In the United States, there is a nationwide issue with equal opportunities for basic things such as employment, quality education, fair housing and healthcare due to the historically institutionalized prejudice, bias, stigmatization, and racism. America’s workplace environments and employment systems are largely problematic regarding unequal opportunities and unfair treatment. Due to the mass amount of research data and statistics on workplace behavior, there is plenty of data to support the claim that workplace discrimination exists within America regarding women, immigrants, minority races and nationalities, the LGBTQ+ community, the disabled, and even U.S. veterans.
There is a large gender imbalance in the American workplace, which may be a leading factor in the unequal treatment to women in the workplace. In a survey done by the Pew Research Center in 2017, only thirty-three percent of workers said there was an even ratio of men to women in the workplace setting (Parker & Funk, 2017). This research found that in a majority male workplace, women are 300 percent more likely to say that their gender makes it harder for them to get ahead. Women are proved more likely to experience gender discrimination and are less likely to be treated fairly in a predominantly male workplace environment. Of the survey, 42 percent of women said they had faced some type of discrimination at work due to their gender, with one in four women earning less than men, and with almost one quarter of the women being treated as if they were not competent. These rates only increase in women with higher education. Compared to the 42 percent overall, it was found within women with postgraduate education that nearly 60 percent faced discrimination (Parker & Funk, 2017).
Minorities are another highly targeted population when it comes to discrimination, which creates unequal opportunities and unfair treatment in the American society and in the workplace environment. Minorities have a hard time getting hired just based off the sound of their name. Studies mentioned in Lauren Lee’s article “How Racism Still Exists in the American Job Market” show that job applicants with white sounding names had a one in ten chance of getting a callback for an interview, whereas African-American sounding names had a one in fifteen chance. Another study mentioned in the article showed that minorities with the same qualifications as a white person were half as likely to be hired, and if hired, were paid less by 12 percent (Lee, 2017). These statistics show that minorities are not getting an equal opportunity in the workplace starting with their name on their resume. They are hired less and also make lower wages, even with the same qualifications.
The LGBT community is affected by workplace discrimination in America as well. One in four LGBT employees report discrimination whether it is not being hired, being denied a promotion, or being fired due to their identity. Transgender unemployment rates are triple the national average. There is currently no federal law that prevents employment discrimination based off of sexual orientation or gender identity. In 28 states, you can be fired for not being straight and in 30 states, you can be fired for being transgender (Out, 2017).
These statistics prove that workplace discrimination contributes to the nationwide issue of getting equal opportunities and justice. There are organizations in place to help with this macro level issue such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the National Committee on Pay Equality (NCPE) (Rutgers, 2018). Even though these organizations have helped to place laws to stop the discrimination that prevents the chance to equal opportunity, the inequalities still exist (Kiboro, Gakuru, Misaro, & Mwangi, 2014). This motivates social workers to step in. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) follow a Code of Ethics, which state that social workers must challenge social injustices, with focus areas including unemployment and discrimination, and must ensure access to information, resources, and services, and the equality of opportunity for all people (Blank, 2013).
Social workers can reduce these inequalities by providing a connection for women to access more education, both formal and informal, so they can have the power to stand up and challenge the social norms and discrimination that holds them back in achieving equal opportunities in the workplace as well as in society as a whole. Social workers can empower women through empowerment programs that have the goal of removing the barriers that women face and issues they deal with (Kiboro, et. al, 2014). Social workers have the skill set it takes to challenge the norms and attitudes instilled in society that undermine women and can lobby for changes. They can also initiate activities and workshops that decrease conscious or subconscious discrimination towards women. Other methods social workers may use to help with the inequalities are analyzing job calendars for both women and men to ensure equality and hold gender-sensitization activities and gender training in meetings and workshops as well to portray the benefits women can serve. An important way a social worker can help is by gathering and analyzing data regarding the occurrence and severity on discrimination based off gender and sex. This can help them to identify, understand, and prevent or resolve the issue of discrimination and work alongside corporations and organizations to develop or change policies based off their findings (Kiboro, et. al, 2014).
