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[pyromania]

What an idiot. 

[hawkeyerus]

In my opinion, your friend's verbalizing something your other colleagues do but keep quiet about. Where I work there is an undercurrent of university/state sanctioned discrimination- subtle but very real discrimination during the hiring process-results in a primarily white male faculty for an overwhelmingly female student body. This is done with informal processes that favor white males but that are largely undetectable using the usual EOP screening methods. Example, using certain criteria (theoretical fit, productivity, specific area) for almost all candidates eliminating most applicants of color or female. Then, towards the end of the applicant review, a faculty member produces a buddy's vita-and some of the criteria are not important any more because the bud is so terrific. Since the faculty is white and male, the bud is most likely so as well. In another instance funding emerged to bring in a candidate informally-a bud-who gave a talk, met with most faculty and many administrators except the AA Officer who was not informed. Then, the faculty started to conjure up funds to put forth to convince the Dean to hire the bud. Bud also met with a real estate agent. Faculty buddies claimed this was not a job interview just a "get to know you" visit. For graduate student selection, this some of the same members routinely suggested that faculty go back and look harder at the applicants to identify males who may have been overlooked to keep the field from becoming too female and therefore too low paid/status. These may not be planned in quite the same way but the underlying motivation and outcome are the same.

[prytania3]

You're a new TT hire and you have to ask?

STFU.

[dwing]

The academic hiring routine facilitates discrimination in a number of ways - committees hire based on interviews, meetings, lunch and dinner sessions, and look for "fit" etc.

[anonymous321]

s_wood, I understand your concern.  It sounds like an uncomfortable situation.

Graduate students are protected against discrimination in education under Title IX; this includes gender and several other protected categories (including marital status and pregnancy).

Title IX requires every college or university recieving federal funding to have a designated Title IX coordinator who is responsible for investigating suspected Title IX violations. 

I don't know if the comments you've overheard merit action on your part, but if you still feel strongly about it, you could potentially find out who the Title IX coordinator is at the postdoc's new university (you should be able to find that info by a search of the university website, or through their student diversity office), and mention your concerns to the Title IX coordinator.  The Title IX coordinator may be willing to approach the department and ask them to reiterate the university's non-discrimination policy to incoming faculty (i.e., the postdoc you mention).  Hopefully that would be enough of a hint to get the guy to straighten out.  If not, any documentation you provide would be in his file already, if someone were to file a complaint about him in the future.

The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights maintains a good website with more information.

[carol93]

For gosh sakes, mind your own business.

[hegemony]

It's true that you might be bringing trouble down on your head if you speak up about this discrimination.  That's true of all whistle-blowers and people who have taken a stand against bigotry and discrimination.  And where would be we be if no one had ever taken a stand?   I thank heaven for people who are not willing to STFU in the face of bigotry.

[brainstorm]

Let me share a case:

Dept chair gave to search committee hiring standards to recruite a TT faculty.
One of his hiring standards was the preference of hiring a minority, only excluding
Asian immigrants. Investigation took place in response to a complaint about racial
discrimination in hiring. The investigation found that the complain had the basis.
The chair had to step down.