Reply #10: Social stratification.

[Xithras]

Again, it's all about the social connections. How many white accountants does your friend know who actually work at Big 4 firms? Not "nod as you pass in the hall" know, but "have a beer or play a round of golf" know?

The answer to your question can be found in the answer to that question. It's not an accounting thing either. Many studies have shown that for most of us, the majority of our friends tend to be from the same economic, racial, sexual, and/or religious groups that we are from. It's sort of a self-imposed stratification. Gay people tend to have more gay friends than straight friends. Hispanics tend to have more hispanic friends than white friends. White people tend to have more white friends than black friends. Poor people tend to have more poor friends than middle class friends. It's a generalization, but numerous studies have shown that the general idea is applicable to most of the population. We tend to surround ourselves with the people who are most like ourselves, because those are the people that we are generally the most comfortable with. That's not saying that people DON'T have friends from other racial/sexual/economic/religious groups, but for the vast majority of people, those friends tend to be the exception.

This becomes a real problem when you're talking about employment in fields where social networking is key.

The problem isn't racism, per se, but a more general issue with the way humans form social groups.