Unfortunately, some individuals still discriminate against others based on their skin color or their gender.
Racism and sexism still happen in workplaces even today. This article will serve to inform our readers about how often sexism and racism actually contribute to workers’ compensation.
This is an important and sensitive topic, so we advise our readers to use objectivity. Our opinions are merely ours, but we do believe that shedding light on such important and heavy issues is another step in the right direction. A future free of damaging bias.
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Overview: What is Work Compensation
Work compensation is the act of giving employees financial compensation. The reason for this is usually because the employee was wrongfully hurt in the workplace. Employers pay them up so they avoid getting sued. And of course, it’s the descent and human thing to do.
Of course, companies and organizations can’t simply give any amount of money they please to a worker.
However, the issue that lies in this dilemma is unfortunately too deep-rooted to be fairly compensated with cash. It will repeat itself unless people start respecting others and letting go of outdated bias.
Racism and Work Compensation
We’ll give it to you without the fluff: Racism doesn’t get compensated enough. Do your research and see how difficult it is to come up with solid statistics on this topic.
An article by Vox published in 2019, states that employees only get compensated (in the form of work change or money) 18 percent of the time. We believe that the number has changed in 2021, but it’s still a very low and disappointing figure.
After all, racism in the workplace is illegal. Yes, it’s illegal in the U.S. But it’s still not completely gone. There is even an organization that handles these matters.
They’re called the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They deal with more than 100,000 cases of workplace discrimination every year.
Moreover, racism doesn’t only show its ugly head in the form of discrimination, but in a visible pay gap as well. The pay gap issue between black women/men and white women/men has been addressed countless times.
However, in spite of all the attention, the issue itself has not been properly handled. No substantial changes have been observed. . Which is another thing that can’t exactly be solved by a one-time compensation package.
Black women workers, in particular, have the worst earnings. An article by the ‘American Progress’ website stated that in 2017, black women earned $23 653 less in yearly salary compared to white men.
At the end of the day, racial discrimination continues to happen because many big companies and employers are either:
- Not held liable for their actions, and in worst-case scenarios, the employee gets discredited or threatened if they expose the abuse
- Authorities who handle racism in workplaces have too many cases and end up completely ignoring a request
- A deep-rooted problem in the collective thinking and blind incapability of accepting others because they’re different
Sexism and Work Compensation
Sexism in the workplace is a threat that women have to face much more regularly than men. Sexism can manifest in many forms; harassment, wage gap, bullying, or not being promoted because of gender.
Unfortunately, there are no solid statistics as to how much sexism contributes to workers compensation; however, much like racism, it is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their gender:
“Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits an employer from treating you differently, or less favorably, because of your sex, which is defined to include pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”
Since this problem is known to be prevalent, with dozens of cases reported and exposed in the media, there should be some sort of standardized financial compensation, whether it be in the form of money or employee care.
Of course, every individual company treats this issue differently, and some are probably better at handling this than others. Sadly, many companies remain negligent.
Final Thoughts
There is still a long way to go to quality and mutual respect in working environments. For employers and other individuals that have the power to change something with this particular dilemma, better policies have to be instilled and standardized throughout companies in various industries. That’s what should be kept in mind.
Of course, making workers liable for any type of abusive behavior is also an important element that needs to be normalized and not ignored. In turn, we invite our readers to report any abusive behavior to HR or any relevant authority, as not doing anything is part of the bigger problem.
The effects of being a victim or witness to such destructive behavior can be discouraging, and sometimes it even traumatizes people. However, in order to combat and change the way we deal with these issues, we must speak up. We must expose it. We must acknowledge the damage it does.
We hope this article has shed a light on an otherwise grim subject. Don’t forget to consider getting a bit-beating resume or CV from Skillhub that can help you in the applicant tracking process, and ultimately get you chosen from other applications.
