My latest "Academic Ethics" column at the Chronicle of Higher Education.

UPDATE:  A senior philosopher elsewhere writes:

Just wanted to tell you that your latest CHE piece really resonated with me. Back when I was first on the job market I had an APA interview with my undergrad alma mater [University X]. Of course, I felt confident going in—I knew the school, the culture, the students, the area. As the end of the interview, the (sole) interviewer said, “Well, it’s been a real pleasure talking to you. But I have to be honest. The Dean said we are hiring a woman or the position won’t exist. This was a courtesy interview because you are an alum.” They hired some woman whose name I now forget, although I know she left [University X]. 

ANOTHER:  Just to be clear (since this has come up in correspondence with some readers), everything I say in this column is compatible with affirmative action (even if I don't think "diversity" is the best reason for the latter):  the "hidden criteria" searches are, one hopes, only a small subset of affirmative action-related practices, and it is only they that seem to me especially hard to defend.