I'd go for the black woman, as she had far more adversity to overcome to get into that position and is therefore better (harder working, less likely to have got in via the old boys network)
Of course I wouldn't really, I'm just using your logic.
Of course I wouldn't really, I'm just using your logic.
Although technically that's a different effect. Affirmative action is, AFAIK, meant to counter negative bias before (i.e. positive discrimination at university entry is meant to counter worse education and poverty at a primary- and high-school level), whereas you're talking about overcoming biases after graduation ("old boys network" etc).
Just philosophizing.
However, to take the bait and make an attempt at analysing it:
- (race/gender-based) adversity in education usually has the effect of reducing your chances of succeeding in exams, admissions, etc.
- (race/gender-based) adversity in professional practice usually has the effect of reducing your chances of acquiring customers, partners, progression within an organisation.
So while she may still face after admission, that adversity should have a much more significant affect on her paycheck than on her medical performance.
How would that work? If we talked about oral exams or job interview then surely there can be a bias. But written exams? I can't imagine how it would be affected by your race.
What can be however affected is your access to quality education prior to the admission, which will affect your admission changes, which should not be an issue after the admission because now you are getting the same quality education as others.
While I can imagine that socio-economic issues (like being black=poor) may affect your access to quality education prior to the admission, I can not imagine how being a woman would affect your access to quality education. Maybe stereotypes in case of STEM?