Essay Sample on Discrimination in the Workplace

As time goes on, the definition of diversity has expanded. Since it used to be only about race, now it encompasses race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disabilities, and economic background. More diversity also means more discrimination. Through social media, stereotypes are made and given a certain perception of certain groups. This has strongly affected the environment in many places like the workplace. Due to these stereotypes, today's workplaces lack diversity. Lack of diversity in the United States workplace causes a hostile working environment.

Racial discrimination manifests itself most often in the workplace due to a lack of diversity. The difficulty of finding a job has existed in our country since the beginning of immigration and slavery. This may be due to the length of time it takes to get a work visa or people just don't want to hire them. People of color live in poverty the most because of unfair pay and treatment at work. An excerpt from the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal defines that “Racial incivility, or ―selective incivility, is a type of racial workplace discrimination that allows an individual to perpetuate racism by masking it in everyday acts, whether consciously or unconsciously.” (Becerra, 2). Using this example, we can understand how unconsciously discriminating at work can occur. When these remarks are consistent against one group of people, they are racist, even if they are not direct. If someone of color is given a job that no one would want to do, or that is meant for someone who may be less qualified or new to the position, then that is racial discrimination. Recently, an employer discussed a situation that occurred during the recruitment process. He states, “Reports of discriminatory treatment against employees of color at this company are also well documented...I explained to the recruiter that, as a Black person, I couldn’t in good conscience help a company that is actively hurting its minority employees” (Lee,1-3). This man when looking for a job heard about the treatment of people of color at the company and even though he was perfect for the job, and it was perfect for him he did not accept it. This is a very bad look for an employer as they are trying to recruit people, no one is going to want to work at a place where they openly are racist and bully their employees.

A popular question is why we have a lack of discrimination in the workplace if diversity gives a company a higher competitive advantage? Diversification at work has been proven to lead to a positive view of the company by society, resulting in better promotion for the company. There were companies such as Victoria's secret that were "canceled" because their campaigns had no body diversity. It was only a few years ago that companies started adding plus-size models, and Victoria's secret did not. The result was a huge decline in the promotion of the company and a lot of backlash on social media. As a result, Victoria's Secret, according to an article written by Sapna Maheshwari and Vanessa Friedman in the New York Times, has stated, "We need to stop focusing on what men want and start focusing on what women want" (Maheshwari). Now, the company is back on track, and sales are up, proving that diversity makes the company stronger. 

In more modern times we now see sexual orientation become a reason for discrimination in the workplace. Due to the rising numbers of the LGBTQ+ community, we have started to notice the increase in inequality and discrimination in the workplace because of someone’s sexual identity. In this article from NBC News by Dan Avery he explains, “It found that 46 percent of LGBTQ workers reported receiving unfair treatment at some point in their careers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity” (Half of LGBTQ+). This quote and article explain how many amounts of people have been either harassed, passed over for a job, denied a raise, or even fired. Even one black queer worker in her workplace was told that if a man let her touch her, he would be able to make her straight. For people of color in the LGBTQ+ community harassment rates are even higher. Why would your sexual orientation affect you in the workplace? It should not. If someone is getting their work done and working efficiently then they should not be harassed in the workplace or bullied for who they are. 

Furthermore, people with disabilities have been discriminated against in the workplace over the years. As a result of stereotypes that society has created, people with disabilities are considered incapable of doing certain things. Many people do not realize that there are many different types of disabilities and varying degrees of severity. It doesn't mean everyone cannot work or live independently. The lack of belief that disabled people can work has caused a problem for people who are capable of working but are unable to do so because of this stereotype. As an example, the show The Good Doctor shows how someone with a disability can achieve great things. Even though this is a show, it portrays him as a man no one believes, yet he was right. Shawn Murphy, a young surgeon with autism, uses his medical gift to save people's lives. Due to his autism, some patients refused to see him as their doctor, but they did not realize how smart he was. Stereotypical thinking makes people think negatively about others. 

In conclusion, diversity in the workplace is important but we may never be able to stop the unconscious bias of it all. Sometimes it is unconsciously other times it is not, no matter what it is still all the same. It has been seen for years and it has gotten better, big brands started to provide more diversity in the workplace to better their image. However, the question is are they doing this for exactly that, a better image of the brand, or because they care about being inclusive?