Which term is about an applicant or employee being intentionally treated differently based on group membership?

• A. Diversity climate
• B. Descriptive stereotyping
• C. Disparate treatment
• D. Consumer racial profiling

Answer: (C)

Disparate treatment describes intentional differential treatment of an applicant or employee based on group membership. In practice, this means decisions about hiring, promotion, pay, or termination are based on protected characteristics—such as race, sex, religion, or age—rather than on qualifications, performance, or business needs. This kind of bias is what equal employment opportunity laws aim to prevent, since decisions made with that intent undermine fairness and merit.

Diversity climate, by contrast, refers to how welcoming and inclusive an organization feels rather than a specific employment decision. Descriptive stereotyping involves applying generalized beliefs about a group to individuals, which is a cognitive bias that can influence judgments but isn’t itself a formal employment decision. Consumer racial profiling seeks to apply racial profiling in consumer interactions, not in employment decisions, so it doesn’t address hiring or workplace treatment. The essence is that disparate treatment centers on intentional discrimination in employment because of group membership.