Do companies really hire on just talent alone?

In chapter 6 we read about different cultures and ethnicities. We now have laws that say a company must not discriminate against anyone for their race, gender, religion and so on. Also, it looks better if a company has a wide variety of cultures. However, a company should not choose to hire a woman, or an african american just because they have to. I heard a story yesterday that made me think about the ethical approach to hiring people. A friend of mine was in a flight training school and Southwest Airlines were looking for possible candidates for a job. As soon as they found out that their was an african american woman, they automaticaly chose to recruit her because they knew it would look good on their company. However, the woman was not even a good pilot. She was a little below average in the class and made a lot of mistakes. After working for Southwest for 10 years, she still is not a pilot. And usually you get promoted to a pilot after 5 years. That does not seem like a fair way to hire people. Their was a lot of other talented people who wanted that job, but didn't even get a chance. Everyone should have an equal oppurtunity to obtain employment. That is wrong that a company would hire someone specifically for their race. Why do you think their is still prejudice today and how does it affect our employment opportunities?