Racism And Prejudice Attitudes In The Workplace

Why do people now a days discriminate people by colors, eyes, or basically the physical appearance? Generally people say that Asians are smart, blacks are dirty, whites are rich and powerful (soundvisioncom,2015) . Racism is the belief that one race of people are greater than another because of the race they are born into. In other words Racists people judge other people or discriminate them by their race. Nelson Mandela once said (Smhcomau, 2015) “Racism is a human conscience. The idea that any people can be more powerful than another, to the point where those who consider themselves as powerful and treat the rest as sub-human or low ranked people"

Despite Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal law which bans gender and race discrimination in employment, advancement, and termination, ethnic discrimination and prejudice in the workplace is still a very pertinent issue. In fact, racial discrimination is the most common kind of discrimination workers report to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency in charge of enforcing Title VII. Prejudice in the workplace is shown in a variety of forms, is either obvious or subtle, and at times may occur without employers even realizing it. As the General Manager of a popular restaurant in Texas, I witnessed such racial discrimination and prejudice firsthand and saw how detrimental it is to the success of

Prejudice exists as a constant element in society, constantly influencing decisions and altering perspectives of individuals. It serves as a barrier toward equality and ultimately misshapes any sort of balance in a situation. This discrimination towards individuals is especially evident in the work force. Particularly for workers of lower classes or minorities, there is a very overt prejudice toward these individuals because of their differences. It is often believed that because they are of a minority group, they are inferior and less capable than those of a more prominent race.

Those mainly affected by the barriers preventing them from advancing are the young adults in the United States. Such barriers include a lack of minorities in high-ranking positions. Additionally, those who do get to reach a high-ranking position often face structural barriers when it comes to promotion and tenure (Jayakumar, et al., 2009). “One line of research in the minority vulnerability thesis posits that African Americans in upper-tier occupations are expendable […] because they are placed in jobs that generate relatively low levels of revenue” (Wilson, McBrier, 2005). Although some people point to minority politicians and business leaders to counterclaim the issue of privilege in the workplace issue, there are statistics that prove that minorities are currently still at a disadvantage. “Only 1.2% of all Fortune 500 CEOs are Black and […] 44% of white Americans make above $50,000 a year, yet only 30% of Black Americans pass the same threshold (Camhi,

There is always going to be a certain level of misunderstanding or miscommunication between employees in the workplace. But when the ugly specter of prejudice appears in the workplace, based on gender, ethnicity, cultural differences, religion or skin color, it can cause serious problems and hurtful feelings. This paper offers scholarly information on prejudice in the workplace and relates as to how prejudice can be reduced.

My target group for this assignment is African – American men. I encounter members of this group on daily basis, and would like to learn more about this particular group’s workplace experience as it relates to diversity; more precisely if they are experiencing different treatment due to their ethnicity and gender. Even though I encounter members of this group on daily basis, I do not work with members of this group and have not in my previous jobs. I have very little understanding of their views and experiences pertaining to work environment. This group differs from me in two dimensions: gender and ethnicity. This is a distinct group for this essay since I am Caucasian and female. I grew up in Albania and moved to the United States when

First, the possibilities of getting a management job for white men far outweigh those for black men. “White men are twice as likely to get management jobs as equally qualified black men, and three times as likely as black women” (Hidden Barriers: Discrimination). This is purely discrimination, as there is no reason that those that are black should have less of a chance for management jobs—to prove this we can look at the CEO of McDonalds, and the CEO of American Express—both of them are black. Second, even New York City has been found to discriminate against its own citizens. “New York City intentionally discriminated against blacks applicants to the Fire Department by continuing to use an exam that had been told to put them at a disadvantage” (Baker). In the light of discrimination in New York City, it is found that even in the Fire Department, where people save lives from burning buildings and countless other situations, blacks were discriminated against, which in turn led to less life-savers in a bustling and vibrant New York City, probably one of the last places in the country where those that save lives should be rejected. In the end, discrimination in our time is less prevalent—but this does not mean that it is not present—for as we look at the disadvantages African Americans have in our time, we find that we are still discriminating against them in the

