Five fantastic resources to help your business address antisemitism in the workplace

I read a survey last night that blew my mind 🤯

In November, ResumeBuilder.com surveyed 1,131 U.S. hiring managers and recruiters about their views of Jewish individuals and their perception of antisemitism in the workplace.

Of those surveyed – remember these are the people making the hiring decisions — 29% said antisemitism is acceptable in their company, and 33% said antisemitism is common in their workplace

Here are some of the other “key findings” from the survey:

• 26% of hiring managers say they are less likely to move forward with Jewish applicants;
  • When asked why they are less likely to move forward with Jewish applicants, the top reasons included: Jews have too much power and control (38%), claim to be the ‘chosen people’ (38%), and have too much wealth (35%).
• 26% make assumptions about whether a candidate is Jewish based on their appearance
• 23% say they want fewer Jews in their industry
• 17% say leadership has told them not to hire Jews

Wow!

Antisemitism at work is a problem, one on which leaders, HR professionals, and lawyers have not traditionally focused.

Me? I’m guilty as charged.

I can’t remember revising an employee handbook to emphasize the scourge of antisemitism. My respect in the workplace training typically doesn’t focus on it either. But, clearly, these survey results, and the overall rise in antisemitism, require both my attention and yours.

To facilitate, I located several resources to help address this problem in your workplace.

Start with Amy Epstein Gluck’s article, “How Employers Can Prevent And Remedy Antisemitism.” Amy is an employment lawyer who writes in plain English. She offers advice on how to spot antisemitism at work and offers pragmatic suggestions to combat the problem that won’t require anyone to reinvent the wheel.

For some added tips, there’s also this short slide deck from the Anti-Defamation League.

SHRM members should check out this article from Matt Gonzalez, “Combating Antisemitism in the Workplace.” And for those who can’t get behind the paywall, my friend and employment lawyer, Jonathan Segal, recorded a podcast for SHRM about addressing antisemitism at work and is generously hosting a free webinar in January.

If you need more information on this subject, please get in touch with me, and I’ll do what I can to assist.