants for any jobs based on their race, gender or other protected status.  The Supreme Court of California, furthermore, has interpreted the state law to require color-blindedness; by which they mean we should take no personnel actions (other than when ordered by a court or the federal government) that take account of an individual’s race, gender or other protected status.

University and campus policy (and, in some cases, federal and state law) also forbid discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age (40 and above), national origin, ancestry, veteran’s status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy,  or marital status.

We are also a recipient of federal assistance. Under the rules applicable to federal contractors, we must take steps to ensure that applicant pools for any positions are open to all without regard to gender, minority status or veteran’s status.  This does not mandate any preference, however, so there is no conflict with state law.

What it does require is that, where we have reason to believe that any such group is under-represented among our employees in any classification, that we take good faith steps to diversify the pool of those from whom applications are being sought. In complying with its affirmative action obligations to the federal government, the University has identified that all levels of instruction do, in fact, demonstrate under-representation of women, and of African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans.

Accordingly, we must make good faith efforts whenever a position within instructors’ ranks (from GSI to full professor) is vacant, to assure that we are providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified, available candidates.

For instructional positions (from GSI to full professor), a strongly recommended approach is to investigate the methods of seeking applications that we currently are using, and revise them in order to assure we are not inadvertently excluding anyone qualified, including members of the under-represented groups. Here are examples of recommended approaches:

• Contact leaders in the relevant fields to identify all potential qualified applicants for instructional positions from all sources, including those from under-represented groups (that is, women, African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans).
• Contact and advertise in multiple associations in the academic field, including any that represent members from under-represented groups. Use all relevant associations to identify as many potential qualified candidates as possible.
• Contact potentially qualified instructional candidates, including those from under-represented groups.
• Be sure that the published advertisements state clearly that the Haas School is an Equal Opportunity Employer that considers all qualified candidates for a position regardless of the person’s gender, minority, or veteran’s status.

However, we may not target advertising on the basis of gender, minority status, or veteran’s status. If, for instance, we were to advertise exclusively in a magazine because of the high readership of that magazine by a specific ethnic group, we could be violating state law. We could advertise in such a magazine, however, as part of our overall outreach efforts to obtain a diversified pool of all qualified and available candidates.

Our affirmative action plan does not show under-representation based on gender or minority status with regard to staff positions. Nevertheless, all hiring at Haas must be free of discrimination, and those responsible for hiring should inspect their practices to be sure this is the case.

In short: we strive to provide equal employment opportunities for every qualified applicant at the Haas School of Business.