如何抗击隐形的歧视

 　　Six months ago, tech entrepreneur Rohan Gilkes tried to rent a cabin in Idaho over the July 4 weekend, using the website Airbnb.

　　半年前，科技创业者罗恩.吉尔克斯(Rohan Gilkes)尝试通过Airbnb网站预订爱达荷州的一间小屋，在美国独立日长周末使用。

　　All seemed well, until the host told him her plans had changed: she needed to use the cabin herself.

　　一切似乎都很顺利，直到房主告诉他，她的计划有变：她自己需要使用那间小屋。

　　Then a friend of Rohan’s tried to book the same cabin on the same weekend, and his booking was immediately accepted.

　　之后，罗恩的一个朋友试着在同样时间预订那间小屋，他的预订被迅速接受了。

　　Rohan’s friend is white; Rohan is black.

　　罗恩的朋友是白人；罗恩是黑人。

　　This is not a one-off.

　　这并非一次性事件。

　　Late last year, three researchers from Harvard Business School — Benjamin Edelman, Michael Luca and Dan Svirsky — published a working paper with experimental evidence of discrimination.

　　哈佛商学院(Harvard Business School)的3名研究人员——本杰明.埃德尔曼( Benjamin Edelman)、迈克尔.卢卡(Michael Luca)和丹.斯维尔斯基(Dan Svirsky)去年年末发布了一份工作论文，其中的实验证据证明了歧视的存在。

　　Using fake profiles to request accommodation, the researchers found that applicants¹ with distinctively² African-American names were 16 per cent less likely to have their bookings accepted.

　　研究人员使用假的资料来申请订房，他们发现，如果看申请者的姓名明显像是非裔美国人，其预订被接受的可能性要低16%。

　　Edelman and Luca have also published evidence that black hosts receive lower incomes than whites while letting out very similar properties on Airbnb.

　　埃德尔曼和卢卡还发布了一些证据，表明在Airbnb上出租类似房源时，黑人房主的租房所得会比白人房主低。

　　The hashtag #AirbnbWhileBlack has started to circulate.

　　#AirbnbWhileBlack（Airbnb上的黑人）的话题标签开始传播。

　　Can anything be done to prevent such discrimination? It’s not a straightforward³ problem.

　　可以做些什么来防止这种歧视吗？这不是一个简单明了的问题。

　　Airbnb condemns⁴ racial discrimination but, by making names and photographs such a prominent feature of its website, it makes discrimination, conscious or unconscious, very easy.

　　Airbnb谴责种族歧视，但Airbnb网站的一个突出特征就是显示姓名和照片，这让有意或者无意的歧视变得非常容易。

　　It’s a cheap way to build trust, says researcher Michael Luca.

　　这是一种成本低廉的建立信任的方式，研究员迈克尔.卢卡说。

　　But, he adds, it invites discrimination.

　　但他补充道，这招来了歧视。

　　Of course there’s plenty of discrimination to be found elsewhere.

　　当然，其他地方也可以发现很多歧视现象。

　　Other studies have used photographs of goods such as iPods and baseball cards being held in a person’s hand.

　　另一些研究使用了卖家手持商品（如iPod或者棒球卡）拍下的商品照片。

　　On Craigslist and eBay, such goods sell for less if held in a black hand than a white one.

　　在Craigslist和eBay上，黑人手持的商品卖价会比白人手持商品的卖价低。

　　An unpleasant finding — although in such cases it’s easy to use a photograph with no hand visible at all.

　　这个发现令人不舒服——尽管在这种情况卖家想避免受到歧视很容易，只需使用不露出手的商品照片就可以了。

　　The Harvard Business School team have produced a browser⁵ plug-in called Debias Yourself.

　　哈佛商学院的团队制作了一个叫做Debias Yourself的防偏见浏览器插件。

　　People who install the plug-in and then surf Airbnb will find that names and photographs have been hidden.

　　安装这个插件的人在浏览Airbnb的时候会发现姓名和照片被隐藏了。

　　It’s a nice idea, although one suspects that it will not be used by those who need it most.

　　这是个好主意，不过我怀疑那些最需要这个功能的人不会使用它。

　　Airbnb could impose the system anyway but that is unlikely to prove tempting⁷.

