Put Yourself in Their Shoes

“I feel comfortable wearing my natural hair in the workplace with restrictions. But I don’t like the unwanted conversations my curly hair invites—either from well-intended non-Black people who gawk and ask too many questions about maintenance, or even from brainwashed Black men who make ignorant comments about my hair or assumptions about what it means about my personality. I’m sometimes self-conscious about the stigma people have about kinks and curls being “unprofessional.” For those reasons I usually interview with straightened hair and when I do wear my hair curly I tend to rock a conservative style such as a topknot.” — Esta, receptionist. (Dirshe 2018)

The History of Natural Hair Discrimination

In 2010, Chasity Jones accepted a job offer from Catastrophe Management Solutions. As much as she wanted to eagerly accept the offer, there was one condition that made it impossible; she had to cut off her dreads. She refused and her job offer was immediately rescinded. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a suit on Chasity’s behalf but lost in 2013. Anti-black hair sentiment has existed since the 1700’s where female field workers were forced to cover their hair in head rags while house slaves would typically mimic the hairstyles of their enslavers through wigs. In cities like New Orleans, women began to embrace their natural hair, wearing them in eccentric styles, that was until the city implemented the Tignon Laws that required these women to wear a scarf or handkerchief in order to signify they were a part of the slave class whether they were enslaved or not. (Griffin 2019)

It wasn’t until the the end of the 19th century where the invention of the hot comb came along to “tame” black hair.  The hot comb was then popularized by Madam C.J. Walker and by the 1920’s straight textured hair now signified middle class status. As the timeline continues to shift, we move into the 1960’s where the the first natural hair movement emerged. “At the time, wearing your hair natural, refusing to chemically alter Afro-textured hair, was a powerful rejection of racist beauty ideals and a radical form of self-love.” -(Mohdin 2017) By the mid 80’s, shortly after the Black Panther Party ended, so did the natural hair movement. People were straying away from afro’s for two main reasons. The first one being it lost its meaning. While the main intent behind the afro and natural hair movement was to celebrate this new Black aesthetic and appreciate their roots, it slowly turned into a trend. Soon you had afros being worn by non-blacks and the culture of the afro was gone. The second reason being it made these black women targets. While this movement was happening, Afro-wearing Black women were harassed and arrested by police, FBI, and immigration agents.(Chinwe 2017) Towards the end of the 80’s new protective natural hairstyles, such as braids and cornrows, began to be banned in the workplace.

How Does This Happen in the Workplace?

In July of 2019, California became the first state to ban natural hair discrimination in the workplace, also known as the CROWN Act. Few other states including New York, Illinois and Michigan followed and passed similar legislation. These laws and order just recently became effective in January of 2020, less than 4 months ago. While many jobs have no issue with natural hair, there are also many jobs that deem natural hair as “unprofessional” and violations of grooming policies. A recent study by Dove shows that 80% of black women are more likely to change their hair to meet work expectations. (Coalition 2019) Natural hair discrimination can happen at any level in the workplace. A common view point is “it’s just hair, what’s the big deal?”. While it may be just hair to other, to many black people including myself, it is my culture. So while these styles may seem “extreme” on one end of white societal norms, they’re non blacks everywhere who wear cornrows just to follow the new fashion trends. Whether you’re interviewing for a job and told it is not deemed as appropriate or even in the form of micro aggression from colleagues asking to touch your hair and making comments such as “wow your hair is big today!”. While it may come a place of playfulness and banter, comments and actions like these are what help negative stereotypes persist.

