According to researchers Frances Maher and Mary Kay Tetreault, “Privilege, in its root meaning, pertains to a law--in this case often silent and unseen--that works for or against individuals and groups” (2009). In other words, although privilege is not an object, it is real. Privilege has been demonstrated in various forms of inequality and prejudice all throughout the United States’ history. From not allowing all races to become citizens of the U.S. prior to the Fourteenth Amendment to controlling who got to vote, privilege continues to impact societies. Currently, racial privilege has had a large effect on young adults, such as those in the workforce. Here, privilege negatively affects young people by limiting their hiring opportunities, …show more content…
“One reason for the growing interest in work group diversity is that with the increased use of work groups in organizations, it has become more important how team member characteristics, such as age, gender, race […] affect team functioning and why” (Harrison and Klein, as cited in Van Dijk, H., & Van Engen, M. L., 2013). While some researchers have gathered information on the positive effects of diminishing privilege and increasing diversity, others are searching for the opposite. Researchers Kokkonen, Esaiasson, and Gilljam claim that ethnic diversity decreases the social trust in groups that work together. Social trust is how well a group works together, at a job for example, and how comfortable they each feel sharing their individual thoughts ideas with one another. Although the concept of social trust can be applied anywhere, its effects in the workplace vary because it depends on the status of the individuals and the area of work that is being analyzed. “In contrast to neighborhoods, workplaces are social units where exposure to diversity […] often results in intergroup contacts regardless of personal preferences for such contacts” (Van Dijk, et. al., 2013). In other words, employees do not typically have the freedom to choose where they prefer to work or with whom. This would increase the negative …show more content…
Decreasing the disparity among whites and people of color eventually leads to higher productivity, stronger work ethic, and better team functioning. “Diversity enhances and affects group performance in diverse teams” (Van Dijk, et. al., 2013). As stated by researchers Winfred Arthur, Jr. and Dennis Doverspike, to have a diverse and successful working environment, employers and business leaders should work on limiting the role they play in privilege and accept more applicants from minority backgrounds (2005). According to researchers at the Texas A&M University and the University of
In conversations many people get defensive when someone says, “You have this because of your privilege” they feel as though that the person they are talking with doesn’t understand that they have worked hard for what they have, however that is not the point that anyone is trying to make. What someone in that position is saying is that although you have worked hard to get where you are your journey have been well furnished with privilege on account of your race. It is said to think about that you got somewhere in life due to the color of your skin, but it is also sadder to think that someone got declined a job, got stereotyped, or got overlooked because of their race or
When I read “Checking My Privilege” written by Tal Fortgang, a freshman at Princeton University, it made me stop and think. What does privilege mean, how should it be used and does it affect me and my life? Fortgang never really states the exact meaning of the word privilege but goes on to complain about the mistreatment of the word and how it is a form of reverse racism; could that be true, I wondered? However, he also claims that privileges do not exist based on race or gender, and that is something I do not agree with. I imagine many people will not agree with his stance on the word privilege or mine, as a matter of fact. Mainly because the word privilege has a different
It sometimes give “the perception of ‘token appointments’ [of individuals] who could not be hired or promoted on performance ability alone” (Von Bergen, Soper, & Foster, 2002, p. 242). It can also create more discrimination in the form of reverse discrimination where those formerly believed to be discriminators are now unfairly victimized because of the color of their skin. Diversity training can sometimes be demoralizing and reinforces stereotypes when trainers resort to emphasizing differences that elicits anger and divisiveness (Von Bergen, Soper, & Foster, 2002, p. 245). Businesses can find their legal liabilities have increased when “unorthodox training techniques invade employee privacy and humiliate individuals in front of their co-workers” (Von Bergen, Soper, & Foster, 2002). According to Choi’s research “individuals in diverse groups tend to fell less safe and to trust each other less. Lower trust is more likely to lead to higher conflicts within groups” (Choi, 2008, p.
