Written
by:
Gjergji Gega
Race Discrimination
History
“The only difference between man and man
all the world over is one of degree, and not of kind, even as there is between
trees of the same species. Where in is the cause of anger, envy or
discrimination?” - Mahatma Gandhi. In this famous quote Gandhi expresses that
all human kind should be treated equally despite their skin color and origin.
In today’s work environment many employees are challenged with race discrimination.
Discrimination continues to rise at the workplace in the United States and
affects the performance of those individuals or groups of a certain race. While
most agree that this has been an ongoing issue, almost fifty years ago the
United States has enforced precautions against discrimination in workplace. This
legislation has created many challenges for corporations such as lawsuits and a
negative image. The results of actions taken have led to one of the most
important Civil Rights Acts in the United States history to protect employees.
The Civil Rights Act is also a solution and a guide for companies on how to
treat their workers fairly and equally.
During the 1960’s there was an attempt
to improve the quality of life in the workplace for African Americans,
Hispanics, Asians, and other minority groups. Although this had been a
political and legislative issue for a long time, 1960 was a period of the
protection for the rights of these minority groups. There were many social
activists that pushed the civil rights movement into the national agenda but
the most famous of them all is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s powerful
and peaceful movement inspired millions of individuals which resulted in
congress to enact the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The 1964 Civil Rights Act was the
landmark for equal rights creating the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (Green,
2005). Although the Civil Rights Act did not solve all the problems, it did
open the door to providing more job opportunities and made it unlawful and
illegal for an employer to deny a job to a person on the bases of race.
The
Title VII emerged from the Civil Rights era and it protects employees from
discrimination on the basis of skin color, religion, race, sex and national
origin. The Equal Employment Opportunity commission was formed as result of
this act to address issues of discrimination, and unequal employment
opportunities (Green, 2005). This is a guide for small businesses and large
corporations on how to provide equally employment opportunities for everyone.
Although African Americans and other minority groups had equal job
opportunities, qualification requirements for particular jobs were formulated
in a way to make it almost impossible for them to get the position.
Turnover/costs
Race discrimination practices have led to several negative
consequences on employer images, resulting in losing skilled workers profits,
and having a high employee turnover. Due to these discriminations, law suits
have been filed against companies that have cost businesses hundreds of millions
of dollars leaving a permanent black mark on their image. While small businesses
may not have to pay the large amounts large corporations do, they can still
suffer from their business image. For example, Shoney an American family dining
restaurant was accused of discriminating against black employees in their job
applications. At certain Shoney’s locations, they had a maximum number of
African American employees and insisted particular managers to fire the African
Americans that were employed (Green, 2005). Shoney’s had to award an average of
$105 million to the employees that were victims of the hiring, promotion, and
firing policies in 1992. In order for organizations to prevent unlawful acts,
is by conducting monthly meetings on how to avoid situations such as race
discrimination and to address any employee issues.
Well-being
Discrimination
against race at work can have a negative effect on the employees’ well-being
and productivity (Williams, Neighbors, & Jackson, 2003). According to the Racial/Ethnic
discrimination and Health findings of the 25 studies examined for psychological
distress, 20 studies reported a positive association between discrimination and
distress (Williams, Neighbors, & Jackson, 2003). If employees know that the organization
or business that they work for is discriminating against African Americans or
other minority groups, they may feel that the practices of their company do not
represent them well to the public. Employees may not want to associate themselves
with a company that practices race discrimination. This
may lead to a great loss of skilled workers and low recruitment of talent
workers. In the end, it would lead to high employment turnover and loss of the
most competent workforce. Occasionally firing workers for poor performance may
be necessary for the success of the company. There are actions that an
individual can take to protect themselves from discrimination:
·
Write down what happened and gather
names and telephone numbers of witnesses because they might back up your story.
·
Seek lodging a formal complaint. For
example, if you face discrimination in a company, bring it to the attention to
the top management.
·
Contact a civil rights group, because it
can help you deal with racial discrimination.
(Shih
& Kleiner, 1998)
Conclusion
The
Establishment of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Equal Employment Opportunity
(EEO) has given the minority groups a voice to fight for their rights for equal
employment opportunities and advancements. By trying to eliminate
discrimination against race at the workplace, it has enabled companies to
create a diverse work environment. The ultimate benefits of creating a diverse
work environment and eliminating discrimination in the workforce are creativity
and high productivity.
Reference
Jackson, H. J., & Mathis, L. R. (2009). Human
Resource Management, 13th Edition. South
-
Western: Cengage Learning.
David
R. Williams, PhD, MPH, Harold W. Neighbors, PhD, and James S. Jackson, PhD
(2003). Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Health: Findings from a Community
Studies
-
February 2003, Vol. 93, No.2, American
Journal of Public Health.
Tristin
K. Green (2005). Work Culture & Discrimination.
-
California Law Review, Vol.93, No.3, May
2005
Shih-Hsueh,
Chen; Kleiner, Brian H (1998). Developments concerning Race Discrimination in
the Workplace.
-
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/docview/199657280
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