What We Can Do To Help

Comply Right list 3 major things and also provides a free online course in order to educate and provide guidance on employees and employers can do to ensure a healthy work environment

• Review your employee handbook, specifically grooming policies, to strike any language discouraging natural hairstyles
• Train staff on how to properly communicate with employees, handle accommodation requests and prevent harmful attitudes from influencing employment decisions
• Be careful of implicit bias in hiring and promotion, particularly the notion that people of color with natural hair are less “professional”  (Letourneau 2019)

References

Put Yourself in Their Shoes

“There are few job opportunities for me as a working-class, Black, queer, non-binary writer and nonprofit worker in the South. I moved to Seattle for a few years because I felt like my career was going nowhere fast in Atlanta. Upon moving back to Georgia, I quickly experienced the familiar feelings of frustration and unworthiness while looking for full-time, living wage employment. “Currently, I’m freelancing and consulting while I wait to start graduate school in the fall. I’m enjoying working for myself because many of my past workplaces have been sites of trauma for me. It’s been super demoralizing to work at organizations with alleged anti-oppression values that actively harm their most marginalized workers.(Leiva 2019)

So What is Heterosexism & Homophobia

While todays today is LGBTQ Discrimination in the Workplace, I want to take a moment to discuss what Heterosexism and Homophobia are and what are the differences between the two. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, Heterosexism is “discrimination or prejudice against non-heterosexual people based on the belief that heterosexuality is the only normal and natural expression of sexuality“. Now, some people may be confused and assume this is the same definition for homophobia, but Homophobia is actually a type of heterosexism and Oxford Dictionary defines it as “unreasoning fear of or antipathy towards homosexuals and homosexuality“.  To ensure the difference is understood, Heterosexism highlights the LGBTQ community as second class citizens where as Homophobia thrives off this idea of heterosexism and includes a range of hostile and prejudice attitudes and actions that are aimed towards homosexuals.

Where It All Started

Many may or may not know that June was designated to the LGBTQ community as remembrance of the Stonewall Uprising, but LGBTQ workplace discrimination dates even further back beginning in the early 1920’s in Chicago, when Henry Gerber founded what is deemed to be the first ever gay organization. He immigrated from Germany in 1913 and was temporarily admitted to a mental hospital due to his sexual orientation in 19171. Shortly after, The Society for Human Rights was established. Their mission was “to promote and protect the interests of people who by reasons of mental and physical abnormalities are abused and hindered in the legal pursuit of happiness which is guaranteed them by the Declaration of Independence.” (Chicago Tribune 2019) After a sad series of arrest in 1925, the group disbanded. But this was not the end of the road for the fight against the LGBTQ community. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order that banned people “guilty of sexual perversion” from all federal jobs. This lasted was in effect for 20 years. (Dishman 2018) It wasn’t till 1975 where the first federal gay rights bill would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. It wasn’t until 1993 that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was passed by president Bill Clinton which allowed gay men and women to stay in the military as long as their sexuality was not disclosed. In 2011 President Obama repealed this but over 12,000 individuals were discharged due to refusing to stay silent. And just recently in 2018, Trump banned transgenders from the military.

How it Affects the Workplace

Homophobia in the workplace can be especially dangerous in many situations. It hinders work performance, job security and also takes a toll on individuals mental health. Working It Out provides us with a list of ways homophobia is often displayed in the workplace.

• Inability to talk about one’s private life
• Problems asking for consideration when a partner is ill
• Constant pressure of being “on guard”
• Harassment in the form of jokes and innuendos, homophobic comments, threats to “out” a person
• Fear of reporting harassment and of not being taken seriously; being accused of over-sensitivity, of lacking a sense of humour, of “bringing it on themselves”
• Not having access to spousal entitlements in areas like parenting leave, relocation allowances or superannuation

(“In the Workplace” 2017)

What Can We Do To Help

Working it Out also provides us with seven steps to creating better employment practices for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people which I will list and briefly explain.

1. Build a culture of respect: Whether its making a public statement or donating monthly to LGBTQ charities, its important to encourage everyone to be themselves and show as an employer, manager or coworker that you care.
2. Support the establishment of LGBT employee networks: Networks help transform experiences while at work. It offers peer to peer support, rates awareness and ensure inclusion is a priority.
3. Tackle workplace bullying and harassment: Established policies and rules that prohibit gender identity and expression harassment that also include effective complaint reporting guidelines.
4. Publicize, implement and monitor equality policies you adopt: It’s not about just establishing these policies but also ensuring they are followed as well.
5. Provide relevant training to all employees: Ensure all employees are aware of these policies so that everyone can be on the same page.
6. Review terms of conditions of employment : Check to see if your company provides employment, healthcare and relocation benefits for same sex partners and that benefit providers are committed to equal treatment as well.
7. Recruit, select and promote fairly: When hiring or recruiting ensure everyone is given a chance.

