Racial Discrimination at the Workplace

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Proposed Change
Claim
Background and History
Opposition and Refutations
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Racial discrimination is a common occurrence throughout the world. Individuals are discriminated based on the color of their skin. Some races are discriminated based on various factors. Human rights organizations have come out strongly in opposition to any form of inequity.

In the current age of globalization and the onset of the global village, many people from different racial backgrounds are finding their way into other countries in search of better employment terms. This fact has made the contemporary workplace the most diverse that has ever been created. The emergence of racial diversity has led to the problem of racial discrimination, where people are mistreated or harassed based on the color of their skin.

Developed countries such as those in North America and Europe have managed to attract a large population of colored people. These people have come in search of jobs and other services such as education while others, such as the black race in North America are the products of the slave trade.

These continents have reported higher incidences of racial discrimination compared to other parts of the world (Racial Discrimination in the United States Past and Present 1). The workplace in these regions is among the leading areas where discrimination occurs. Therefore, this essay looks at racial discrimination in the workplace by focusing mainly on developed nations.

Proposed Change

The main change that is discussed in this essay is the introduction of legislation that will see the creation of a special authority that is aimed at guaranteeing the freedom of all workers at the workplace. There is a need for the federal government to enact legislation that spells out the punishments for people who discriminate others at the workplace based on their race.

The legislation also needs to create a special body that will have branches in all states. The body will provide a place where employees can report racial discrimination cases in the light of the ineffectiveness of the existing legislation and bodies that are charged with reducing racial discrimination.

Claim

This essay focuses on the necessary change in the workplace that is required to overcome the problem of discrimination. Some of the changes envisioned in this essay include the reduction in the different types of discrimination at the workplace. There have been many reports on workplace discrimination where individuals are differentiated based on their race (U.S. Department of Labor 1).

Racial discrimination may occur at any stage in employment, starting at the recruitment phase where employees are denied work because of their racial affiliations.

In fact, “discrimination today ranges from simply not calling people for a job interview because their non-Anglo or African-American names happen to be Manuel, Mohammed, or Jaquetta” (Weatherspoon and Isaac 2). In this case, the employer complains that employing a certain individual will be bad, and against the company’s policy.

Racial discrimination also affects many races, with the most commonly discriminated races being the black and other colored people (U.S. Department of Labor 1). In the case of the United States of America, the most widely discriminated race is the black race (U.S. Department of Labor 1). This state has a long history of slavery where the black population was sold to work in farms and other industries.

After the end of slavery, most of the black population became citizens and had the right to basic services and employment, just like other citizens. The discrimination of the black race takes many forms at the workplace in the US. Lewis confirms that the most common form is a failure to hire individuals based on their racial affiliation (‘Identifying Discrimination’ 9).

Most companies that have advertised for posts for various positions usually have to carry out interviews and select the employees that are most qualified and skilled to work in these positions (Lewis ‘Identifying Discrimination’ 27). Some of the black applicants have reported various forms of discrimination at the workplace, including being denied employment despite being more qualified than the rest of the applicants to the same position.

The black employees that can be employed also report various forms of racial discrimination, such as being called racial names and having to work longer about their non-black counterparts. This form of discrimination needs to be abolished in the workplace.

The suggested claim is that there should be the enactment of a new law on the federal level to prevent and punish people who are suspected of racism. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reveals, “The law’s prohibitions should include harassment or any other employment action” (par. 3).

There is a need for the federal government to create a new law that outlines the different punishments for employees who practice racism at the workplace. The law needs to be based on the basic freedom to which every citizen is entitled. This freedom should be protected even at the workplace.

This law also needs to be structured in a way that special authority is created to investigate and prosecute employers and employees who practice racism in the United States.

There are different effects that this proposed solution would have on the racial discrimination of employees at the workplace in the United States. It is likely to have a reduction in the number of incidents where employees are discriminated at the workplace in the US. The other effect is that there is a likelihood of having employers reduce the racial profiling that is evident in most places of work in this region.

The implementation of the law against employment discrimination at the workplace will improve the overall discrimination in the country that is known for its racial profiling. There are many incidents of racial discrimination against some races, even away from the work environment. The law will go a long way in reducing this situation.

