Although there have been changes in the labor force with respect to racial minorities, racial disparities still remain. Pager and Sheperd (2008) in their analysis of the Current Population Survey (2006) found that African Americans were twice as likely as whites (Hispanics only marginally so) to be unemployed, and the wages of both black and Hispanics continue to lag behind those of whites. In a study by Bertrand and Mullainathan (2004), the researchers mailed equivalent resumes to employers in Boston and Chicago and used racially identifiable names to signal race, for example, Jamal and Lakisha signified African Americans, while Brad and Emily signified whites. The results showed that white names received a callback rate that was 50% higher than that of the equally qualified black applicants. Further, their study showed that improving the qualifications of applicants only benefited white applicants, thus leaving a wider racial gap in response rates for those with a higher skill set. Tomaskovic-Devey, Thomas, and Johnson (2005) provide evidence from a fixed-effects model to show that black men spend a lot more time searching for work, have less work experience, and experience less stable employment than do whites with otherwise equivalent characteristics. Overall, the literature points towards evidence that there is discrimination in accessing employment. With these findings in mind, it lends to the conclusion that it is important in learning about the scope and nature of racial discrimination in the workplace, the negative impacts of racial discrimination, ways to reduce race-based discrimination, and the costs and benefits of diversity in the workplace.
Discrimination brings about behaviors or practices that result in avoidable and unfair inequalities in power, resources, or opportunities based on various characteristics. These include gender, sexual preference/orientation, ethnicity, race, culture, religion, age, social class, and relationship status. Individuals may experience discrimination on the basis of two or more of these characteristics simultaneously (Paradies, et al. 2009). The behaviors and practices that result in ethnicity and race-based discrimination, along with the beliefs and prejudices surrounding them can be collectively termed racism. (Kandola 2018) states that racism “is a virus that lingers in organizations because people have internalized racist stereotypes”. Systemic race-based discrimination refers to the way in which the rules, regulations, and norms of an institution can be set up in such a way that they disadvantage certain racial groups whether intended or not (Harrison, 1999). Systematic discrimination that occurs in critical areas such as education and employment can lead to social disadvantage and contribute to intergenerational disadvantage. Systemic discrimination can persist in institutional structures and policies and its use may be unintentional and unrecognizable to those using it (Paradies, et al. 2009). (Hollinsworth, 2006) notes that racism exists as much in our established and respected institutions as in the hearts and minds of those who work in institutional settings. Race-based discrimination can occur on individual, interpersonal, community, and societal levels. Racism at community and societal levels strongly influences workplace structures and practices (Brief, Butz and Deitch, 2005, Di Maggio and Powell, 1983) as well as shaping employer and co-worker attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors (Syed and Pio, 2009).
Racial discrimination in the workplace manifests in different ways. Firstly, many employers recruit applicants by word-of-mouth referrals (Brief, Butz, and Deitch, 2005). Word-of-mouth referrals tend to travel through employees’ social networks and so they tend to produce applicants with similar attributes to those already employed. Thus, they exclude those from racial, ethnic, cultural, or religious minority groups who already face employment disadvantages. With differences in accessing and using job search agencies, these minority groups face discrimination and prejudice (Berman, 2008). In the workplace, race-based discrimination can occur at either the systemic and/or interpersonal levels. At the systemic level, racial discrimination can result in non-recognition of qualifications and underemployment (Berman 2008). This can also cause avoidable and unfair inequalities in job allocation, seniority, role ambiguity, performance evaluation, training, promotion, remuneration, dismissal, resignations, retirement, and absenteeism among the staff of various racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. As a result, there may be a rise in inequalities in satisfaction, involvement, attachment, motivation, commitment, and intention to leave among the staff of these various backgrounds (Paradies, et al. 2009).
