Maria Vs.Discrimination Essay

Gender and racial discrimination are a real and serious issue in American corporate culture. Many women of color struggle to overcome systemic racism as they advance through their company, only be met by the infamous “glass ceiling.” Some instances of discrimination are cut and dry, such as when a person is denied opportunities explicitly on the basis of their gender or race. However, most of the cases in which discrimination is alleged are not so clear. In the case of Maria, it is not immediately apparent whether her company has committed discrimination.
Maria appears to have many desirable qualities as an employee. She is an experienced worker, having been with her company for ten years and in her current position for seven. She is highly educated, holding a graduate degree.
However, Maria is not without flaws. She has been counseled several times for absences and tardiness. Her coworkers and supervisors have judged her to be somewhat difficult to work with, as she can be aggressive and curt. She also has a heavy accent, which can make it difficult to understand her when she speaks rapidly.
Maria is competing with her colleague, Alex, for a more senior position. Like Maria, Alex holds a graduate degree. However, he has been with the company for much less time than Maria has. His supervisors nonetheless believe him to show considerable promise. What he lacks in experience, he makes up in ambition and resourcefulness.
Maria was ultimately passed over for the position. She says that she was told that, due to her heavy accent, she lacks the clear speaking skills necessary for communicating with clients. Maria claims this is discrimination.
There are some situations where the provisions of Title VII are directly applicable. For example, consider a situation in which the manager of a department store refuses to hire a black person as a sales representative. The manager thinks that, since the store is in a predominantly white neighborhood, a black sales representative will scare away customers. This is a clear case of discrimination in violation of Title VII. The manager has broken the law, and he and the company can be sued for violating the employee's constitutional rights.
This may or may not be a situation in which Maria's Title VII rights are being violated. Her manager has stated that the reason she has been passed over for the position was not due to her race or gender, but due to her accent. Does Title VII protect workers with heavy accents from discrimination? But it's not just her accent itself that makes Maria hard to understand. It was also noted that Maria tends to speak rapidly, which can make it difficult to understand her. In a position that involves direct communication with the company's clients, the company will naturally want an employee who can enunciate words clearly and who does not mumble or slur. If the position involves frequent communication over the phone, clear enunciation becomes even more important. The company will want one of their most articulate and well-spoken employees to fit the bill.
It is possible that Maria was passed over for the position not because of her race or gender, but because of her inability to communicate clearly and professionally. However, let us not dismiss her claim outright. She is the only woman and the only person of color in her department. It is very possible that the racism and sexism she suspects from her coworkers is real and not imagined. She may experience subtle, rather than overt, discrimination by her coworkers and supervisors. Many women who work in male-dominated fields report experiences of subtle sexism. Institutional racism and sexism are similarly entrenched in the corporate attitudes of many companies throughout the United States. It is very difficult to overcome these types of systemic bias because they have been around for so long. It may be that Maria's coworkers are being racist and sexist without even consciously realizing it.
For example, Maria's behavior in the office is described as “loud” and “aggressive,” though she is also “a good employee.” Loudness and aggression are often seen as undesirable traits in women. Women are “meant” to be quiet, submissive, and demure. Women who are not these things may be seen as brusque and unfriendly. Perhaps Maria is not quiet or submissive. Maybe she speaks her mind, even when her opinions go against the status quo, and this has earned her a reputation as being aggressive. Maybe she stands up for herself and doesn't allow other people to treat her as a door mat, and this trait is interpreted as hostility by her coworkers. Perhaps what is described in Maria as loudness and aggressiveness would be described in her male counterpart as confidence and self-assurance (Childs).
As a Hispanic woman, Maria has to overcome both institutional sexism and institutional racism. We do not know what Maria's experiences with the company over the last ten years have been like. She may have had to work very hard to prove that she is competent at the tasks for which her male coworkers are assumed to be competent. She may have endured sexual harassment in the workplace or been the butt of racist jokes (Facts about race/color discrimination).
In defending the decision to pass Maria over for a promotion, her supervisors bring up the fact that she has been counseled twice for tardiness and once for absence. That is three disciplinary actions over the course of ten years. This does not seem like a significant issue or one that has dramatically affected her work performance.
