Black Workers Reflection

I learned some important things from this course that I will allow to stick with me no matter my profession. Diversity is something I will always have to deal with regardless if it is race, gender, or gender orientation. Importantly this course has allowed me to grow as an individual and has shown me that it is okay to learn about other races and their background. Not only has it allowed me to be acceptable of everyone in fact, it has allowed me to be less judgmental amongst others.

Even though there is an Elimination Act of all forms of discrimination against women in 1979 the United States still continue to bridge a gap in wages. When you look at the wage gap you can clearly see the difference in gender and it is much worse for people of color. The wage gap is not just a gender issue it also affects racial minorities. Asian American women experience the smallest gender pay gap. The Hispanic and Latina women had the largest gap with 54 percent of what the white men were paid in 2013. The gender pay gap for American Indian and Alaska Native women has went down to 60 and 59 percent in 2013. As for African American women they are paid 64 percent of what white men were paid in 2013 and white women were paid 78 percent of what white men were paid ( Catherine, H). Over the years the wage gap is in fact improving but only by a small percentage. In 2012 the wage gap was 77% and in 2013 the

Women are advancing in the workplace both in volume and in numbers of higher positions, but are still not paid equally to men. For every dollar earned by men, Caucasian women earn 59 cents,

In the same article by Forman, information shows that even African American with a high socioeconomic status don’t completely escape racial discrimination. In fact, the data collected showed the opposite. It was the African Americans who were well educated and incorporated to white society that still felt the most emotional distress in the workplace (Forman, 2003).

My research proposal will focus on the different issues African American women face while trying to advance within society. I will discuss how these women are paid less because they are women as well as African American. I will also be comparing their struggles to Black men, and White men and women. My next topic will include how these women are often discriminated against. And finally I will discuss how these women are often over looked for receiving promotions at work, even if they obtain more experience.

The gender wage gap in America is a social problem that has existed since women entered the workforce. According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, for every dollar earned by a man, a woman made 78.3 cents in 2013 (Leon-Guerrero, 2016). Data from 1983 to 1998 and concluded that women workers in their prime earning years make 38% of what men make. During the 15-year period, an average prime-age working woman earned only $273,592 compared with $722,693 earned by the average working man in 1999 (Leon-Guerrero, 2016). The wage gap affects women of color in a more profound way that it does non-hispanic white women. Hispanic women are making 53%, African American women are making 64%, and Asian American women are making 87% of white men’s earnings each year (AAUW, 2013).

While participating in the student led units, I was able to see how large the wage gap for different genders is. I expected, due to the gender hierarchy, that women would make less than men, however, I never expected the wage gap to be as large as it was. This issues has stuck with me since the student led units because this issue is bringing America down the wrong path. America is supposed to be the land of opportunity, not the land of oppression. Like we said in class, the wage gap is starting to close, however, it is not happening fast enough. I have first hand knowledge of the gender wage gap because of my family. My aunt has spent her entire career working for different pharmaceutical companies handling their FDA submission. When my aunt was applying for a new job, she was talking to one of her friends who was applying for the same job about what she was offered as a starting salary. I do not remember the exact numbers that either was offered, however, I do know that her offer was significantly less than his offer. My aunt decided to try and negotiate with the company because she knew the amount they offered her male friends. My aunt was successful in negotiating this deal, however, she should have never had to. The wage gap is a serious issue that men and women face on a daily basis, but we rarely

Inequality is present in every corner of the United States of America. It comes in all different shapes and sizes; it may come in the form of race, ethnicity, sex, or even gender. To showcase how big of an issue it really is I will compare and contrast the differences between them. One of the most ongoing and present topics of inequality is race. The inequality often lies in the sense of income made by different races, the most common being white Americans making more than African Americans. In the 2011, the average income of the white American household was $110,000, while the African American household average was just over $6,000(Vega). The difference is jaw dropping, it would take no rocket scientist to realize there is some sort of inequality occurring between African Americans and White Americans. However, this is not the only type of inequality occurring. Inequality between gender is very similar to the inequality between ethnicities. The wage gap between genders seems to be the most prevalent topic among discussion at the present time. We fortunately live in a society and time where the fight for equality is very strong. We have seen so much change just within the past 5 years. “In 2015, women working full time in the United States typically were paid just 80 percent of what men were paid” (Miller). The difference in wage is jarring. From

In 2008 black male workers only made 74 cents to every dollar made by a white worker with equal education. This is a significant issue because it creates a self reinforcing system that puts a large portion of the population at a disadvantage. Although the poor economic situation for African Americans in the U.S. may not be as prevalent as it was in the 1930’s, there still exists a significant gap between wages earned by white and black workers.

