Experts warn that workplace discrimination isn’t as obvious as it used to be. While this is good on some fronts — officials have passed laws to reduce discrimination, and they’ve had an effect — that doesn’t mean the discrimination has entirely ended.
In a lot of cases, it’s just more subtle now. It still exists. Here are a few examples to help you see if you’re facing discrimination.
1. Fake job titles.
You want a promotion, and you deserve it. You get one, and it comes with a nice new title, but your job itself doesn’t change. You’re not given more responsibilities, you don’t have more opportunities, and the company doesn’t trust you more than it did before. Were you given a fake title to appease you when you aren’t really advancing?
2. Barriers to entry.
You have trouble landing a job, despite your education and experience. You may get tired of doing three rounds of interviews, only to be told that they’re sorry, but they’re going in another direction. This is more subtle than in the past, when they may have even posted a sign telling you not to apply based on your race or gender, but the end result is the same: You don’t have a job. You start to wonder if race, gender, age or other protected classes are factoring in.
2. Similar barriers to advancement.
Advancement isn’t easy. It doesn’t come instantly, and you do have to put in hard work. However, do you feel like there are barriers to you that other workers don’t face? Maybe you always seem to come in second when going for a promotion. The company acts like they like your work and strongly considered you, but, after a while, you start to wonder if they’re really considering you at all.
4. No diversity focus.
Experts warn that the best companies will have an active focus on diversity, perhaps even creating groups to highlight it within the company, so a corporation that doesn’t do so could be one that doesn’t really embrace that diversity. This reflects on the company culture. If you run into other problems — like not getting promotions you know you deserve — the real reason could be that the company culture has never been open to diversity.
When you start to experience discrimination, it’s important to take notes and keep a log of all of the events. This way, you can point back to this in the future and paint an accurate picture of the company culture and the workplace environment, without forgetting anything.
Remember, discrimination has changed over the years. Don’t mistake that with it coming to an end. Be aware of how it can still impact modern workers in Missouri.
