The entrenchment of racial segregation
into modern structures is a history that one needs to ponder when one
encounters them, particularly corporations. YouTube an entity of Alphabet Inc.
the parent company of Google is being accused of discriminatory hiring
practices.
Arne Wilberg, a white male former
YouTube recruiter, alleges that the company set quotas for diversity hires
instructed recruiters to throw out the applications of anyone who was not
female, Black, or Hispanic. Google responded to these claims by stating that
they chose applicants by merit but also was attempting to create a company
culture of diversity. Those familiar with Google’s hiring practices agreed with
Wilberg’s claims and stated that there was a freeze on the hiring of White and Asian
technical employees. 91% of Google employees demographically have been White
and Asian since 2014.
Wilberg claims he was fired for
being a white male and reporting this violation of anti-discriminatory hiring
laws. This issue gets at the heart of an issue that many modern corporations
are facing, the entrenchment of racial segregation in jobs requiring high
technicality or education. Modern America is beginning to notice the continued segregation
of these jobs and is demanding that the citizens that supposedly are considered
equal receive equal representation across the workforce.
As
corporations attempt to correct the entrenchment of racial segregation they
fail to account for the historical forces that have gone into shaping it. These
forces have worked to ensure that economic power and opportunity remains with
the white demographic. That this segregation comes from unequal educational opportunities
through economic disparity. The corrections that Corporations are attempting to
make fail to account for the entrenchment of this structure not just in the
corporate world but across people’s lifetimes.
YouTube
faces a tough place in the modern corporate world as they attempt to correct
their lack of diversity without violating anti-discriminatory hiring practices.
I think that we should nationally adopt a policy allowing a cap on White
employees because it is a way to correct the egregious racist practices of the
past and present.
Ultimately,
corporate America needs to find a way to make a diverse labor force across all
areas of employment. They need to address the racial segregationist structures
that have gone into shaping their modern iteration and correct them. Finally,
White employees need to accept the benefits that they have received from this
power structure and accept the move towards equality. I think the quote “when
you’re accustomed to privilege equality feels like oppression” rings true here.
Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/youtube-hiring-for-some-positions-excluded-white-and-asian-males-lawsuit-says-1519948013?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=7
I agree with your stance that companies need to make diversity in the workplace a priority. The call for more diversity in companies such as YouTube, and the push back to this call comes at a moment when the idea of "reverse racism" is a charge word in many white circles. The push for integration in large corporations makes many white men and women anxious because now they are no longer guaranteed a spot on the basis of being white and sufficiently trained. They are now being held the same expectations that black men and women are held to in the hiring process and their own mediocracy is being brought to the forefront. The people protesting policies of diversity are those who benefit from the systematic oppression of others and the lose of all over control is detrimental to their fragile psyche.
ReplyDeleteRight! Britney, you mention white folks starting to get anxious over the lack of a guarantee for jobs. And yet, these same white folks are at a disproportionate advantage due to the institutionalized racism that occurs in education itself. This population is far better equipped than those coming from marginalized communities. These practices to create more diversity are still largely band-aid solutions to the larger problem, are they not? Are big corporations truly committed to diversity? Or are they committed to their image? As a result, these corporations are effectively tokenizing many of their employees of color to an extent.
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