Past-in-present discrimination

Meaning: In this form of discrimination, a practice used today looks neutral and is not meant to harm any group, yet it continues the effects of past discriminatory practices. Earlier exclusion left some groups with fewer positions, credentials, or resources, so a rule applied evenly now still produces unequal results. Typical examples are a last-hired, first-fired layoff policy that removes workers from a group that was hired only recently after being excluded, hiring through word of mouth from a historically segregated workforce, and wealth gaps that trace back to past housing redlining.

On the MCAT: A passage describes a policy with no stated bias and an unequal outcome, then asks you to classify it. The cue is a historical cause plus a neutral present rule. Expect to sort it among the types of institutional discrimination: direct institutionalized discrimination, where an organization's rules intentionally disadvantage a group, versus indirect types, which include past-in-present and side-effect discrimination. Side-effect discrimination usually involves practices in one institution, such as unequal schooling, shaping outcomes in another, such as employment.

Common confusion: Students assume discrimination needs a prejudiced decision maker today. Indirect institutional discrimination does not require present prejudice or intent. The settling fact is that the discriminatory cause lies in the past, while the current practice is neutral in intent. Also keep prejudice (an attitude) separate from discrimination (a behavior or its effects).