Pervasive Corporate Workplace Discrimination
Marty Nemko, who works as a career counseling in Oakland, CA, writes of today’s workplace: “The rule seems to be: discriminate–as long as the ones being discriminated against are white males.”
This is so true. Corporate America has in place a vast system of affirmative action that is targeted at lifting women and minorities at the expense of white males. The trick is to spread the pain of discrimination around so broadly and subtly that it is hard to prove exactly which white male, and when, was discriminated against.
Middle level managers are told that part of their job performance will be based on how well they nurture and promote women and minorities. This means they are being pressured to promote white males less frequently. Because these decisions rest in the heads of managers, it is impossible to pinpoint exactly which white males are overlooked for promotions. But at the higher levels of management they can see that more women and minorities are getting promoted, so they are happy. The fact that this must mean that white males are promoted less just doesn’t matter.
Top managers at corporations claim that they are doing these affirmative action programs to make their companies more competitive. Diversity, they say, gives a competitive advantage. This is a mantra today among America’s top executives taught to them by activist-technocrats that preach the virtues of diversity. I have nothing against diversity in the workplace - but the idea that diversity must be forced by discriminating against white males to make the company stronger - well that should be examined. For example, the most economically successful countries in the world are extremely non-diverse. Look at Japan and South Korea. They are models of non-diversity, and they have built incredibly competitive economies. Look at Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Norway. These Scandinavian countries are some of the most economically successful in the world, and they are very non-diverse.
It seems that the idea of affirmative action being needed to attain diversity which magically leads to a stronger company has no general basis. Sure, exceptions can be found. If your company sells a lot of products to women, then having a higher percentage of women promoted might make sense. The same could be said of minorities. But even this can be challenged. Who is to say that a company run mainly by Scandinavians could not make products, or provide services, that say American blacks prefer over products from a diverse American company?
When I ride on Asian airlines I am amazed how much better the service is compared to American-run airlines. I would gladly give my business to the companies run by Asians, rather than a US company. The same is true of hotels in Asia. Thus, being served by my own kind (Americans, whites, whatever) is not a big factor in my decisions as a consumer.
Marty Nemko sees the impact first hand of corporate discrimination:
We are constantly urged to make greater efforts to improve the lot of women and African-Americans. Yet it seems fairer at this point in American history to make greater efforts to improve the lot of white males.
I can hear you laughing. After all, most CEOs and political leaders are white males. But when you leave that top 0.1%, things look different.
I have career counseled almost 2,000 people, and unless they’re stars, my white male clients have a tougher time getting hired than do women and minorities.
We accept as gospel the widely-reported statistic that women earn 77 cents on the dollar. Fact is, according to research by Dr. Warren Farrell, when all variables are controlled for: for example, actual hours worked, experience, work hazards, commute distance, and performance evaluations, for the same work, women earn more than men.
Yet white males continue to see more and more efforts to help everyone except white males:
Employers often practice reverse discrimination, if only because they fear the EEOC will count noses. And when there’s a downsizing, employers resist firing women and minorities, knowing that many of them would file a wrongful termination suit.
One last point. While executives do worry about discrimination lawsuits, they also fully buy into the “diversity makes a stronger company” idea. They are told that it is just so right to believe this, that it must be true.
So white males - get out of the way.