Unfortunately, many workplaces have utilized the colorblind approach that emphasizes peoples’ similarities rather than their differences, in order to “treat everyone the same.” The rhetoric behind these tactics are that differences lead to problems between one another, marginalized groups must assimilate into the dominant culture, individual culture must be abandoned, and that there are absolutely no biases at play, although this only leaves marginalized employees more untrusting of their straight, white, male coworkers. Colorblindness also allows those who perpetuate microaggressions to be excused from holding accountability for expressing offensive beliefs and biases. Those offended may ultimately leave their job or their performance will decline. During recruitment, heterosexist and racial biases determines who is “qualified” (218). Companies who adopt a colorblind tactic have very low retention rates because although overt, prejudicial instances may be addressed, covert ones are ignored and deemed as

Racial bias is still a very active issue in society today. This paper explores the understanding of racial bias in business hiring. This is critical because racial bias continually uniforms businesses in hiring decisions. The prevalence of racial bias in business hiring, potential interventions, and explanations of why this occurs will be explored. How prevalent is racial bias in business hiring today and how can it be mediated?

A positive role model for how to “rise through corporate meritocracy” is when they see someone they can relate to work the hard to reach their desired position. This role model had to beat out everyone, no matter the circumstances or backgrounds of the other employees. This person can teach those younger than him or her that hard work will take his or her mentees to the positions they would like to reach in Corporate America; being held back because of things someone cannot control such as race and gender is an excuse. Because of these and other reasons, changes in affirmative action are in order. White people’s views are not all their fault. There are a number of companies that hired minority workers just because the businesses needed to be more diverse. These workers were not hired because they were qualified. Seeing this happen numerous of times, it makes sense why Whites feel that minorities do not deserve to be beneficiaries of affirmative action. Minority workers do not work hard for the positions they have while Whites do. It is not fair in their eyes. That is why many Whites have expressed anger or disapproval of affirmative action programs in the workplace. “More than 40% of the total sample of non-Southern whites, or nearly one in every two, expresses anger toward affirmative action…Some 98% of Southerners-nearly all-are resentful toward affirmative action” (Knight, et al., 1997). With numbers like these,

Discrimination is nothing new to our society or is it something that should be taken lightly and for many decades our Nation has endured many conflicts that have tested the will of Americans over the decades and it is evident that as we have become more diverse so too has our workforce. Although, we are in the twenty first century the goal is to understand why prejudice and discrimination is still so prevalent and how we can do better while trying to bring together our different backgrounds, skills, and experiences still has proven to be an issue that minorities are constantly fighting as they struggle to find there place in society. Through an array of well-educated researchers showing how diversity is nothing new to our society, but if we are to continue to grow and move forward we must be able to understand that with diversification we can foster a strong and inclusive economy that is built to last and nurture a nation that will continue to lead the world as standard setter.

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.

As many minorities seek to attain wealth and status in America they are strained to leave any cultural or traditional ways behind closed doors when they enter into the workplace. Many do this to avoid being excluded, and as an attempt to become more equal to other fellow work colleagues, also many feel that white "supremacy" still exists- even in a subtle way. Nonetheless, once one accomplishes such a difficult task, the obstacle of earning a substantial income to maintain a decent standard of living is still a grueling task. According to Professor Harris, a teacher of political science at San Jose State University, approximately 60% of jobs in America are obtained through personal relationships and associations. This notion demonstrates that because many non-minority groups own businesses, and they tend to hire relatives and the like -many minorities are often excluded from attaining the "better" position within a company, and because many minority families we not able to leave a legacy for their family members to carry on, many minorities often miss out on opportunities to also be able to create a legacy that can continue to thrive- and the cycle continues.

This paper will assess my personal experience with prejudice in the workplace, including the implications of the situation to the organization in terms of its stakeholders, reputation, and its legal responsibilities. Furthermore, I will analyze the negative effects the discriminatory behavior had on morale and functioning of coworkers and employees. Lastly, I will recommend three action steps that I would have taken as a manager to avoid the situation, in addition to three steps to render the situation.

The discrimination-and-fairness paradigm is considered the “dominant way” of understanding diversity by most organizations. It attempts to remove discrimination and create employment equality by seeking to increase diversity among employees. Progress is measured by how well the company is able to meet its diversity number goals but avoids looking deeper at the reality behind the numbers. (Thomas & Ely p. 81)