Abstract

This paper seeks to identify the presence of discrimination in the U.S workplace. Legally, there are acts that require organizations to treat employees equally such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 which requires that organizations pay employees equally for equal work done. The Civil Rights Act if 1964 also outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Thus, discrimination based on gender, race, religion or national origin or color is a denial of workers’ rights. This paper is setting out to answer the question of whether discrimination is alive in the U.S workplace. Key concepts to be employed in this paper include automatic discrimination, explicit discrimination and human capital theory. These concepts and theories will be used to portray the extent and nature of discrimination.

The paper will argue that discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, or national origin is still persistent in the U.S. workplace even after the numerous laws to curb the vice. Most organizations commonly develop diversity programs, but such programs do little to end discrimination and only discount the claims of discrimination. Discrimination can be subtle, explicit or perceived and some researchers have related discrimination in the workplace with alcohol use and smoking. The gender pay gap contributes to poverty in the U.S given that modern women have become breadwinners for their families. If men and women earned the same, family income would increases by 2.8% thus pulling 52.5% of poor families from poverty. Some of the effects related to discrimination in the workplace include stigmatization, increased poverty and mental health issues.

Annotated bibliography

Chavez, Laura J., et al. “Racial/ethnic workplace discrimination: Association with tobacco and alcohol use.” American journal of preventive medicine 48.1 (2015): 42-49.

Reveals that workplace discrimination is common in the U.S. workplace and that it is related to alcohol use, smoking and thus merits further policy action.

Cortina, Lilia M., et al. “Selective incivility as modern discrimination in organizations: Evidence and impact.” Journal of Management 39.6 (2013): 1579-1605.

Race and gender affect one’s vulnerability to uncivil treatment in the workplace with women of color reporting the worst treatment. The uncivil treatment contributes to intent to leave the job.

Dover, Tessa L., Brenda Major, and Cheryl R. Kaiser. “Diversity policies rarely make companies fairer, and they feel threatening to white men.” Harvard business review (2016): 1-6.

While organizations in the U.S spend much resources in diversity programs, such programs do little in eliminating discrimination and improving women and racial minority representation in that the presence of diversity programs discount  any claims of discrimination.

Jones, Kristen P., et al. “Subtle discrimination in the workplace: A vicious cycle.” Industrial and organizational psychology 10.1 (2017): 51-76.

Subtle or automatic discrimination saturates in organizations today, and while its nature may make it innocent, it affects the functionality of organizations and employees more than intentional discrimination.

Lips, Hilary M. “Acknowledging discrimination as a key to the gender pay gap.” Sex roles 68.3-4 (2013): 223-230.

Argues that there lacks awareness about the gender pay gap due to system justification beliefs reinforced by the human capital theory. The author criticizes the human capital theory to portray that a gender pay gap is a form of discrimination.

Milli, Jessica, et al. “The impact of equal pay on poverty and the economy.” Institute for Women’s Policy Research (2016): 1-9.

Shows the effect of the gender pay gap to the economy and argues that it contributes to poverty levels. If men and women earned the same, family income would increases by 2.8% thus pulling 52.5% of poor families from poverty.

Quffa, Wedad Andrada. “A review of the history of gender equality in the United States of America.” Social Sciences and Education Research Review 3.2 (2016): 143-149.

Shows the history of gender equality in the United States from the ratification of the Nineteenth amendment in 1920 to other acts such as Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Civil Rights Act of 1964 which have made the U.S. improve on gender equality.

Sawyer, Katina, Christian Thoroughgood, and Jennica Webster. “Queering the gender binary: Understanding transgender workplace experiences.” Sexual orientation and transgender issues in organizations. Springer, Cham, 2016. 21-42.

Argues that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) face stigmatization and face many challenges in the workplace due to the inherent fear of discrimination.

Work cited

Chavez, Laura J., et al. “Racial/ethnic workplace discrimination: Association with tobacco and alcohol use.” American journal of preventive medicine 48.1 (2015): 42-49.

Cortina, Lilia M., et al. “Selective incivility as modern discrimination in organizations: Evidence and impact.” Journal of Management 39.6 (2013): 1579-1605.

Dover, Tessa L., Brenda Major, and Cheryl R. Kaiser. “Diversity policies rarely make companies fairer, and they feel threatening to white men.” Harvard business review (2016): 1-6.

Jones, Kristen P., et al. “Subtle discrimination in the workplace: A vicious cycle.” Industrial and organizational psychology 10.1 (2017): 51-76.

Lips, Hilary M. “Acknowledging discrimination as a key to the gender pay gap.” Sex roles 68.3-4 (2013): 223-230.

Milli, Jessica, et al. “The impact of equal pay on poverty and the economy.” Institute for Women’s Policy Research (2016): 1-9.

Quffa, Wedad Andrada. “A review of the history of gender equality in the United States of America.” Social Sciences and Education Research Review 3.2 (2016): 143-149.

Sawyer, Katina, Christian Thoroughgood, and Jennica Webster. “Queering the gender binary: Understanding transgender workplace experiences.” Sexual orientation and transgender issues in organizations. Springer, Cham, 2016. 21-42.