References

Put Yourself in Their Shoes….

“I never thought I was going to be in this situation, having to deal with age discrimination. I was let go after 8 hard working years, the company personnel was restructured and I was the oldest & [highest paid] in my department, they did not consider the fact that I was the hardest worker there, I can beat any twenty-year-old when it comes to stamina! I have been thru so many interviews that when they see me I notice the look on their faces as”oh, she is older” even though I don’t look 53! I am beginning to doubt my skills and wonder if I chose the wrong career. I am a Technical Designer in the fashion industry and there is a lot of competition. So I am thinking on reinventing myself, so I will try to start something on my own and work my butt off networking.” —Dari Roldan (Jackson 2018)

So what exactly is Ageism?

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, ageism is defined as “prejudice or discrimination against a particular age-group and especially the elderly”.  Throughout this blog post, I hope to emphasize how ageism can effect any and everyone.  When I first thought about this topic, I believed that ageism was something that only affected older people. And though the term was coined by Robert N. Butler in 1969 (Achenbaum) to specifically apply to older people, it was soon broadened to all age groups. The term was first used during a housing battle that happened in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Land was bought to build public housing for elderly and residents complained that “the neighborhood would never be the same”. It os also important to note that laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace against people over 40 were only passed two years prior in 1967. (WHO 2016) According to a study by Urban Institute economist Richard Johnson, about 56% of U.S. employees who are 50 or older are pushed out of their jobs before they plan to retire. Only one in 10 of these employees are able to find new work. (Heathfield 2019)

How it Affects the Workplace

How Older People May be Perceived:

• Common stereotypes thrown onto this group often sound like, “They aren’t savvy enough” or , “They’re too stubborn, who can manage them?”. Another issue that comes into play is salary. Often times younger people accept lower salaries making them more appealing to companies. Lastly, a lot of people assume older workers are just trying to put in time before the retire and assume as workers they will not be as innovative or productive.

How Younger People May be Perceived:

• Attitudes and stereotypes attached to younger professionals include laziness, spoiled, unreliable and just unprofessional. A big issue with hiring especially in todays job market is experience. A lot of com ponies want experience and fear that young workers are only looking to tick a box off and leave within a year or two.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employees 45–54 stayed on the job twice as long as those 25–34. (Garver)

What Can We Do To Help?

Monster, a European hiring site, outlines some important steps we can take to ensure we are promoting a healthy work environment for everyone of all ages.

• Understand Ageism: Realize that this is something that affects everyone. Monitor how your employer and coworkers treat each other especially when it comes to age.
• Have Policies in Line: Have clear policies in line with definitions and examples. This is especially important when dealing with formal write ups. You need, in clear writing, what the expected guidelines and rules are for everyone.
• Make Sure Everyone is Clear on these Policies: Ensure that those around you are as committed to being change.
• Train to Prevent: This is meant to help change and understand behaviors. It is important to not just educate on what ageism is but also discuss why it can be harmful.
• Encourage Mentoring: When you encourage mentoring it allows a bridge to form between age gaps and allows coworkers to build a mutual and respectful relationship. It also promotes teamwork and gives room for employees to gain new skills.

References

I want to begin todays post with a short story found on “On Labor” in order to give the audience a reference for imagination.

“Imagine, if you will, a woman in her 30s with a masters degree who works for a healthcare research non-profit. She has Crohn’s disease and fibromyalgia, so the routine activities of a weekday can, at times, be tiring. After showering or getting dressed, for example, she sometimes takes a rest. At the office, she closes her office door a few times a day so that she can close her eyes or do therapeutic exercises. She’s fortunate to have her own office, but isn’t so lucky when it comes to parking. She hasn’t spoken to her manager about getting tags that would permit her to park closer to office entrance and spare her a twice-daily walk up a few slights of steps.” (Levy, et al. 2019)

What is Ableism and the History Behind It?

