Women of Color In The Workplace and Equality

Women of Color In The Workplace and Equality by Brianna Ceballos

               

     Women have come so far in terms of equal rights, however they still face inequality in the workplace. Not only do women face inequality at work, they also experience it amongst themselves. The women of today have decided to ditch the tired stereotypical housewife label. Women of color face many forms of oppression in the workplace such as unfair financial pay, racism, and certain penalties.

    For decades, women have traditionally been the housewives and men have been the hard working individuals. However in modern society, woman are now marching into the working class and are demanding change. A fight for equality on pay has been on the rise since women are not paid as much as men. Unfortunately,  there is also a lack of equality between women. According to an article on the 2017 census, posted by Lauren Weber and The Wall Street Journal, “White women earned 80.3 cents for every dollar a white man earned.”. In addition, “Black women earned 68.6 cents for every dollar a white man earned...Hispanic women earned 59.8 cents for every dollar earned by a white man.. and finally, Asian women earned 96 cents for every dollar. The white man is being used here as a comparison and assumed that they face no penalties or oppression. Based on these results, women’s pay are affected by their sex and are financially oppressed in the workforce.

     There are certain penalties that contribute to the reason why women of color are oppressed in the workplace, I know i've had only a taste of it. “Penalties” such as gender and race can affect a woman's financial pay. A Black woman is the most oppressed women of color due to not only having the penalty of being a woman, but also the penalty of being apart of the black race. Depending on the occupation, there are certain factors and or environments that can limit a woman from participation. In an article by Lauren Weber, reports why a black woman would be excluded due to racism. ‘“In a law firm she would be excluded in deals, country clubs, strip clubs, or bars…”, “ In an occupation based on social networks, that kind of thing impacts wages.” stated Mr. Hamilton.”’ Why are these women excluded from social interactions? They are excluded because they are women of color and wouldn’t be the first choice to send out in a mainly white dominated environment. Currently I work in a widely known hardware store. It is safe to say that I have been treated differently due to the women penalty and race penalty. Men will assume that I know nothing about a certain problem and will walk straight towards my male coworkers. Once a man dismissed my help and asked specifically for a man. Ofcourse, i've also experienced harrassment and unwanted advances. It is incredibly frustrating but I pay no mind to the ignorance and instead push through because I am only there for one reason and it is to work.

    All of those penalties and factors only fueled into the ambition these strong working women. What are they doing to counter those setbacks? Some women of color are striking back by starting up their own businesses which allows them to take charge and have their own freedom from the supressions of other toxic environments. Other women show an increase of ambition in response to the oppression. According to an article by Alina Dizik, Black women are more likely to want a higher leading position than White women. White women in the workforce have greater privilege due to not having to face the racial penalty. The amount of penalties that a woman has affects how much of a challenge reaching a higher position in the workforce. Certain peers and supervisors do not acknowledge the penalties that these women have to work with. Which leads to how some women are seen as invisible.

   Women of color face other factors such as invisibility, lack of privilege, and disrespect. Depending on the work environment, women can face invisibility from their peers. According to an article by Lata Murti, “...Black women executives say that starting a frank conversation about race with their white male colleagues often leads to blanket responses such as,” I don’t see color,” or “ we just want to hire the best…” Based on their responses those white men are highly privileged and do not need to worry about racism or social oppression. However women of color in the workplace do. It is also disrespectful to dismiss the possibility of racism just because it does not happen to them. Women have been disrespected in the workplace such as rude introductions or looks. That is understandable, people would feel threatened by a working woman's presence. Change can feel like a threat to those who are comfortable, and those people are the ones who are thriving happily in their privilege. These are some things that need to be corrected in today’s society.

     Women of color are hardworking women that face the most obstacles and are mistreated in the workplace. They face multiple restraints causing them to receive unfair unequal pay, racism, and penalties such as their sex, and race. These women are coming full throttle ready to tackle the workforce and wont let these restrictions interfere with their agendas. Finally women of color do not need to redeem themselves or be questioned in order to be worthy of equality. Change is coming and it's in the form of a diverse group of hardworking women.

References:

Weber, Lauren. "Women in the Workplace (A Special Report) --- A Chasm for Women of Color: Black and Hispanic Women Lag Far Behind their White Peers."Wall Street Journal, Oct 23, 2018. ProQuest, http://libproxy.csudh.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2124047374?accountid=10347.

Dizik, Alina. "Women in the Workplace (A Special Report) --- for Women of Color, Ambition Unfulfilled: Black, Latina and Asian Women Say they Want C-Suite Roles; what's Holding them Back?" Wall Street Journal, Oct 10, 2017. ProQuest, http://libproxy.csudh.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1948904119?accountid=10347.

Murti, Lata. "Tailoring our Own Business Suits: What I Learned about Women of Color in the Workplace." Journal of Colorism Studies, vol. 2, no. 1, 2016, pp. 1-4. ProQuest, http://libproxy.csudh.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1831190818?accountid=10347.