StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
An essay "Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights" claims that black women face numerous challenges when it comes to rising to higher positions. The historical situation has not changed and the challenges continue to be witnessed. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.6% of users find it useful
Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights"

Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights There is under-representation of women in management levels and professional positions (Jackson & O’Callaghan 1). Black women face many barriers to the conversion from low-paid jobs to high-wage jobs. Overall, black women earn less than the other groups, and this makes the majority of them poor, compared to other racial groups. A Black woman has to deal with multiple forms of oppression and discrimination before she arrives at her destination. Black women especially of African American race face numerous challenges when it comes to rising to higher positions. The historical situation has not changed and the challenges that were present in the past decades continue to be witnessed. The job market continues to be hostile to black women especially those who are currently graduating. Workplace is one of the places that black women are faced with discrimination and oppressions of the highest order. Black women are less likely to advance or employed to high-ranking jobs because they are still discriminated against in today's workplace. Intersectionality intends to expose multiple identities and reveal the different types of discrimination that black women are subjected to in the workplaces. The main aim is to argue that racism and gender create inequalities that structure the relative positions of black women. The combination of different identities poses a very difficult challenge for black women in the job market. Due to their multiple identities (black and female), these women are pushed to the extreme margins and experience in workplaces. These identities have a point of intersection or overlapping points. Many black women continue to experience discrimination when it comes to promotions because of the intersection of their identities (female and black). The intersections of these identities continue to place black women in the position of vulnerability. Although black women have gained entry into much of the workforce, inequalities continue to dominate in job advancement and wages. According to previous studies (Jackson & O’Callaghan 1), women and especially women of color continue to face discrimination in managerial and professional settings. This study reviews other studies that not only document discriminatory experiences in the workplace but also significant gaps in earnings and other artificial ‘ceilings’ that limit black women from advancing to higher positions in the organizations. The slow movement of black women into the higher level positions is one of the glass-ceilings, and it is common in today’s workplaces. Biased perceptions and stereotyping are influencing the promotion potential assessment processes and in such assessments, black women find themselves very disadvantaged. In 2013, only 4 percent of Fortune 500 firms were found to be headed by women; this being an indication that progress in this area is very slow considering the number of women in the population. In intersectionality, gender is not the only analytic category. Race and class have also been major players in intersectionality. Therefore, this paper argues that intersectionality in black women job placement circles, three factors intersect with each other to contribute to discrimination and oppression – racism, sexism, and classism. There is a link between sexism and other forms of oppression. Black women face many problems as ‘Black women’; as ‘gendered women’; and as ‘low-class women’. However, an activist group that seeks to address the issues of intersectionality must establish a connection between the three categories. One of the reasons that have enabled BWFJ to champion the equal rights for black women is because it recognizes class, racial, ethnic, sexuality and gender subordination. One case in point is Shirley Venable’s who was unjustly dismissed from her job in mid-2011. Shirley had worked for ten years as a veteran female sanitation truck driver for the City of Raleigh until her ex-husband stabbed her. Upon returning to work, she was ridiculed by her supervisors and fellow worker, and finally she was fired for allegedly threatening her supervisor. Together with United Electrical Workers, BWFJ has made Appeals to have Shirley Venable returned to her job. BWFJ has expended its advocacy efforts on issues that affect intersectionally disadvantaged women of their constituencies. BWFJ highly opposes the inequality and oppression vented on black women in the workplaces. As a result, it pledges total commitment to the struggle for equality within the workplaces, trade unions, political and community institutions. They view that, a better understanding and addressing the issues of intersectionality can be an integral part of the struggle to transform the situation. The national oppression of black people in the U.S. South makes the workers from this region the most exploited in the U.S. BWFJ bases its trade union on the notion of the centrality of the Black women proletariat. BWFJ opposes the