This proposal will explore two significant issues Black women face in the work place. The first issue involves African American women being less likely to be considered for promotions, in comparison to Caucasian women. The second issue involves African American women receiving less pay than Caucasian women. The theoretical perspective that best understand why these issues exist is the social conflict theory. This theory explains that groups, such as social classes, gender, or race, compete for limited resources, as

the world and significantly impacts the gender wage gap; “Inequality regimes are the interlocked practices and processes that result in continuing inequalities in all work organizations” (Acker, 2006). Not only does intersectionality affect women already in the workforce we must take into consideration that it also affects women trying to get into the workforce. When applying for jobs or going for interviews intersectionality plays a huge role. Not only are women being paid less once they get the jobs they are also having to put in more time going to multiple interviews which is considered unpaid work. Whereas, a Caucasian male would only have to attend one or two interviews, a disabled, Native woman would have to attend four or five in order to receive a job. Thus, intersectionality effects the wage gap and it effects the process of even getting a job in the first place. In order to fully understand the wage gap, one must first explore intersectionality and try to eliminate the stereotypes that exist around women of color for example. We must conduct research first on intersectionality because it is deeply rooted in our society and intersectionality is not considered or even talked about when the legislations pass these bills to try to eliminate the gender wage gap. In order to eliminate the gap, we must first learn about the problems that are deeply rooted in society; “…useful in analyzing organizational change projects to better understand why these projects so often

“In New York City, where colored people are about half of the population, 80% of the NYPD stops were of blacks and Latinos.”(Quigley 1) Racism is like a barricade holding colored people back from becoming as successful as they want to be. Racism affects people in the workplace by limiting their chances to seize a job or promotion they are qualified for and should get. As an example, it has been proven that people who have white names have double the chance to be interviewed for a job than a person with an African American name. Racism is not the only persecution that affects people, sexism also is still a big problem in America. Sexism demeans and is unfair to women all around the globe, these women deserve to be treated as equal to men. In terms of women in leadership positions, the number of women with managerial positions is substantially lower than men. “In 2009, less than a quarter of CEOs were women in the US, and they earned significantly less than their male colleagues made.” (Gender Inequality and Women in the US Labor Force) Women are treated differently, even in places where gender has absolutely no importance towards the job. As an example, most people interview women and men differently, many questions women have to answer have zero importance to their qualification for the job. For example, interviewers ask women about children, which has

The topic of minorities in the workforce and how the struggle to accomplish equal treatment in today’s workforce is nothing new to our society. For centuries we have been concerned that by bringing together our different backgrounds, skills, and experiences, as well as the many businesses of this great

Gender, ethnicity, and race inequalities and the issues surrounding them in the workplace have been on the forefront of society’s mind for decades. The problem of inequality in the workplace has become one of the most important and vital issues in our society today. In order to understand fully the reasons for these inequalities, one must try to understand the factors that cause gender, ethnicity, and racial issues within the workplace, yet in this case, we will tend to focus mostly towards gender inequality in the workplace. One typically thinks locally

With all of the advances in modern society and human behavior, racism is still a crisis that many people have to cope with. It can occur at any place or at any time, including in the workplace. Racial discrimination arises when someone is treated differently based on their actual or perceived race. Many people believe that if one were to be in the vicinity of a respected workplace that they would be respected by all co-workers and employers; this is in no way true. A big amount of minority employees, mainly African-Americans, are affected by racial discrimination in the workplace whether it’s from their employers or their fellow co-workers, and it is not at all acceptable. Racial discrimination is a situation that has always been a problem, so we must show an effort to try to eliminate it from our society.