   According to UNC’s North Carolina Law Review, ableism is set of … stereotypes about people with disabilities that acts as a barrier to keep them from achieving their full potential as equal citizens in society,” and as a “system of oppression that favors able-bodiness at any cost.” (Eichhorn 1991)  In many cultures around the world, disabilities were and sometimes still are seen as witchcraft or the god’s punishing the parents for their wrong doing. This already gives a negative foundation to what people may think of the disabled. During the 18th century, during the period of enlightenment, the medical model was developed. This model promotes the fact that the disabled are the issue and if they cannot be fixed to adapt to society then, they must be shunned and sent away. (“Ableism History” 2009)  Back then, most decisions were left up to the medical professional; where they lived, what and how much support they receive and in most cases whether disabled people lived or die. Soon the medical model began to infiltrate politics, entertainment, language and even the education system.In todays society, a lot of people have begun to follow the social model.  This model is based off of the basic human rights everyone should have and focuses on the value disabled adults and children can bring to a community. This model especially emphasizes the strengths of an impaired person and also makes a clear definition on what the difference is between “impairment” and “disability”. Disabled People’s International, a network of national organizations or assemblies of disabled people, established to promote human rights of disabled people through full participation, equalization of opportunity and development, differentiates between the two like this:

“Impairment is the loss or limitation of physical, mental or sensory function on a long-term or permanent basis.

Disablement is the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the normal life of the community on an equal level with others due to physical and social barriers.”

How it Affects the Workplace.

Though we may feel aware of ableism, there are many instances especially in the workplace where we sometimes forget and this stereotyping comes into play. In a lot of cases, there are also invisible disabilities such as hearing loss  or HIV/AIDs but here are some common instances listed by “The Armstrong Law Firm” include:

• Grabbing someone’s wheelchair without their permission in order to “help” them navigate a difficult turn or movement.
• Having an able-bodied individual invade a disabled individual’s personal space to physically assist them — often touching them — without being solicited or welcomed.
• Making comments that suggest that willpower alone can help someone overcome a disability. For example, suggesting that a co-worker suffering from major depression can “snap out of it” by forcing himself or herself to get out and exercise or telling a co-worker with chronic fatigue syndrome to just “push through it.”

In the U.S alone, there are 56 million people living with disabilities – that’s 20% of the population. And about 38 million of them are working day to day jobs. But according to Elizabeth Maldanado, even working the same full time hours as there peers they are paid on average $1,000 less per month. And this is if they can find a job. Right now, middle aged disabled people are facing a 70% unemployment rate.

What Can We Do

According to Allegis Global Solutions, There are four major things you can do in order to help fight ableism whether you’re at work, school or even at home.

Don’t use ableist language.

• Language is powerful and has the ability to dehumanize anyone, so be cautious of words that may seem derogatory or harmful to people with disabilities in order to create a safe and inclusive space.

Challenge your subconscious biases.

• Be sure to challenge certain stigmas that have ultimately constructed strong beliefs in your life in order to promote growth and learning.

Don’t make assumptions about ability or competence.

• Disability does not mean inability. Making assumptions sometimes pushes patronizing behavior towards others.

Ask for help

• We learn something new every day, so it’s okay to ask questions and admit to mistakes.

References:

Background

In 1880, 35.4 percent of married black women and 73.3 percent of single black women were in the labor force compared with only 7.3 percent of married white women and 23.8 percent of single white women (Banks, 2019). A big driving factor behind this statistic was the low wage discrimination put on black males. Because of the need for steady income, black women found themselves working even after marriage unlike most white women. Another force behind this is the availability to steady jobs that black men simply did not have. Most jobs worked by these women were low wage, agriculture and domestic jobs. Though many white people devalued the black women as a mother, the jobs they were often hired to work consisted of cooking, cleaning and caring for families. Even up until the 60s, black women could not receive cash assistance because they were expected to be working and not a stay at home mom like most white women. Pushing into the 1970’s one third of African American females were in service jobs in comparison to the one fifth of white women. (Banks, 2019) By depriving these black families of welfare, it ensured they would continue to work at low wages for white families and companies. 2017 reports indicate that black women’s median income is 21% lower than the average white women’s income. Today, 80% the mother is thee sole breadwinner of black families. (Banks, 2019) Pushing aside wage gaps and stable jobs, black women still find grief within the workplace. From exclusion to various worker protections to numerous cases of unreported sexual harassment. So when is it going to change?

