I think the most important thing I learned in this class has a lot to do with the concept of discrimination and unfair hiring methods. In today’s workforce, there are a lot of different opportunities to conduct or be on the receiving end of a biased screening process, and I think it is important for all of us to know what the regulations are in order to protect ourselves and others along with our companies. I remember the lecture talking about disparate treatment, where people are purposely not given the same opportunities as others because of a predetermined characteristic, and adverse impact, which is when members of protected classes are unintentionally discriminated against whether in the form of training, promotion, or hiring. Before taking this class, I had known that discrimination in the hiring process occurred, but not necessarily how. Seeing that there are so many different ways that a hiring process can go wrong makes it all more important that companies have the best possible systems in place to ensure that they are not caught up in a legal battle further down the road. Being a woman, I have always been told that I would have a harder time landing a job than a male counterpart, or would have limited opportunities. Learning about the 4/5 Rule as well as the gender bias that exists within organizations was very eye opening to me, and has definitely stuck with me throughout this term. I hope that more and more organizations become increasingly aware of the negative effects that gender bias can have on its employees and working environment. Rather than focusing on traits that candidates cannot control, recruiting and hiring based on job-related qualifications and experience is the best approach a company can take to ensure that the best candidate fills the open position.