　　Airbnb可以强行实施这个系统，但这样做不太可能有吸引力。

　　However, says Luca, there are more subtle ways in which the platform could discourage discrimination.

　　然而，卢卡表示，平台还可以使用一些更含蓄的方式来阻止歧视。

　　For example, it could make profile portraits less prominent, delaying the appearance of a portrait until further along in the process of making a booking.

　　比如，平台可以让资料中的个人照片变得不那么突出，在预订进行到一定阶段后再显现照片。

　　And it could nudge hosts into using an instant book system that accelerates and depersonalises the booking process.

　　平台还可以敦促房主使用即时预订系统，这种系统即能加快预订过程，又能去除预订过程中的个人因素。

　　(The company recently released a report describing efforts to deal with the problem.)

　　（该公司最近发布了一份报告，描述了为处理这一问题做出的努力。）

　　But if the Airbnb situation has shone a spotlight⁸ on unconscious (and conscious) bias⁶, there are even more important manifestations⁹ elsewhere in the economy.

　　如果说Airbnb的情况让人们关注到无意识（和有意识）的偏见，那么在经济的其他领域，还有一些更重要的反映出偏见的情况。

　　A classic study by economists¹⁰ Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan used fake CVs to apply for jobs.

　　经济学家玛丽安娜.贝特朗(Marianne Bertrand)和森德希尔.穆莱纳坦(Sendhil Mullainathan)所做的一项经典研究使用了假简历来申请工作。

　　Some CVs, which used distinctively African-American names, were significantly less likely to lead to an interview than identical applications with names that could be perceived as white.

　　使用明显是非裔美国人姓名的简历得到面试的几率，要低于内容一样但使用可能被认为是白人姓名的简历。

　　Perhaps the grimmest feature of the Bertrand/Mullainathan study was the discovery that well-qualified¹¹ black applicants were treated no better than poorly qualified ones.

　　或许贝特朗和穆莱纳坦进行的研究中最令人沮丧的一点是，完全够格的黑人申请者得到的待遇和不那么够格的申请者一样糟糕。

　　As a young black student, then, one might ask: why bother studying when nobody will look past your skin colour? And so racism¹² can create a self-reinforcing loop.

　　那么，一个年轻的黑人学生或许会问：如果没人在乎你肤色以外的东西，为何还要费力学习呢？因此，种族主义可能会导致一个自我加强的循环。

　　What to do?

　　该怎么办？

　　One approach, as with Debias Yourself, is to remove irrelevant¹³ information: if a person’s skin colour or gender¹⁴ is irrelevant, then why reveal it to recruiters? The basic idea behind Debias Yourself was proven in a study by economists Cecilia Rouse and Claudia Goldin.

　　有一种策略，就像Debias Yourself防偏见插件一样，是去除无关信息：既然一个人的肤色或者性别不影响其录用，那何必把这些信息透露给招聘人员呢？经济学家塞西莉亚.劳斯(Cecilia Rouse)和克劳迪娅.戈尔丁(Claudia Goldin)的一项研究证明了Debias Yourself所依据的基本理念是正确的。

　　Using a careful statistical¹⁵ design, Rouse and Goldin showed that when leading professional orchestras began to audition¹⁶ musicians behind a screen, the recruitment of women surged.

　　通过细心的统计设计，劳斯和戈尔丁表明，当一流的专业管弦乐团开始隔着屏风面试音乐家时，女性被录取的几率激增。

　　Importantly, blind auditions¹⁷ weren’t introduced to fight discrimination against women — orchestras didn’t think such discrimination was a pressing concern.

　　重要的是，在这里，盲试的引入并不是为了抗击对女性的歧视——管弦乐团并不认为他们在性别歧视方面存在紧迫问题。

　　Instead, they were a way of preventing recruiters from favouring the pupils of influential¹⁸ teachers.

　　事实上，盲试是为了防止招聘者偏袒具有影响力的教师的学生。

　　Yet a process designed to fight nepotism¹⁹ and favouritism ended up fighting sexism too.

　　然而，这种旨在打击裙带关系和徇私行为的程序最终也打击了性别歧视。

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　　A new start-up, Applied²⁰, is taking these insights into the broader job market.

