ByIt is so unfortunate but true that racial and ethnic discrimination is still a prevalent problem in the workplace in Connecticut and other parts of the U.S. A legal framework is in place to tackle and eliminate such practices. However, it still manifests in numerous forms, from overt acts to subtle biases, which affect hiring, pay equity, promotions, and the workplace culture.
Suppose someone unfortunately suffered or is still suffering because of such discrimination in the workplace. In that case, such people must not hesitate to raise their voices and take appropriate legal actions with the assistance of a Connecticut employment discrimination lawyer.
In this blog, we are going to look at some examples to shed light on the persisting challenges of racial and ethnic discrimination in employment premises.
What Are Some of The Examples of Racial And Ethnic Discrimination At Workplace?
- Hiring Practices
A significant stage where racial and ethnic discrimination is too common is during the hiring stage. Numerous studies have again and again shown that people with non-white and ethnic names are less likely to get callbacks for interviews as compared to those with names that are perceived as white.
For instance, a study by NBER found that people with names like Greg or Emily have received 50 percent more callbacks than identical resumes with names like Jamal or Lakisha.
Such forms of discrimination and implicit racial biases are not even realized by employers or not even aware of such holdings, which results in the exclusion of some well-qualified minority people from numerous job opportunities.
- Pay Inequity
In numerous sectors, it has been noted that even if racial and ethnic people possess similar qualifications and have similar roles, such people get paid relatively less merely because of ethnicity and race.
The EPI reports have shown that Black workers earn 73 cents on average for every dollar earned by their white counterparts. The inequity is even more apparent and broader in women of color, which highlights the intersectional aspect of such discrimination.
The disparities can be caused by numerous factors, such as biased evaluation of performance and relatively limited access to career advancement opportunities.
- Promotion and Career Advancement
People belonging to racial and ethnic minorities face numerous obstacles in climbing the so-called corporate ladder. Glass ceiling phenomena prevent a plethora of people from reaching the top positions of management and executives.
Research has further solidified it because it has shown that people of color are pretty significantly underrepresented in different leadership roles across numerous industries, which limits the potential career growth of such people.
Sponsorship and mentorship, which are two pretty critical aspects of career growth, are relatively less accessible for minority employees because of conscious and unconscious biases.
- Workplace Culture and Microaggression
Microaggression essentially refers to subtle forms of ethnic and racial discrimination that often come to the surface during daily interactions at the workplace, which are usually indirect and often unintentional behaviors or comments that hint towards prejudiced attitudes.
Some examples could be assuming that a minority colleague is less competent in making stereotypical jokes or mispronouncing names. Such actions are supposed to be minor, but the overall effect can affect the mental health and job satisfaction of such employees belonging to minorities.
The APA highlighted that microaggression can result in increased stress, higher turnover rates, and lower job performance among affected employees.
Faced Discrimination? Here is What You Can Do!
Laws in the U.S. prohibit such racial and ethnic discrimination, and if someone unfortunately suffers or gets affected because of it, legal actions need to be taken against the responsible body, and an employment discrimination lawyer knows precisely the way to make such people pay for the deeds.