At the interpersonal level, discrimination occurs when interactions between people result in avoidable and unfair inequalities across groups. Interpersonal discrimination, both overt and subtle forms takes place in the workplace. Overt forms may include bullying harassment, rudeness, name-calling, exclusion, excessive surveillance, verbal/physical abuse, unfair performance appraisal, and firing biases. In some cases, jokes and teasing can intensify stereotypes and may work to exclude people from social and work activities. However, according to (Loosemore, et al., 2010) humor has been found to act as a form of social glue, by helping to accumulate bridging capital and serving anti-racist purposes by making light of differences and reducing the conflict between groups. In its subtle form, interpersonal discrimination can be positive and well-intentioned behavior. Nevertheless, it can result in inequalities in opportunity, resources, and benefits. In a workplace this may include unrealistically positive feedback, overzealous helping, assigning overly easy tasks, or tokenistic inclusion. Such behavior results in the reduced opportunity to acquire further competence, knowledge, skills, and abilities (Dipboye and Colella, 2005).
Consequently, the existence of negative stereotypes can have a detrimental effect on work performance for people from minority racial, ethnic, cultural, or religious groups. Known as the stereotype threat, this occurs within a situation or activity for which a negative stereotype about one’s group applies. For example, negative stereotypes about certain minority groups having inferior intelligence can lead to poor performance when completing rational activities simply by asking about group identity before the activity. This effect is more pronounced in situations including workplaces where there are only a few individuals from particular racial, ethnic, cultural, or religious groups (Kirnan, et al., 2009). Stereotype threat can lead employees to work harder but less effectively and is most pronounced among highly capable and committed workers (Roberson and Kulik, 2007). The impact of racial discrimination in the workplace can extend to those who may be associated with those members of a racial, ethnic, cultural, or religious group, but are not personally members of the group (Kulik, Bainbridge, and Cregan, 2008).
In a study by the University of Manchester and University College London (Be'cares, Nazroo, and Kelly 2015), the findings showed that racial discrimination is likely to affect the well-being and life aspirations of any individual. Furthermore, this study analyzed the link between experiences of discrimination and family members and found that the impact of racial discrimination on the individual also extends to others such as children and their health and development. A polling study conducted by the Trades Union Congress (2017) shows that Black or minority ethnic (BME) workers face many forms of racism and discrimination such as verbal abuse; racist comments and jokes; bullying and harassment; physical violence; being singled out and treated differently; or discriminated against. Overall, 44% of BME workers who experienced discrimination stated that the experience had a negative effect on their performance at work. The impact of racism was not just limited to their work performance and the workers polled highlighted that racism had an impact on their mental health. For many BME workers, the experience of racism at work made them want to leave their jobs. Nearly half of the workers (46%) who experienced physical violence and assault wanted to leave their jobs but couldn’t due to financial reasons. One BME worker Samantha said that the racism she experienced had made her feel nervous and anxious. Her mental health deteriorated to the extent that she was signed off from work. She told the Trade Union Congress (TUC) that she “felt awful and embarrassed. [She] felt as if [she] was under the spotlight”. Samantha went on to state that it damaged her self-esteem and that the situation should have been handled differently but “the company’s number one goal was to protect themselves and this wasn’t by accident but intentionally. Racism impacted the emotional and psychological well-being of the ethnic minority workers in various ways (Ashe and Nazroo 2015). Employees identified these ways which ranged from feelings of humiliation, ridicule, belittlement, and worthlessness to a loss of confidence. As a result of witnessing the manager’s response to instances and reports of racism, as well as fearing the consequences and repercussions, employees refrained from making reports.
According to the Victorian Health Foundation’s Building on Our Strengths Framework, there are five key ways in which organizations (including workplaces) can play a role in reducing racial discrimination. These include implementing organizational accountability or development; diversity training; resource development and provision; serving as sites for positive inter-group contact, and serving as ‘role models in anti-discrimination and pro-diversity practice for other organizations. Approaches to organizational accountability/ development and diversity training are considered in detail. Specific resources should be developed and provided by workplaces depending on the needs of each organization. Once organizations have developed good practices for supporting diversity and reducing race-based discrimination, they may be in a position to serve as sites for positive inter-group contact and to serve as models for pro-diversity and anti-discrimination.
Organizational accountability involves a “conscious, planned and appropriately resourced process of reform to incorporate non-discrimination across a range of organizational functions” (Paradies, et al., 2009). In the Confronting Prejudiced Responses (CPR) model (Ashburn-Nardo, Morris and Goodwin 2008) (Nelson, et al. 2010), organizational readiness in relation to addressing race-based discrimination may involve several stages. These may include: (1) professional development and training focused on employee understanding or race-based discrimination and inclusive behavior in the workplace, (2) communication by the organization that any kind of racial discrimination is intolerable and unaccepted in the workplace, (3) educating employees on contributing to a work culture that is inclusive and non-discriminatory, (4) educating employees on the words, actions and tactics which should be used to confront racial discrimination and (5) establishing organizational culture and practices that perpetuates action instead on inaction in the face of discrimination.