　　新创立的企业Applied正把这些洞见应用到更广泛的就业市场中。

　　Applied is a spin-off from the UK Cabinet Office, the Behavioural Insights Team and Nesta, a charity that supports innovation; the idea is to use some simple technological²¹ fixes to combat a variety of biases²².

　　Applied是由行为研究小组（Behavioural Insights Team，由英国内阁办公室(Cabinet Office)和支持创新的慈善机构英国国家科技艺术基金会(Nesta)合作成立）和Nesta合作成立的公司，其创办理念是通过一些简单的技术性修正来抗击各种偏见。

　　A straightforward job application form is a breeding ground for discrimination and cognitive²³ error.

　　一份直观的工作申请表为偏见和认知错误提供了温床。

　　It starts with a name — giving clues to nationality, ethnicity and gender — and then presents a sequence of answers that are likely to be read as one big stew²⁴ of facts.

　　这种表格把暴露申请者国籍、族裔和性别的姓名放在最开头，它接下来提供的一系列答案可能被看做各种事实的大杂烩。

　　A single answer, good or bad, colours our perception of everything else, a tendency called the halo effect.

　　只需一个我们喜欢或不喜欢的答案，就会影响我们对其余一切答案的看法，这是一种叫做光晕效应的倾向。

　　A recruiter using Applied will see chunked and anonymised details — answers to the application questions from different applicants, presented in a randomised order and without indications of race or gender.

　　一个使用Applied服务的招聘人员将会看到区块化和匿名化的细节——将不同申请者对申请表问题的答案用随机顺序列出来，不体现种族或者性别。

　　Meanwhile, other recruiters will see the same answers, but shuffled²⁵ differently.

　　同时，其他招聘人员将看到同样的答案，但以不同顺序列出。

　　As a result, says Kate Glazebrook of Applied, various biases simply won’t have a chance to emerge.

　　Applied的凯特.格莱兹布鲁克(Kate Glazebrook)表示，这样一来，各种偏见根本没有机会产生。

　　When the Behavioural Insights Team ran its last recruitment round, applicants were rated using the new process and a more traditional CV-based approach.

　　当行为研究小组进行最后一轮招聘时，有的申请人接受的是新程序的评分，有的接受的是基于简历的更传统方式的评分。

　　The best of the shuffled, anonymised applications were more diverse, and much better predictors of a candidate who impressed on the assessment²⁶ day.

　　使用被打乱顺序、匿名化的申请表选出的最佳申请人更加背景各异，在评估日令人印象深刻的几率也大大提高。

　　Too early to declare victory — but a promising²⁷ start.

　　宣布胜利还为时过早——但这是一个充满希望的开端。

1 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。

2 distinctively   

adv.特殊地，区别地

参考例句：

• "Public risks" is a recent term for distinctively high-tech hazards. “公共风险”是个特殊的高技术危害个人的一个最新术语。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• His language was natural, unaffected, distinctively vivid, humorous and strongly charming. 语言既朴实无华，又鲜明生动，幽默而富有艺术魅力。

3 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

4 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

6 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。

7 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

8 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

9 manifestations   

n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

12 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

13 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

14 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

15 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

16 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

17 auditions   

n.（对拟做演员、歌手、乐师等人的）试听，试音( audition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Find modeling auditions, casting calls& acting auditions, all in one place. 找一个立体感试听，铸造呼叫和表演试听一体的地方。 来自互联网
• We are now about to start auditions to find a touring guitarist. 我们现在准备找一个新的吉他手。 来自互联网

18 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

19 nepotism   

n.任人唯亲；裙带关系

参考例句：

• The congressman lashed the president for his nepotism.国会议员抨击总统搞裙带关系。
• Many will regard his appointment as the kind of nepotism British banking ought to avoid.很多人会把他的任命看作是英国银行业应该避免的一种裙带关系。

20 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

21 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

22 biases   

偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹

参考例句：

• Stereotypes represent designer or researcher biases and assumptions, rather than factual data. 它代表设计师或者研究者的偏见和假设，而不是实际的数据。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• The net effect of biases on international comparisons is easily summarized. 偏差对国际比较的基本影响容易概括。

23 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

24 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

25 shuffled   

v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼

参考例句：

• He shuffled across the room to the window. 他拖着脚走到房间那头的窗户跟前。
• Simon shuffled awkwardly towards them. 西蒙笨拙地拖着脚朝他们走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

27 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。