Perhaps, as she claims, Maria's lower evaluations are the result of a built-in bias on the part of her white male supervisors. It is possible that her supervisors and coworkers hold subtly racist and sexist attitudes. It is also possible that her supervisors legitimately believe that she does not have the required communication skills that would make her fit for promotion. It is, in fact, possible for both things to be true at the same time.
Maria cannot assert a claim of discrimination without proof. Her company is within its rights to pass over her for promotion in favor of a candidate they believe to hold higher qualifications. There appears to be no direct evidence that discrimination has taken place. However, this does not mean that Maria should not be believed when she says that she has been treated unfairly. It is highly likely that she is speaking the truth, and that the racism and sexism she perceives are real. Unfortunately for Maria, she is alone in her camp. There are no other women or persons of color in Maria's department who have had similar experiences or who can attest to the veracity of her claims. The Title VII provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act may not be of much help to Maria here. Title VII makes no explicit mention of discrimination on the basis of accent, and it will be difficult to prove a link between discrimination on the basis of accent and discrimination on the basis of race.
Maria's managers may have made the wrong decision in telling her that it was because of her accent that she was not promoted. That may have been their way of putting her down lightly. By telling her that she was passed over due to a trait she cannot reasonably change, rather than actually offering constructive criticism, her managers probably hoped to weasel their way out of a confrontation with Maria. It seems their plans have backfired. It should have been stressed that the issue was not with her accent, but with her ability to enunciate and speak slowly. The importance of clear and direct communication should have been made clear. Explicit reasons should have been given as to her denial of promotion. For example, they should have told Maria directly that she is difficult to understand when she speaks too quickly. This way, she could act upon their suggestions and learn to improve her speech.
There are a couple of things that Maria's company can do in order to avoid situations like this in the future. Her company might benefit from offering mandatory racial sensitivity training. This would help them become aware of individual and structural discrimination. These barriers help to create social inequalities which in turn contribute to an oppressive environment.
Maria, as the sole minority, felt the effects of racial and sexual inequality that her majority coworkers have no familiarity with. An HR presence in the workplace would help Maria by giving her a place to voice her concerns. A human resources manager will help mediate disputes within the organization and define appropriate workplace behavior. He or she will also attempt to resolve matters that involve disrespectful conduct.
Maria's company will also benefit from increasing workplace diversity. Hiring more women and more people of color will help to create a more inclusive and friendly environment. Diversity encompasses not only race and gender, but also age, personality, sexual orientation, education, and religious affiliation. Diversity in the workplace has been shown to increase collaboration and productivity (Harvey & Allard). A diverse workplace is represented by a wider variety of viewpoints, skills, and experiences, and these attributes work together to supply a better variety of solutions to problems. This is what makes a diverse organization more adaptable to challenges.
Maria's managers should be advised to be more direct in their criticisms of their employees. Direct and constructive criticism will benefit employees by giving them new perspective and valuable insight. Instead of telling Maria that she was denied promotion because her accent was hard to understand, they should have told her that she is difficult to understand because she speaks to quickly and does not take the time to articulate words clearly. This way, she can actually work to improve her elocution. Telling her that her accent is hard to understand does not give her anything to work with or improve upon.
Every company should take measures to avoid alienating their minority employees. Each company should strive to create a friendly and inclusive environment for their workers. Maria may not have been overtly discriminated against, but she may have experienced other, subtler forms of prejudice from her supervisors and coworkers. It is the responsibility of each company to make sure their employees are reasonably protected from prejudicial attitudes, and that they are provided with a means to report instances of racism or sexism so that the appropriate corrective measures can be taken.

References

Facts About Race/Color Discrimination. (2008, September 8). Retrieved from Http:// www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/fs-race.cfm
Harvey, C., & Allard, M. J. (2011). Understanding and Managing Diversity, 5th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://devry.vitalsource.com/books/ 9781269562744/id/ch02exh01
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Retrieved from www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/titlevii.cfm.
Childs, Sheena. (2012). Gender discrimination in the workplace. State University of New York Empire State College. Retrieved from http://gradworks.umi.com/15/07/1507005.html.