Where the issue currently stands

This unfortunate history has birthed something called he “quit & stay phenomenon.” This basically states that workers do their work and fly under the radar; they’re mentally checked out. (George 2019) Feeling ignored and alienated is a one reason behind this. Black women often seek out a support system of people who generally look like them due to better understanding in general. Another reason has to do with feeling a lack of purpose. Though these jobs may get the bills payed, they lack that connection. Often times they feel as though they are seen as just workers not essentials to the company and that even with the same qualifications as a colleague, their suggestions may not be taken seriously enough. 40% of black women have had their judgment questioned in their area of expertise; 27% of men have. (Hunter-Gadsden 2018) Lastly, ingrained stereotypes produced by toxic culture and media companies that has made its way into the workplace. Black woman find themselves being called aggressive or or angry when trying to express an opinion but all they want is to make genuine change. One study found that a Black woman is more harshly evaluated at work, “because she’s two degrees removed from the prototype of a ‘leader,’ which is a white male,” said Robert Livingston (George 2019).  The common question when trying to find solutions is “Why do they stay at these jobs… can’t they leave?”. The 2 main reasons for staying is fear of negative stereotypes and not having any other options. Stereotypes always play a big role in situations like this. Though many black women want to leave their job due to the aggressive stereotype, many refuse to leave because they don’t want to contribute to the stereotype of black women giving up. Though the job market has changed tremendously it still lacks almost everything. Black women find themselves wanting to quit but then, what’s next? Where do they go from there?

So Where Do We Go From Here?

The Center for American Progress suggest two things. The first one being understanding black women’s economic status. It is important to take into consideration any economic losses black women experience because they  have practical consequences not only for their own economic standing but also for the economic stability of their families. They also suggest policies that promote black women’s workplace equality. This includes equipping human resource centers with the right people who can understand and even identify with common workplace problems Black women face. It also includes prioritizing moving black women into better jobs which means breaking those glass ceiling barriers that shut black women out of high-level job opportunities. Lastly, we must support research and training in order to learn more about black women’s work experiences. This will help improve the overall culture of the workplace. To conclude, we have to remember that the disparities that have pushed black women into these roles don’t have to keep them there. through economic equality, proper policy making and just portraying empathy and an overall better understanding we can truly make a difference in the workplace.

References

For my civic issues blog I want to specifically look at diversity within the workplace. Though it may not be clear, diversity in the workplace is used to boost performance, help inform others, gather new perspective on certain projects and issues  and lastly help certain people serve as role models in order to educate and support other minority groups when they are newly entering into specific work fields.

In order ensure I get every perspective, I think the best way to setup this blog is to separate each post by certain demographics. To look at diversity at the workplace as a whole is one thing,  but in order to receive a more genuine connection with readers I think post would have a better impact if one week specifically looked at discrimination against the LBGTQ hispanic and latino community while another touched on discrimination against handicap African American women. In. each post I would generally answer the same questions addressing why they face these issues and what’s the history behind it, how is it being addressed in todays world and, is there a commonality between each demographic. I also would like to touch in on different news article relating on each weeks demographic. I hope this will help emphasize a sort of relevancy with the readers and really get the idea across that this is an issue effecting everyone no matter your race. Lastly I want to look at how companies specifically address issues dealing with discrimination and evaluate whether their methods are effective or not.

Our project looks at whether or not college should be free. Through out the project we look at 3 major factors including the potential effect on taxpayers, the European collegiate system vs the American collegiate system and graduation rates/ enrollment.  We also plan to answer the following questions :

• Would making college free decrease the value of bachelor’s degrees? 
• Would the tax increase be more detrimental than the actual price of college? 
• Would making college free increase the competition to get in? 
• Would students work as hard if it is free? 
• America’s Collegiate System vs Europe’s Collegiate System 
• Would this allow lower income families to escape their “poverty circle”?  
• Would the number of dropouts decrease?  

