Profiling

The issues

Now, profiling is alive and rearing its polemic head in the workplace, despite laws and policies to protect against all aspects of discrimination. Profiling has its subtleties, with most intelligence work done behind the scenes. Potential employees may never know why they didn't get a job. So what is the Jewish Perspective?

The Jewish Perspective

Jews, who have traditionally been victims of discrimination, are well aware of the potential evils of this practice. This awareness finds expression in Jewish law and in statements of our Sages. For example, while Jewish tradition obliges us to be loyal to the laws of legitimate governments, laws that discriminate on the basis of ethnicity are considered inequitable and illegitimate. (Rambam Gezeila veAveida 5:14 from Ri Migash BB 54b.) And the Mishna urges us, "Don't look at the vessel but rather on what is inside". (Avot 4:20.)

However, we must also be careful of the opposite extreme. Even the current equal-opportunity legislation involves very intrusive monitoring, which can be as much of a threat to a free society as the discrimination it is meant to remedy. Beyond this, we have to ask ourselves if radical elimination of all kinds of discrimination is really desirable. Is it really so terrible if someone believes that tall people are on the whole more effective account managers? Perhaps they are - they certainly have an advantage as basketball players.

While equitable treatment is certainly a value in Jewish tradition, preserving autonomy and freedom on how to mould an effective workplace are also important. Ensuring that all citizens have the opportunity for respectable and rewarding employment should certainly be a public priority. But this shouldn't be allowed to impose untested and intrusive norms that are likely to be ineffective, counterproductive, and a threat to freedom.