Ashley Group

Professor Zembruski

OGL 350

27 March 2022

Module 2 Paper

The discussion of racial inequality, discrimination, and prejudice in the workplace

is one that is often overlooked. It’s acknowledged, but many are not educated on it

entirely. I’ve learned so much from this module that I will be able to help educate and

inform others in my future project management pursuits.

One thing I realized from this module is just how much discrimination and

prejudice is alive in businesses and corporations. The ratio of minorities in power to non

minorities is a very significant number. When it’s seen statistically, it sinks in more. The

ratio of women versus men in business and higher job positions is also significantly

different, although it has grown much more than minorities in the same position. It’s an

even lower statistic for female minorities to be in business and the workforce, at only

22% of women in the workforce being minorities in 2015. (dol.gov)

As a woman, I have experienced the stereotypes and prejudice of my sex quite

often. Men, and even some women, have treated me like I’m stupid or incapable of

some jobs. I recently had an interview for a job position which I was very much qualified

for and because the woman interviewing me could not load my resume to her computer,

she treated me as if I was incompetent and unfit when in fact it was never my problem,

it was a technical issue that not even I could solve. I’ve had men that will come through

where I work and call me uncomfortable nicknames like “hon” or “sweetheart” in a

derogatory manner because I am a woman. At a previous job, my male manager would

explain to me how to do my job to me every day, when in fact I was probably more

capable at the job than he was. He would find power in “mansplaining” to me. I’ve

experienced so much more gender inequality throughout many jobs I’ve had, but I’ve

never let it affect me or my work performance. There have been some situations where

being a woman has benefited me in the workplace, though. Some companies I worked

for preferred to have mostly women employed, which I am not against. I personally think

there should be more women run businesses since there’s so many male only work

environments. I don’t think this would make a divide in work environments, I think it

could speak volume to how hard working women are and really show what they are truly

capable of. There’s a quote from a study by Jason Nier and Samuel Gaertner that

speaks much truth, “Just as religious minorities were sometimes a target of subtle,

rather than overt, discrimination in the United States in 1945, racial minorities and

women (and other groups as well) must still sometimes face subtle bias in the present

day.” Although times have gotten better, minorities will always be a target.

A story that had an emotional impact on me from the New York Times post was

of one from a man named Allen Hurlburt. He discussed how his principle said “he would

leave before he would tolerate a black student in his class.” (nytimes.com) School is

supposed to be a safe environment for children to learn and grow, and to hear the one

in charge is saying such horribly racists things about children is extremely

disheartening, even if this happened in the 1950s. It was so much worse back then, but

but racism is still a big issue in America, even to this extent. This situation relays back to

the video that was released by Starbucks on racial discrimination after a racially
charged incident occured between a manager and two black men.(npr.org) One thing

that was said that is worth mentioning from the video is how black people had to fight for

the right to be in public spaces. Although the civil rights movement was passed, black

people still weren’t welcomed.(Nelson, 2018) It’s a horrendous concept to think that

black people had to fight for their right to exist in public and white people never had to

experience that. I can’t personally identify with these stories because I am white, and I’ll

never understand completely what people of color in America have to go through, but

reading and hearing these stories has opened my eyes to the severity of racism in

America then and now. This is why it’s so important to educate everyone on racial

inequality and the history of racism in America.

I mainly scored slight automatic preference to Euro Americans than to African

Americans. I thought this was an interesting result. I do realize that I am a white woman

and I have a privilege that comes with that, but I never thought it was something that

would create a prejudice. I don’t do very well with these types of tests where buttons

need to be clicked at a certain time, but I’d be completely open to trying it again and

seeing if I get different results.

I grew up in Texas and Tennessee. Although the areas where we lived were very

progressive, much of the other areas were not well educated and often ignorant.

Growing up and going to private schools in the south never really expanded my

knowledge on racial discrimination or prejudice. There were times when I would hear

people in school say racial slurs. I never knew what they were saying because I was so

sheltered. It wasn’t until high school that I found out that those words had a horrible

racist history. I had never said them, I would never even say a swear word, but it would
upset me, and it still does. That kind of behavior is tolerated, and even taught in some

areas, which is saddening that some areas choose not to progress and be better.

The best option for America is to put better educational resources for people on

discrimination and prejudice towards all minorities. More diversity needs to be

incorporated and anti-bias and anti-discrimination training needs to be incorporated in

classrooms and corporations. Classes such as this one is a great way to enlighten

people on diversity in America and what we can do to make the world a safer place for

everyone.

Resources:

- 'I'm Not Aware Of That': Starbucks Employees Receive Racial Bias Training

https://www.npr.org/2018/05/29/615263473/thousands-of-starbucks-stores-close-

for-racial-bias-training

- Nier, J.A. and Garetner, SL. (2012). The Challenge of Detecting Contemporary

Forms of Discrimination. Journal of Social Issues. Vol. 62, Issue 2, 202-220.

- https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/your-stories/conversations-on-race/

stories/allen-hurlburt

- https://youtu.be/lghpTEp_VpI

- www.dol.gov/wb/stats/latest_annual_data_htm / eeoc.gov (A/V Presentation 12)