Monica Harwell finally began a program that would let her live her dream of having a job outdoors. She trained at Con Edison, learning to climb utility poles and learning electrical training. Not only was she one of the first women on her team, she was also the only black person in a group of white males. However, she said that people started making bets on her about how long she would make it. She eventually had to file a formal complaint. In a recent poll, over 50% of blacks and hispanics say that discrimination is still an eminent problem in our world today. Even with experience, however, discrimination, especially at the workplace, can be very hard to prove. Harwell claims that she had to urinate in the woods because there were no bathrooms for women and she also claims that she was called "that bitch" or "that girl." She was denied promotions and the successor was always a white male. Con Ed said in a statement that they were "committed to maintaining a workforce that promotes diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity." Most employers never admit to discrimination issues, but instead criticizing an employee's performance. Work environments need to be more direct and forceful with the issue.
Reading this article makes me realize how little the people in our world have changed since pre-Civil War times. Even way before the Civil War, around the Antebellum Era, women were treated as property or decoration. People would always assume that women were weak and stupid and that they couldn't do anything compared to men. When women started becoming more prominent in societies, getting the same jobs as men and going to school, we all thought that discrimination against women was over. However, the situation described in this article just shows how these problems still exist in our society. That needs to change.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/25/news/economy/racial-discrimination-work/index.html
This article just shows how prevalent privilege is in our culture. I also think it's sad how a group of kids, are starting to realize and want to correct the racial and gender issues while the generation that came before us is just continuing to ignore the facts, instead of making changes.
ReplyDeleteIt is very upsetting that people are still discriminated for who they are, but it happens all of the time. I'm glad that she spoke up about it, but I also wish that the co workers that discriminated against her would confess to it and tell the truth.
ReplyDelete-Isabella Montague 5th period