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There are many types of factors that currently affect how people are treated in the workforce such as religion, gender, and race. The ongoing effects of inequality in the workplace are shown in many ways. Gender discrimination exists in some companies as there are companies that do not employ women, and as a result, women have fewer job opportunities. In addition, age discrimination exists in other companies resulting in young people not being able to find jobs after they graduate from university, or achieve the qualifications needed as some companies think that young people’s lack of experience would not benefit them. Racial discrimination also plays a large role within companies, some may choose to not employ a candidate due to their race, or decide to not give them a higher role due to racial stereotypes. In a progressing society, as humans we are not fully equal in the workforce, ensuring that we are equal does not limit us to what we can achieve in life. In this essay I will be exploring and discussing feminism and racism, I will be comparing them and linking the topics to each other.
Racism has been defined as “the belief that race is the main determinant of human capabilities, that a certain race is better than others, and that individuals should be treated differently according to their racial designation.” Racial discrimination occurs in the workplace amongst members of staff as well as between higher positions and within the hiring part of a job. Many people have lost out on jobs purely due to the color of their skin. A white person is more likely to get hired than a black person based on appearance alone. In the world we live in today countries have become more racially diverse and everyone is able to access the same education, meaning that companies should hire a diverse range of employees as opposed to a predominately white male environment. Although many minorities made great steps in working in the top sectors, today there is still a very low percentage of minorities in comparison to white Americans in corporate America. For example, over 81 percent of lawyers in America are white.
Women represent over 40 percent of the global workforce and recently women have achieved the highest levels of education in history. However, the ratio of women in managerial positions does not correspond with the changing figures. Women hold less powerful corporate titles, fewer directorships, and earn considerably less than men. A reason for the percentage of women in higher roles being significantly different is due to the gender stereotypes that are still explicit in our society today. Although it is assumed that gender stereotypes target only women, they are just as many stereotypes geared toward men, the issue is that for the most part, they are in favor of men. In 2000 10 percent more women graduated from university, yet over 20 percent more men were employed. Gender stereotypes in the workplace stemmed from the assumption that women must stay at home to take care of the children, cook, and clean while men go to work and make money to support the family. Although dated, this idea is still prevalent in society today.
It is also evident that females when compared to males in the workplace, take more subservient roles, which is for many reasons. In Shelby, Sandbergs live seminar ‘why we have too many leaders’ she makes the point that in comparison to men, women are more likely to undermine themselves and their abilities which largely impacts them in the workforce. As well as this, the metaphor of the glass ceiling is one of the main arguments for inequality within the workplace. The glass ceiling is defined as “an unacknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities.” (As defined by the Oxford dictionary).they are multiple barriers that prevent women from becoming one of the top positions in workplaces. Working parents, especially mothers, usually have to deal with the family obligation they often have to choose between their job and family.
Both men and women legally have protection against gender discrimination in the hiring process or workplace, however, one issue in today’s job market is gender stereotypes in the workplace and hiring. In a double-blind study, conducted in 2008, science faculty members were asked to evaluate and pick a fictional student application who was randomly given a male or female name for a laboratory manager position, the applicant's name was either John or Jennifer. Although both applicants had the same qualifications, and experience and their personal statements were nearly identical, the results from the study showed that the faculty members favored the male applicant and he received more votes for the role. This is a clear example of how women already have a large disadvantage before being given the chance to show what they are capable of. A reason why a woman is less likely to be hired is that women are expected to plan ahead for children, whereas men do not have any premeditated decisions to make before taking on a job. Having a woman means that they are more likely to take excessive amounts of time off due to family commitments.
Racism in the workplace still exists due to how implicitly it is done using micro-aggressions whereas gender inequality is more exposed for the world to see. Both inequalities are as important as each other and need to be fully overcome to ensure that we are equal. There were many studies that proved that gender and racial biases can affect how employers evaluate potential candidates’ applications, leading employers to favor white male applicants more over equally qualified women and people of color. The inflexibility of our society is one of the main reasons that not much progress has been made in order to combat the issues of gender and racial inequalities within a working environment, however, many efforts have been made to combat the inequality that is still faced. Today they are some workplaces that appraise, measure, and do changes to their company's policies and procedures in order to try and attract women to work in a diverse workforce. To try and not have any more racial stereotypes, some companies in the hiring process choose to have telephone interviews so that their opinion of the candidates is purely on their qualifications as opposed to what they look like.
In writing this essay I wanted to express how even though as a society we have progressed to be more equal and fair, I wanted to show using research how much room we have left to grow. One day society should progress to the point where the color of a person's skin does not immediately affect their chances of getting or job, or that they should not face discrimination at their place of work or education. Women should not be treated as a minority and the ‘weaker’ person instead they should be treated equally to men.
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