Lexi Nardoni
Prof. Ajluni
English 100
10 May 2018
Impact of Background on Work Opportunities
Work and opportunity in America share many characteristics with an unfair competition. With both, people tirelessly strive to obtain financial gain, but based on their background some people have more obstacles to tackle than others. These obstacles can include racial barriers, gender inequality, and indifference towards differentiation of sexuality and gender. The desire to achieve comfortable living and personal goals drives competition in the workforce, but the ignorant fear of difference prevents minorities from achieving their goals. Prejudice based on a person’s background has been a prevalent aspect within work opportunity since the first traces of civilization. The establishment of civilizations created more interactions between people of different origins: people who spoke a different language, worshiped different gods, had different physical features. Due to their differences people feared and mistrusted each other, thus creating discrimination. National origin discriminations derived from this initial discrimination against differences in civilizations. National origin discrimination can be defined as the refusal of equal employment due to an individual’s background or physical attributes. The American workforce has evolved to combat national origin discrimination through hiring diverse groups of employees, but still faces the recurring discriminatory issues within the workforce. The lack of changes in ideologies has resulted in the resistance of creating a diverse and nondiscriminatory work environment, creating unequal opportunity for all people of different backgrounds. Because the social ideologies set in place when civilizations were created are still spreading its influence today, work opportunities are impacted due to a person’s background.
The acceptance of racism and discriminatory actions against certain races allow unequal work opportunities to persist because these actions are not kept in check and continue without consequence. Within American culture there is an underlying struggle between races to obtain dominance, usually the majority stand superior to the rest. Because of this, there is resistance to follow from the other groups and the majority lacks the conviction to listen to the minority’s voices. The racial inequality that stems from “racial differences in human capital” (Gladdis 1451) affects economic outcomes. Children are brought up to believe that education can help an individual overcome social disadvantages and create more opportunities. Then when it comes to college graduates, racial economic inequalities are prominent among students. This is due to “the stratified higher-education system in the United States; blacks, Hispanics, and low-income students are much less likely to attend highly selective institutions than whites, Asians, and high- income students” (Gladdis 1452). Minorities are then forced to select colleges with lower graduation rates, which is why a majority of ministries lack a college degree. The shortage of acceptances is because of the biases against minorities. Even with a degree from a highly prestigious institution, an African American cannot escape employer biases against them. The Civil Rights Act was intended to erase these biases, but researchers, S. Michael Gaddis being one of them, have continuously found evidence of racial discrimination in the labor market. College degrees are meant to yield some economic benefits over individuals with a high school diploma. However, “racial differences in earnings and unemployment are highest among those who hold a bachelor’s degree” (Gladdis 1453), igniting a debate whether this is due to human capital differences or employer biases and discrimination. Human capital refers to the knowledge, habits, social and personality attributes that affect productivity. Through Gladdis’s research into the discrimination in the credential society, his “results tentatively suggest that both educational credentials and race are important; both have strong relationships with the rate of employer responses” (Gladdis 1465). This ultimately reflects the age old fear and mistrust of people of different backgrounds.
Early Europeans had a preconceived idea of gender roles in society and these ideas still have an affect in today, allowing sexism and discrimination to slide in the corporate world. Equality among sexes has been a long spanning debate topic due the preconceived ideals brought to American by European settlers: that women are dependent on male figures. In society women were not allowed to own property, hold office, think independently, or even work outside of housewife duties. These ideologies can be described as gender polarization and segregated gender roles. Over the years women started to reject the ideologies and suggest change. Women’s rights movement emerged from the 1848 Seneca Falls convention when “Frederick Douglass, the only African American at the meeting, spoke eloquently in favor of suffrage, saying he could not accept the vote as a black man if women could not also claim that right” (Wheeler 61). Douglass’s statement ignited the advancement towards the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women’s suffrage, and led to the discussion of the Equal Rights Movement (ERA) (Wheeler 60). Understanding the source of ideology between social reformers and advocates for the ERA is important because it brings to light the limits of anti-discrimination laws. Changes that need to be addressed in full, in a women’s workplace, are “related to pay, harassment, and pregnancy” (Wheeler 60). The American economic system penalizes women for raising children, work that society believes is the most important. Americans take the caregiving for granted and equate raising a child to doing nothing. “The idea that time spent with one’s child is time wasted is embedded in traditional economic thinking” (Crittenden 251), causing sexism to persist within our society. Opening people’s minds to the limits of anti-discrimination laws can lead to more effective strategies to break the social prejudice that limits women’s and other racial group’s employment opportunities.
The reasoning behind why sexism and racial discrimination is still present in today’s economic system is because it is rendered almost invisible by double standards and ideologies that white men are superior ingrained in children since birth. The skew in mind sets contributes to why the divide between gender and race still exists. People that choose not to acknowledge the discrimination in the workforce conclude that the imbalance of gender and race is due to a lack of experience or education. These types of people stimulate our economic system to resist change and progression. The mind set starts with the normalization of sexism and racial discrimination. Many times people fail to recognize the discriminatory thoughts, words, and actions in other people and in themselves. Double standards are embedded into our society and culture, often not recognized either. The phrase “boys will be boys” and the idea about the different “natural” capabilities of men and women are examples of the disregarded double standards. The dismantlement of the ideologies pertaining to who is superior and double standards will provide assistance to breaking social prejudices. The barrier set up with these ideologies prohibits many people from contributing to society’s wealth. For change to occur, people need to begin confronting the sexist and racial remarks in everyday life. This movement is about taking person responsibility for the part each person plays and to having the courage to break society’s normalities.
Simply agreeing that diverse groups produce stronger results – in business, politics, science, and education – is only the fist step in breaking discriminant ideologies.
Work and opportunity in America is a competition, but all people, no matter their background, deserve an equal chance at succeeding. Obstacles should not be put in place based on race, gender, or religion. Success should be built off the desire to achieve a comfortable living and personal goals, and not hindered by ignorant fear of differences. Breaking the standard of prejudice based on a person’s back ground will propel society into advancement. National origin discriminations derived from an initial discrimination against differences in civilizations, which constrains the economic system today. The American workforce must continue to evolve to combat national origin discrimination through hiring diverse groups of employees and allowing them to work together. The lack of changes in ideologies will no longer obstruct the creation of a diverse and nondiscriminatory work environment. By creating equal opportunity for all people of different backgrounds, new ideologies will be formed and will boost the economic system into growth.