On the other hand, diversity training programs such as cultural awareness training or information training (Abell, Havelaar and Dankoor, 1997), intercultural, cross-cultural, and multicultural training (Paradies, et al. 2009). This approach is ‘fact-centered’ and is based on the notion that ignorance is the root cause of prejudice. It is thought that most people are fair, but can engage unintentionally in racial discrimination because they are ignorant of minority cultures and the extent/effect of racial discrimination (Abell, Havelaar, and Dankoor 1997). Providing accurate information is seen as one approach to enhancing awareness of inappropriate past behavior, an increased acceptance of those from minority groups, and thus behavior change (Young 1999). Another approach is anti-racism training which seeks to confront prejudice through discussions of past and present racism, prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination in society (McGregor 1993). (Poteat and Spanierman 2008) argue that as a result of their racial identity people from the dominant culture have greater access to resources and the power and position to define rules, norms, and world views. Therefore, anti-racism trainers typically shift their thinking about racism as something individual, malicious over, and exaggerated by people of color to see it as a pervasive reality that we all have a responsibility to address (Miller and Harris 2005).
In any organization, there are sufficient benefits and costs to implementing diversity in the workplace. Diversity in the workplace can reduce lawsuits and increase marketing opportunities, recruitment, creativity, and business image (Etsy, Griffin, and Schorr-Hirsh 1995). Diversity is key to organizational success in an era where flexibility and creativity give a competitive advantage. Some advantages of diversity in the workplace include a high level of productivity, an exchange of various ideas (teamwork), and diverse experience. Increasing productivity in the workplace is a major challenge for many managers and organizations in general. One strategy to increase productivity involves adopting workplace diversity and managing it effectively. If management takes the well-being of its workers into consideration and offers them proper compensation, health care, and employee appraisal, then workers feel that they belong to the organization regardless of their racial or ethnic background and will remain loyal and hardworking which helps to increase productivity. Teamwork has become increasingly prevalent in organizations as a means of ensuring better task outcomes. If a single person undertakes multiple tasks, they cannot perform at the same pace as a team could; therefore, each member brings different ideas and offers different skills, especially during activities that require a short completion time. Employees from diverse backgrounds provide unique perceptions and experiences during teamwork or group tasks. Pooling the diverse skills and knowledge of culturally (including racially and ethnically) diverse employees together can be a benefit due to the strengthening of the responsiveness and productivity of the team to adapt to changing conditions. When each worker’s unique skill is managed effectively and efficiently, it can be used to increase the strength of the organization and decrease its weaknesses.
There are challenges to managing a diverse workforce because it involves recognizing the value of differences, preventing and remedying discrimination, and promoting inclusiveness. Managers may also be challenged with losses in personnel and work productivity due to prejudice and discrimination, complaints and legal actions against the organization (Devoe 1999). Negative attitudes and behaviors can be barriers to organizational diversity because they can harm working relationships, provide discouragement and an overall drop in morale, and can damage work productivity. The negative attitudes and behaviors may include prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination which should not be used by management when hiring, retaining workers, and when terminating. A few disadvantages of include the high cost of diversity management, and myriad accommodation and incorporation issues. In increasing job satisfaction, workplace diversity management can be very costly and if an organization aims to effectively manage a diverse workforce, it undergoes diversity training where all management and employees receive lessons on interaction with employees and clients. When dealing with myriad accommodations trying to accommodate each diverse worker’s request can be difficult to handle for employers, making it difficult to manage diversity. Some employee work constraints such as race and ethnicity, religion, and gender can affect the diversity of the organization if the company has to constantly keep track of accommodating employee needs. It can be increasingly difficult to incorporate into the social environment of the workplace. Forming social groups is an uncontrollable, often natural process, so companies tend to experience some sort of division amongst workers where diverse employees avoid having contact with each other. This situation can eventually reduce the effectiveness of knowledge sharing amongst teams and hence decrease productivity.