Without the introduction of this law, the discrimination against employees at the workplace is likely to continue. It is likely that employers will continue to offer limited spaces for different races due to racial influence. The legal system is also likely to have sustained suits where individuals are blamed for racial actions at the workplace.

The injustice of racial discrimination will continue if the law is not enacted and authority established to take care of the racial discrimination in the workplace. The introduction of this special law to tackle the problem of racial discrimination in the workplace will have significant results in the reduction of the same issue.

Without this authority, the federal government has little control over employee discrimination at the workplace in the US. Racial discrimination is an important human rights issue that any developed nation should be prepared to counter. The US should use this authority to take care of the problem. The other main reason for the racial discrimination at the workplace is the mentality that has been held by citizens about the different races.

Different studies have found that the population has different opinions about different races. This situation affects the way they view these races, even in the workplace. The established authority will be an important source of education for citizens by ensuring that they respect the rights of other individuals who are of different races at the workplace.

Background and History

Racial discrimination is not a new finding at the workplaces in the United States. It dates back to the years of slavery in this place (Racial Discrimination in the United States Past and Present 1). The white class discriminated the black population based on the inferior nature that they perceived of this group.

During those days of slavery, merchants could buy black people from Africa as servants to work for their masters in the various farms around the United States. The white population saw itself as the rightful owner of the land. Therefore, it could mistreat the black population that was thought to be inferior.

The racial discrimination against the Indians in the US was driven by their desire to control the land that was initially theirs. The white colonizers took large chunks of land from the Indians, with the latter being forced to move to other less favorable areas or work for the whites as their masters. Those who chose to work for the white masters were often mistreated.

The main reason for the discrimination was the whites’ perception that the Indians were inferior to the white people (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission par. 6). Racial discrimination continued even after the United States attained its independence. The Indians and the blacks were racially discriminated in the workplace, with less favorable conditions at the working stations.

The other races, such as those that moved into the US from Mexico or Asia mainly came here to offer their services in the construction industry that was experiencing significant growth at that time. The nation was in the process of building many industries and infrastructure.

These individuals were required to participate in the construction of various projects. Since the individuals were different in color from the white inhabitants, they were discriminated based on this parameter, hence confirming Lewis’ claims that the case of color prejudice is becoming rampant in courtyards (par.1).

With the abolishing of slavery and the introduction of the constitution that defined the rights of the citizens, racial discrimination significantly reduced in most of the urban centers where authorities were enforcing these rights and freedoms. However, the recognition of different races in the workplace took long. Employers reserved the right to employ workers who pleased them.

Most employers were reluctant to employ the different races that were present in the market. They preferred employing the dominant white race. This brought about several problems with racial discrimination in the workplace.

Since the discriminated races were few at the workplace, their fellow employees would easily target them, with racial sentiments being made against them. The employer could also offer difficult tasks for these races as compared to what their counterparts were required to do. This brought about the persistent problem of discrimination in the workplace.

Some scholars have suggested that discrimination at the workplace was used as a form of security for the dominant race where they could racially discriminate other races to ensure that they did not take the limited jobs that were present (Racial Discrimination in the United States Past and Present 1).

This strategy was a way of defending the few jobs that were available in public, as well as the private sectors. The current prevalence of racial discrimination resulted from historical injustices and racial stereotyping.

Opposition and Refutations

First Opposition

Different opposing arguments have been advanced against the introduction of law and authority to take care of the rampant racial discrimination in the United States. One of the arguments is that the law will be hard to enforce since employers in this state are at liberty to employ individuals that they see as being fit to run their organizations (Racial Discrimination in the United States Past and Present 2).

The opposition is that the introduction of such a law will be against the policies and business environment in the country, which are aimed at protecting the employer and enhancing the productivity of their businesses.

If employers are made to choose employees by any authority, such as the proposed one, opponents claim that this move will affect their performance and contribute towards further discrimination in the places that were not initially willing to take the employees.

First Refutation

In refuting this claim to the opposition, many ways can be used to apply the law without forcing employers to employ individuals that they view as being inadequate to work at their workplace. One way that employers can be challenged in reducing racial discrimination in the workplace through this law is to make them give reasons for rejecting employees in interviews.