White privilege is a term used to refer to societal privileges granted to people identified as white in western countries. These privileges are beyond what is experienced by non-white or people of color living under the same economic, political and social environments. These privileges could be obvious or less obvious that white people may not realize they have. These include cultural affirmations of one 's own worth, presumed greater social status, and the freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely (McIntosh, 1990). The effects of these privileges can also be seen in personal, educational and professional contexts. In both Tim Wise’s, ‘White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son’ and Ta-Nehisi
Cañas, K. A. & Sondak, H. (2011). Opportunities and challenged for workplace diversity: Theory, cases, and exercises. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Through reading this paper you will learn about the key points from the article, A Social Worker’s Reflection on Power, Privilege, and Oppression written by Michael S. Spencer and the article White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh. Then the paper will include my personal beliefs on the topic of privilege and even some of my own personal privilege that are in my knapsack and that have helped me along my way in life. Finally, There will also be a point in the paper where I will have the ability to informed you about how privilege affect people and how they can positively affect people who do not receive them. Privileges impacts many groups of people in many different ways. They can be effected by
Diversity is a composite of racial, gender, ethnic, nation origin, cultural, attitudinal, social-economic, and personal differences. With the many legal implications and issues surrounding every aspect of the Human Resource function, the human Resource department must be prepared to resolve issues in a timely and cost efficient manner. With the saturation of laws surrounding personnel, nearly every decision made by the Human Resource Department has the potential for legal suits. Even if the Human Resource department has done everything that is required of them, it can still be costly to defend it. That is why supervisors, managers and workers must be trained on managing diversity in the workplace.
Both authors have recognized the fundamental structures behind privilege –specifically white privilege in America. Their purpose and that of many civil right activists of our era is to bring awareness to those who are in positions of privilege to bring change that fosters the spirit of inclusion, reform and progression into America’s social and mainstream environments.
People want to be hired and work for companies where they know their skills are needed and they feel important. They do not want to be hired based on their gender, race or ethnicity. When an organization increases their diversity, they are able to enhance positive effects within their job. Diversity never needs to be looked at in a negative way, because no one wants to be put in a group just to meet a quota. People want to be put inside of groups because others want to include them and they feel their peers will respect their differences. When employees are not included they feel dissatisfied with their job which leads to conflict, miscommunication and eventually leads to
Privileges are things that a person receives that gives them an advantage over most people (Merriam-Webster). These are benefits that only certain people receive for being in a certain group or discourse. Peggy McIntosh, director of the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, wrote “White Privilege and Male Privilege” and states “I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privileges, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege” (605). She argues that whites and males receive certain privileges, yet they do not even notice them. This shows that different races and women are still put at a disadvantage, but the people who receive the benefits are blind to the problem.
To understand systems of privilege,I though it was important to first clarify and define privilege. According to the Cambridge dictionary, privilege is a “special advantage or authority possessed by a particular person or group”.Wildman and Davis go beyond this simplistic definition and examine how the characteristics of a privileged group definesocietal norms, benefiting those within the privileged group and disenfranchising those outside of it. They expand on these ideas and explain how the normalization of privilege inherently declaresthose whostand outside these normsas “abnormal” or “alternative”, and how this normalization makes these privileges seem almost invisible. Yet, these systems of privilege do exist and are palpable. For those who posses them it might be difficult to visualize and see them because to them they are “…merely there, [as] part of the world, a way of life, simply the way things are”(100). However, these systems of privilege can be made visible, and must be made visible to address issues of systematic oppression within our society.
Diversity is a highly important issue in today’s business, especially in a globalized company. Workplace diversity helps to get better solutions to business problems (Schawbel, 2012). When you have a group of individ...
Companies such as Buzztronics are leading the way in the global economy because of their dedication to diversity in the workplace. In order to build a diverse and successful workforce, a business needs to recruit, train, and retain capable and talented minorities.
In a world that has grown increasingly smaller due to mass media, world travel, and readily available information, the workplace has grown increasingly diverse in both gender and cultural aspects. Individuals no longer live and work within the confines of their geographic locations. At almost any position with any company the individual employee is a part of a larger world economy that harvests assets from the ends of the earth. Because of this, companies seek to capitalize on diversity to become more creative and flexible in their business models.
The impact of diversity in the workplace is contingent upon several factors. Across companies diversified workforces are becoming increasingly common. To successfully manage a diverse workforce, organizations are ensuring that employees understand how their values and stereotypes influence their behavior toward others of different gender, ethnic, racial, or religious backgrounds; are gaining an appreciation of cultural differences among themselves; and behaviors that isolate or intimidate minorities are being improved (Noe et al., 2010, pg. 302).