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A Black woman who has been trying for the last five years to land a job at Delta Airlines says she finally got accepted for an interview –– but only after pretending to be white on her application.
In a TikTok video, Regina De'Chabert explained how she had been "applying to delta for a flight attendant job for 5 years" and repeatedly got denied. So she submitted another application and listed her race as white and says she "finally received a 2nd interview email."
The now-viral video was posted Sunday (March 13) and has received more than 183,000 views overnight. The comment section was full of mixed reactions, with some people claiming De'Chabert was "reaching."
In a follow-up post, De'Chabert addressed some of the people who said they have successfully went through the hiring process at Delta, and so her repeated denials might be a more of an individual thing, than a systemic one.
"What I will say is that I am so happy for the other Black women in this field who have gotten call backs, jobs, etc.," De'Chabert says in the video.
"Just because you got the job, doesn't negate my experience," she added in response to naysayers. "Just because you got the job doesn't mean my experiences with this airline, and with JetBlue, and other airlines in New York is invalid," De'Chabert said, calling out another airline in the process.
One TikToker user commented in agreement stating, "So is it supposed to just a coincidence that they finally gave you a callback when you applied as a [white woman]?"
Other users said they've used similar tactics to secure employment, with one person claiming they fill out applications as a white man and have been doing so for years. Others swapped suggestions for how to shorten names to avoid name discrimination in the hiring process –– something documented in research conducted by the late Dr. Devah Pager.
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