This strategy can ensure that the authority is aware of the reasons and that it can weigh them about the race-based claims made by the potential employees. This case can also be an added advantage for the employers since they can use these reasons to defend themselves in a court of law if accused of racial discrimination in the employee selection process.

Second Opposition

The second opposition to the creation of such authority and law against the racial discrimination of individuals is that it will bear significant costs to implement. The enforcement of laws requires a dedicated public and aggressive legal system.

The federal government will also need to train several individuals to ensure that the legislation is being respected in the areas where there is a likelihood of racial discrimination at the workplace. This effort will require significant financial input, with the deferral government being responsible for the same.

The opponents are also likely to claim that the government is spending highly on the measures that are aimed at preventing racial discrimination along many fronts and that the implementation of such a law will contribute towards increasing the wage bill.

The measures used to fight the human right abuse in most parts of the world have usually necessitated large inputs in the form of financing. The involved governments have always footed this bill (U.S. Department of Labor 1). This may be the reason for the claim against the proposed legislation to curb racial discrimination in the workplace.

Second Refutation

This assertion, just like the one before it, is refutable based on the several counterarguments that can be used to this effect. It is a fact that legislation to protect the basic rights of individuals may be expensive in the beginning. The benefits of the legislation are more than the financial costs that might be incurred by any nation.

With the introduction of this legislation to guard against racial discrimination at the workplace, the races in the US will be empowered. This situation will bring about improvement in their socio-economic status (U.S. Department of Labor 1). This improvement will be a positive one in the US in general since citizens will be able to contribute effectively to nation-building.

Third Opposition

The third opposing claim is that the introduction of legislation to reduce racial discrimination will be ineffective. The basis for this argument is that many laws exist that prohibit the practice of racial discrimination in the United States, just like in many parts of the world. These laws have had little effect of racial discrimination at the workplace in the places where it is still rampant.

The claim that racial discrimination has not been reduced by any legislation is also based on the existing legislation on the international front where global bodies have formulated laws to prevent it (Racial Discrimination in the United States Past and Present 1).

For example, the UN is one of the bodies that are active in the formulation of laws that protect the rights of every individual. The workplaces that have been reported to have incidents of racial discrimination also have their own set of rules. Some of these rules are supposed to prevent such a problem. The opponents will use these facts to argue against such legislation.

Third Refutation

The claim that previous legislation has not been effective in reducing racial discrimination in the workplace is valid. The only difference is that the previous legislation has not had the authority in support of the laws. Few individuals were available to enforce it.

The international laws against any form of discrimination have also been ineffective because they have not received support from many quarters. Therefore, the federal authority should commit to keeping this legislation by creating a special body that will oversee the implementation of this law.

If implemented appropriately, racial discrimination at the places of work is likely to decrease over the next few years. However, the problem of racial discrimination at the workplace will remain a big predicament in areas where the law is not able to reach, including the areas that are traditionally known to have high levels of racial discrimination.

The federal authorities should also ensure that they increase funding for the programs that train individuals against racial discrimination at the workplace. This strategy will contribute to the reduction in the number of incidents at the workplaces.

Conclusion

In conclusion, discrimination in the workplace is one of the contemporary problems that affect many parts of the world. People are often discriminated based on the color of their skin and the racial background with which they are associated. This essay has established that many organizations have put in place measures that are aimed at eliminating the problem of racial discrimination at the places of work.

However, the problem is persistent. The essay has proposed the introduction of a federal law that is to take care of the problem. Authority is also to be established to take care of this rampant human rights problem. Three arguments against the move have been advanced. These claims have been refuted using several counterarguments. If this measure is implemented, it is likely that racial discrimination at the workplace will reduce in the next few years.

Works Cited

Lewis, Jackson. Skin Color Bias is growing as a Basis for Discrimination Claims, 2004. Web.

Lewis, Tamara. Identifying Discrimination in Employment, 2008. Web.

Racial Discrimination in the United States Past and Present. Reach For tolerance, n.d. Web.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Employment Discrimination Based on Religion, Ethnicity, or Country of Origin, n.d. Web.

U.S. Department of Labor. Know Your Rights: Workplace Rights, 2013. Web.

Weatherspoon, Floyd, and Kendall Isaac. Resolving Race Discrimination in Employment Disputes through Mediation: A Win-win for all Parties, n.d. Web.

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