White-sounding names get called back for jobs more than Black ones, a new study finds

A sign seeking job applicants is seen in the window of a restaurant in Miami, Florida, on May 5, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Twenty years ago, two economists responded to a slew of help-wanted ads in Boston and Chicago newspapers using a set of fictitious names to test for racial bias in the job market.

The watershed study found that applicants with names suggesting they were white got 50% more callbacks from employers than those whose names indicated they were Black.