Regarding inequalities to equal opportunity within minorities in the United States, social workers can be a vital part in the relief to break down the systematic and institutional discrimination and racism held in America against minorities. One way they already help is by having the workshop known as Undoing Racism, which is held by certain chapters of the NASW, which train people about the institutional racism issue and how it affects the American workplace and society (Blank, 2013). According to a survey administered by the Pew Research Center, fifty percent of U.S. adults said it was most effective to work with community members to solve racial inequality issues. The survey also showed high percentages for things such as having group discussions about race, getting more diverse groups in office, and organizing rallies and social movements (Pew, 2016). Social workers can be a large effort in these areas and have the responsibility to help connect the community on a mezzo level by forming or referring people to group discussions, and by initiating, educating, and empowering others to form protests and rallies to challenge these inequalities. Social workers should also lobby for efforts for change on the federal and national levels to create more regulations in the workplace regarding workplace discrimination.
If I were to create my own social work program to help with the nationwide issue of unequal opportunities in the workplace, I would set up programs in various communities nationwide for the purpose of educating people on the occurrence of workplace discrimination. These programs would teach workers how to spot discrimination, and what to do when witnessing or experiencing discrimination, and would hopefully help to break down the institutionalization of discrimination firsthand. My program would also lobby for more regulations for workplaces regarding equality for all races and genders in the workplace as well as lobbying for laws protecting the LGBT community from workplace discrimination. My program will create support groups for the affected populations as well as advocates that work with employers and supervisors in companies, corporations, and organizations to ensure equal opportunity for everyone in the workplace.
First and foremost, it is ideal for my program to be available nationwide. In terms of funding, we will take donations and will work with private investors. In various main cities across the country, we will have centers specifically for my program where anyone can go seven days a week to receive services and benefits available. There will be no cost for our services, since the targeted population are already being discriminated in the workplace, meaning they may have little to no income. All costs will be covered by fundraising and donations aside from a startup fund for establishing a new program and advertising. Each program center will have different stations for different needs such as rooms for education and classes with projectors to view videos, stations to submit workplace discrimination reports, a community gathering room for motivational speakers, as well as a safe place for support group meetings. It would be beneficial to have a playroom for kids while the parents receive services so that the client’s children does not prevent them from getting the services needed. The environment of our setting will be very open, inclusive, and ready to help educate, motivate, and connect people in order to make a difference in solving the inequality issue.
The main goal of the program will be to educate all adults of the occurrence of workplace discrimination. I wish to work with local businesses and corporations in the community and have them require their workers to attend an anti-workplace discrimination workshop at one of my program centers in the area. Education plans will include videos, lessons, and exercises in order to teach people of how discrimination affects certain groups of people more than others and how this issue stops them from achieving equal opportunities not only in the workplace, but in society as well. Specific details in this lesson plan will include what exactly discrimination looks like for different groups of people, what actions to take when witnessing or experiencing it, and how to cope with the effects. Through the education section of this program, hopefully more people will be aware of how large this issue is and will put an importance on equal opportunities for all people, breaking down the institutionalism of discrimination overall.
The second goal of the program will be to lobby for new laws and regulations regarding discrimination prevention. The LGBT community are widely affected when it comes to not having many laws in place to protect them in the workplace. With a mostly conservative government in place, it may be hard to make any changes soon, but by lobbying and protesting, awareness can be increased.
The program will also focus on adding more regulations to workplaces regarding equality within races and gender. We want to make sure people are not being overlooked or turned away from a job or promotion because of their race or gender, so having regulations that require a certain ratio of men to women and white to minorities.
Another important part of the program is advocating. Since the clients we will be working with are underrepresented and discriminated against, we will need to empower them and to advocate for them to ensure they are getting equal opportunities as they should. These advocates will work with different business employers and supervisors to make sure that people are getting callbacks, hired, promoted, and paid equally as others in their occupational positions.
Lastly, an importance will be placed on support groups for the people affected by discrimination. It is important for those already affected by this issue to come together and talk about it. By expressing their feelings and hearing other’s stories, it might help people learn coping strategies and become inspired to take action against this nationwide issue. Again, all of these services will be held at our program centers.
All in all, equal opportunities and justice in America are prevented by institutional social attitudes and beliefs that lead to discrimination, even in the workplace. It is a large issue that affects many groups of people such as women, minorities, and the LGBT community. Hopefully my program will help to diminish the effects and prevent future occurrence of workplace discrimination through education, connection to resources and support groups, and empowerment to take legal and political action to push for change against the issue of inequalities.