Nowadays, society frequently raises the question of racism and sexism, for it is a tantalizing problem for humanism-oriented people. Mainly, the United States of America citizens discuss the issue concerning the state of social acceptance of the Black population. Specifically, the debates oftentimes involve the conditions of the workplace for the mentioned ethnic representatives. Joselyn Frye, a senior fellow of the Center for American Progress, explores the issue in the 2019 article “Racism and Sexism Combine to Shortchange Working Black Women.” The central difficulty encountered by black women, according to her paper, is the wage gap.
She means that individuals of the discriminated race and gender receive lesser payments than white male workers or even females. The cause of such a situation, Frye argues, is occupational segregation: employers propose only lower-paid jobs to black women. However, the problem seems to be a long-lasting one; it stems from the racial and gender issues of the twelfth century (Frye). In brief, currently, U. S. business leaders discriminate against black female workers, depriving them of the ability to apply for high-paying jobs.
The discussion of the issue is essential for a reason. Namely, the existing limitations of the carrier making for a particular population contradict the American belief in freedom of economic endeavors and entrepreneurship. Such restrictions are disgraceful for a nation that prompts opportunities for the financial development of everyone. Hence, both U. S. state officials and general citizens of any race and gender consider the topic unavoidable.
As a result, various organizations work on creating policies for the workplace to eliminate the problem. As such, Frye mentions the already existing governmental Glass Ceiling Commission concentrated on the matter and numerous propositions for solving the issue. The central suggestion of the article that is often emphasized for employers is establishing racial and gender diversity in their organizations (Frye ). Yet, there are diverse opinions on the subject of the implementation and effectiveness of the policies for guaranteeing equality.
People supporting policies directed toward diversity among organizations’ staff generally share opinions on the negative influence of discrimination. The three authors of the scholarly investigation “Support of workplace diversity policies: The role of race, gender, and beliefs about inequality” published in Social Science Research in 2019 shed light on the nature of the beliefs of these people and the reason behind them (Scarborough et al.). First of all, the authors researched the problem and collected data concerning the type of population supporting the mentioned policies. They discovered that diversity is important for individuals who belong to the discriminated groups themselves. Specifically, black and female people tend to approve the propositions for enhancing their positions (Scarborough et al., 207).
Moreover, the study affirms that the supporters appreciate “policies when justified to address discrimination as opposed to when they are justified to increase diversity” (Scarborough et al., 207). In other words, the suffering population feels that the root of the problem should be eliminated instead of creating visibility of equality. Hence, people may encourage the struggle against discrimination because of their direct relation to it.
However, some companies continually disregard the policy of diversity based on certain beliefs. Namely, the tech organizations represent the majority of businesses that have not employed black and female individuals in their teams. Megan Rose Dickey, an author specializing in tech work and diversity, describes the situation in the 2021 piece “Examining the ‘Pipeline Problem'” for the website TechCrunch.
He claims that the industry is “predominantly white and male,” and the reason for it is the belief in the “pipeline problem” of its members (Dickey, para. 1). Further, he explains that this notion anticipates the idea that individuals of the discriminated groups are unprofessional in the field so that employers reject their applications. Consequently, the proponents of the theory dispute, that there is a negligible amount of black and female people occupied with coding and software development (Dickey). Nevertheless, Dickey points out that some officers assume the problem to be caused by discrimination in educational institutions or social stereotypes. Thus, workers from the tech industry suppose that the diversity programs are not effective in their field and can even blain the discriminated population.
Another perspective underlines the deep origins of the limited representativeness of racial minorities and females in high-paid occupation fields. For example, Kim Elsesser composed the paper “Amy Klobuchar Says Women Are Held To A Higher Standard—What Does Research Say?” for Forbes in 2019, addressing the issue. She displays the view of Amy Klobuchar, a Senator, who accuses the high officers and firm’s executives’ unconscious bias of workplace discrimination (Elsesser).
The politician insisted that women and black people face other requirements for approval of their job applications (Elsesser). Expressly, she declared that employers demand more skills and unintentionally disregard the candidates commonly thought to be ill-prepared for the jobs (Elsesser). This means that people who perceive the problem of discrimination as relevant in the workplace conceive its ground to be a prejudice integrated into the minds of U. S. citizens. Besides, the Accordingly, this aspect of the problem comprises the central claim of one of the discrimination opposers’ groups.
Finally, my opinion on the issue of racial and gender discrimination in the workplace relates to the supporters’ group to a great extent. I accept the view that racial and gender occupational segregation exists in U. S. society. Moreover, this situation is disturbing and adverse for the country since it fixes the privileges of the white and male population at the expense of discriminated groups who might suffer from poverty and dissatisfaction. Such feelings provoke multiple conflicts dilacerating the United States of America and radicalizing various sides of the dispute. The policy of diversifying the employees of high-paying firms seems a reasonable idea to me since it can improve the well-being of oppressed citizens.
On the other hand, I suggest that officials designing the solutions for the problem should account for the roots of the minorities and women’s deficit in the areas dominated by white men. Particularly, I propose to educate people about discrimination causes and outcomes and create a system that would guarantee possibilities for the oppressed to be professionals. Consequently, I am a supporter of the moderate reforms aimed at eliminating racial and gender disparities.
To conclude, U. S. society has deeply wallowed in injustice and inequality. The labor sphere, a vital part of any modern personality, remains highly oppressive. However, Americans recognize this issue and attempt to reduce the disparities by devising various solutions. Some people support these decisions because of their personal dependence on them. Others attribute it to the individuals’ underperformance in the fields where specialized education is required. Yet another group comprehends the role of stereotypes and high standards in the situation. Ultimately, I prefer to support the policy of reducing discrimination as a degrading phenomenon.
Works Cited
Dickey, Megan Rose. “Examining the ‘Pipeline Problem.’” TechCrunch. 2021. Web.
Elsesser, Kim. “Amy Klobuchar Says Women Are Held To A Higher Standard—What Does Research Say?” Forbes. 2019. Web.
Frye, Jocelyn. “Racism and Sexism Combine to Shortchange Working Black Women.” Center for American Progress. 2019. Web.
Scarborough, William J., et al. “Support of Workplace Diversity Policies: The Role of Race, Gender, and Beliefs About Inequality.” Social Science Research, vol. 79, 2019, pp. 194–210. Web.