I work for a major corporation that is committed to hiring and maintaining a very diverse workforce. Locally, the company is in a state of decline and we have endured several layoffs in the past few years, downsizing to nearly half of the very large workforce that was in place when I was hired. The rumor is that we are about to get impacted by another layoff as early as next year.
I recently had an interesting conversation with a co-worker. He is a first generation Mexican American. We were discussing individual skills and contributions of the members of our team of 13 people. I asked him, “Do you think Jane will get laid off?” He replies, “No, she is the only female on the team.” (Jane is a great team member BTW, but her strengths are less technical than the rest of us) I asked, “Who do you think is on the bubble?” He proceeded to name four people, all of which are white. I assume he didn’t name me directly to avoid being insensitive. I laughed and said, “You named all the white people!” He shrugged and said, “Its all about diversity these days.”
I actually don’t believe it will be that cut and dry, but do you think that white/non-white plays a part in the decision for a corporation that is committed to diversity?
Yeah, there is such a thing as reverse discrimination, for lack of a better term. Usually I am on the side of “affirmative action” but I will not deny there are times when it can work against white males.
Being white might work against you in a situation like this. I don’t know how widespread this perception is or if it’s grounded in reality. But I can certainly buy that it might happen occasionally.
However, I think being white has a bigger advantage in most other work-related situations, if only because one’s racial background correlates very closely to social network. I have a white coworker who got her job solely because her next door neighbor is the top administrator of my agency. They were standing in the grocery store line together one day when she let it be known that she was looking for work. Her skills were minimal. Five years later, she’s still floundering on the job. But she’s got a friend in a high place, so she’s not going anywhere soon. White folks are much more likely to benefit from social networks than black people in employment. It’s not because black people don’t try to cultivate relationships. It’s because white people are much more likely to occupy powerful job positions, and powerful white people are more likely to befriend other white people…who in turn become powerful white people who lend a helping hand to white people. All while bemoaning the unfairness of AA.
Also, white people generally don’t have to worry about people questioning their abilities or assuming they are an Affirmative Action hire. I once had a new boss who would direct questions under my purview to a white guy, and for no good reason since our job duties didn’t overlap much. I don’t think he was consciously thinking, “well, that monstro is incompetent because she’s a colored gal!” I think it was more a combination of 1) him feeling more comfortable talking to someone who looks and acts like him and 2) white guys having a proven track record of being experts in our field while black women do not. Finally, it dawned on my boss that he was barking up the wrong tree and he started consulting me. Now he always comes to me and it’s cool. But during those initial months, I kinda wished I was a white guy.
I’ll add anecdotal support to Monstro’s post. I’ve seen white co-workers who pal around with Black co-middle-managers receive the stern “if you want your career to take off here, you’d better get serious and get with the program” message, which always translated into “that tar is keeping you stuck to the floor.”
I’m definitely screwed! I’m a white guy and I’m terrible at networking! :smack:
I can definitely see your points. I’ve seen it work both ways though. A few years back I was on a team with a black supervisor and 4 black peers. The black guys were definitely protected and promoted. 2 of the 4, one of which was my trainer, were highly competent and deserved their promos based on their performance. One was marginal and the other was downright terrible, but knew how to work the system and take credit. The supervisor treated them much differently when mistakes were made and would come in acting more like a personal attorney whereas anyone else was on their own. They were very open about fraternizing with the boss on weekends as well. I even noticed that they treated me differently when they were together than when I was one on one with them.
I see the same relationships happen all the time with white players, although in my job related experiences white people are more likely to hold white people accountable for mistakes rather than protecting them since they are white.
So I guess I got a taste of what it feels like on the other side of the equation. Black people see it and feel it far more often than me and are probably far more frustrated, but everyone is guilty of it. It is just more obvious when white people do it since there are so many more white people in positions of authority. Human nature, despite race, is a bitch.
Most of the places I’ve worked that had enough of a commitment to actually hire a diverse workforce were actually using it to hide their real plan, which was to hire people fresh off the boat because they were cheaper than us, or to hire people from overseas who would come here for training, then go back home to Bangalore where they are a lot cheaper than us.
Race enters into it but so do tax credit/credited positions. I work in a very diverse place but when downsizing is discussed it more comes down to background than color. “Y won’t ever be let go; she is a single mom with three kids who came in through the Welfare To Work program. W is safe because he carries a disability credit”. That seems more the thought around our break room. Is it valid? I don’t know; anyone who works hard seems to get kept around and some of the skaters get eased out pretty much weekly. But that is the fear we seem to have floating around.
In defense of my coworkers, the company does stress that everyone - even those who clearly don’t qualify - go in and do the one federal form. But if that actually comes into play is something I question.
In my company, employees who have responsibilities for hiring people are graded at performance review on the extent to which they’ve increased the number of women and minorities under their supervision. (The women part is only operative if the percentage of women already in that group is less than 50%.)
All in all I don’t think this has a huge impact on hiring, but it’s hard to imagine it has no impact at all on their decision-making as their own raises and bonuses can be affected by it.