Evidence wise, we’ll be collecting data from the 1970’s up until now regarding the overall shift in the price of college. Most data will come from online resources and files since we are looking at things such as tax increases and student enrollment percentages. I think there will be a few difficulties with this topic but it is very broad so there is access too many resources and a lot of data we can incorporate. The broadness of this topic may hurt us because it is a lot of information we are trying to fit into a short video so we have to ensure its not too overpowering with information as well as there is the fact that another group is doing a similar topic so we have to ensure we stay within our boundaries so that nothing overlaps but overall, the hardest part will probably  all the work is done on time considering how busy these lat two weeks can get.

The first topic I have been looking at is the student loans crisis. This would be a great topic because it deals with something that most of us are navigating now and is the reason a lot of people decide to not pursue a college education. Economists project an accumulated student loan debt of $2 trillion by 2021 and that’s two years before most of us graduate.. so just imagine what it’ll be by 2023.  Not only are people trying to figure out how to rid of this debt but the country as a whole has begun to look at underlying factors. This includes the total price of obtaining a degree, the loan programs that have been set up and even the high salaries that professors are given. All these factors lead to another array of questions making the topic even more diverse.

The second topic I looked into was how should we deal with sex work and whether or not it should be decriminalized. The job market is forever changing and with the rise in sex workers people are beginning to feel some ways. While some say its necessary that it is decriminalized in order to ensure safety, establish respect and gain possible health benefits, others feel as though the decriminalization will lead to the development of yet another exploitive community. I find this especially important because I do consider myself as a feminist and in addition to that I am a person of color. The decriminalization of sex work further pushes not just women, but women of color and transgender women into a deeper realm of marginalization.

The focus of my TED Talk has shifted from the sorcery concept to the development of mistrust created and its impact on the healthcare system especially for African Americans.

My intro will focus on statistics that revolve around the care of black patients in order to show how much it greatly effects their health. Next, I will introduce specific events that led to this belief that the health of African Americans health cannot be trusted by medical professionals. I plan to highlight the two of the most impactful events including the disrespect for dead African American bodies during the antebellum period, and  The Tuskegee Syphilis Study which gives a necessary insight to this mistrust. I also plan to briefly discuss how the use of medical literacy terms often scare off African Americans because what most people don’t know, they fear and the lack of communication and understanding on what these terms are have played a big role. In order to ensure the audience can see and relate to the relevance of this issue, I plan to draw findings from fairly recent experiments and polls dealing with satisfaction and overall quality of the care they received hoping that it emphasizes how it truly is still happening to people around us. In addition, I’m hoping that these finding will appeal to the audience in an emotional way and if so, lead them to fully acknowledge the the gap in health care disparities. To finally conclude I must reiterate how these events and numbers all correlate to the big picture just to ensure that the message does not get lost along the way because it is a lot of information.

The most interesting aspect of my paradigm shift is the heavy reliance on religious healing rather than seeking medical treatment. “Faith Healing” was often looked at by specifically the African American community mainly because they did not have access to the same resources as other people especially in the 19th and 20th century where medical developments were just being verified. Medical treatments were seen as skeptical because of the way the healthcare system had already disregarded minorities as a whole. Cases like Henrietta Lack who developed the HeLa Cell without her own knowledge or the releasing of non tested vaccination to lower income minorities led many to believe the healthcare system was against them. So if they were to seek professional treatment, most cases would end in them being misdiagnosed or simply ignored. There was also a negative stigma developed around the idea of medicine where it was believed to be black magic. This was mainly believed because of the greek meaning behind it which meant “drugs” or “sorcery”.  This especially deterred African Americans in the early 19th century who were newly freed slaves from some countries that heavily believed in things like black magic and voodoo. When all else failed and there were truly no other options faith healing offered that component of hope that many people were actively seeking.