Can DEI efforts combat antisemitic hiring bias?

A new survey of hiring managers and recruiters suggests significant job discrimination against Jews that squares with the nation's rising tide of antisemitism.

In a recent poll by ResumeBuilder.com, 26% of 1,131 of those who responded said they are less likely to move forward with Jewish applicants. A belief that Jews have too much power and control was cited as the leading reason.

Other findings show that 33% of respondents report antisemitism being common in their workplace and 29% say it's acceptable in their company. In addition, 26% make assumptions about whether a candidate is Jewish based on their appearance, 23% say they want fewer Jews in their industry and 17% say leadership has told them to not hire Jews.

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Stacie Haller, a career coach and consultant at Resumebuilder.com, was shocked by the results. "We talk about discrimination based on race and gender, but nobody's ever talked about antisemitism in the hiring process," she says. "It's not just a workplace problem; it's reflecting what's happening in our culture."

However, the findings represent an unscientific snapshot that some describe as misleading. Two polling experts who analyzed the survey for a prominent Jewish newspaper said it was unreliable and not supported by other research into biased hiring. Most of the respondents were younger managers, which Haller described as disturbing. They also tended to be less educated and earn less money than most hiring managers and recruiters.

Antisemitism, which has recently made multiple headlines from hateful social media posts by celebrities and disturbing dinner invitations to Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, accounts for 63% of religious hate crimes, according to the FBI. The Pew Research Center, meanwhile, estimates that there are roughly 14 million Jews in the world, which represents just 0.2% of the population. 

In reacting to the survey findings, American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch notes that discriminating against employees on the basis of race or religion violates federal law.

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Lori Tanenbaum Zaret, SVP and CHRO at Exchange Bank, has worked in HR for 36 years. She points out that there are no hiring goals for Jews in affirmative action plans, nor are there requirements to have Jewish people serve on corporate boards. There's also no recognized holiday celebrating Jewish individuals of impact or a Jewish history week.

Several industry experts are disappointed that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs aren't doing enough to address this issue.

"I have been working in the HR profession since 2002 in different industries and geographies, and until last year, I cannot recall DEI discussions in the workplace or school that focused explicitly on modern antisemitism," says Aaron Mitchell, former director of HR for Netflix Animation Studio and DEI adviser to Shine A Light, a platform for organizations and individuals to combat antisemitism.

With antisemitic incidents at an all-time high since the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) started tracking them 43 years ago, he says it's only natural to expect they will carry over into the workplace. "Antisemitism is often referred to as 'the oldest hatred,' and as such, has become normalized over centuries to the extent that it can be difficult to call out and even more difficult to talk about," he explains.

Shine A Light, which has partnered with the ADL, provides resources to address antisemitism in the workplace and has engaged more than 60 major U.S. companies in this work.

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Enrollify Founder and CEO Adam Michaels laments that Jews are being left out of the DEI conversation. Although a minority that has been caught in the crosshairs of suffering and oppression for thousands of years, he believes Jewish people do not fit this narrative.

"We're not white enough to be white; we're not brown enough to be a person of color," says Michaels, who is Jewish, noting how Jews have stood in solidarity with oppressed people and championed their causes.

However, DEI programs will not help eradicate antisemitism, cautions Michaels, who believes inclusivity should be predicated on qualification versus quotas. Recalling a conversation with his 14-year-old son who recently had a Bar Mitzvah, he says the only sure career option is entrepreneurism — not only for Jews, but also Black, Indian and Asian communities that have been marginalized.

Zaret can't help but address the irony of her situation: "Even with the biased misperception that Jews control the banking industry, I am the only Jewish person on our executive team," she says. "So I do not think there is a concern that there are too many Jews in power at our bank that could influence someone against hiring a Jewish person."