inequality and oppression of women. The group fights for democratic rights and equality of all races, nationalities and sexes. BWFJ addresses case similar to Kmart. Kmart lacked respect for humanity of workers, and this disrespect was grounded in Kmart’s white management’s assumption of racial superiority. The Union’s campaign has made successful attempts over the years to make the black race visible. However, despite extensive campaign initiatives, discrimination of black women continues to be evident with black women being discriminated when it comes to occupying high executive positions. There are so few women in higher ranks within the organizations. Forbes observes that in the Fortune 500 CEOs, only 1 percent is black and among that number only 4 percent are women (www.forbes.com). Such evidence indicates the magnitude of the problem in today’s organizations. Forbes report argues that the needle has not moved regarding the representation of black women in the senior ranks. Organizations are full of glass ceilings that prevent black women to rise to higher positions. This is happening because the organizations continue to downplay the aspects of one’s identity. The same old notion concerning women still exists. The notion that black women shy away from discussing their role still exists. Many organizations have laid down policies of racial inclusion; however, they remain passive in the face of common culture. For example, black women may feel that they must straighten their hair or are not supposed to associate with each other. It appears that organizations do not exert any significant effort when it comes to sidelining black women in workplaces. They discriminate without any effort. In other organizations, black women managers possess neither race or gender privilege nor positional status. Theirs can only be described as a “corporate ghetto” where the only responsibility they are assigned only relates to diversity. In 2006, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that among the black women, more than 3 million women work in education and health service industry, more than 900,000 in wholesale and retail trade, and 677,000 in the hospitality and leisure industry (www.bls.gov). Regressive trends are being observed in the United States since Obama won the Presidential elections in 2008. BWFJ’s body People’s Assemblies has made great strides in advocating support of Machinist Union workers who went on an extended strike in defense of their wages and benefits. BWFJ calls African American workers to self-organize in order to empower themselves at the workplace, in communities and the entire U.S. society. Many unions have shied away from the battlefield, but BWFJ is a labor organization that has been involved with pursuance of unity of all oppressed groups. BWFJ challenges the historical legacy of white workers in all industries, mobilizing workers to strike demanding for promotion of black workers to production jobs. The group also organizes women-led campaigns and other anti-oppression leadership development activities. In exploring social identities and statuses, it is important to recognize that individuals are often assigned to various social groups, without the option of self-definition. As such, the power of self-definition for black women cannot be overstated. An examination of the salient aspects of cultural identity for a black woman is necessary to understand how she has defined herself and been defined based on social group memberships. The long-term consequences of racial and gender discrimination in the working places have resulted in misdiagnoses and pathologizing of culturally diverse groups. Such cases have escalated due to reliance on prevailing stereotypes and social myths. In order to counter this cultural and gender malpractice, BWFJ has had a change of perspective. The group has shifted the center so that previously held knowledge that was based on exclusionary paradigms can be reconstructed and used to understand the issues at hand. There are visible African American women’s intersectional experiences with race and gender. Some groups articulate these issues whereas others do not. BWJF advocacy for the workers to withhold their labor is one of the ways it is contributing to the elimination of oppression, domination, and discrimination. In advocating re-employment of Shirley Venable, WBFJ argues that Shirley was discriminated because she is a woman and because she is black. If Shirley were a man, maybe she could not have been subjected to ridicule and teasing by her workmates. If Shirley were a man, maybe she could not have been subjected to ridicule. The intersectionality of race and gender may have worsened Shirley Venable’s case. In the article “Black women experience discrimination in a manner that is different from those experienced by white women and black men. Despite concerted efforts by such groups discrimination against black women in the work place continues to be rampant. Black women are less likely to advance or employed to high-ranking jobs because they are still discriminated against in today's workplace. Works Cited Cox, Kiana. Visible But Out of Place: Black Women and Gender in Assessment of African American Inequality. n.p. n.d. 1 March. 2015. Forbes. Why so few women and minorities at the top? Here’s the real reason. 2013. Web. Accessed http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorieclark/2013/09/03/why-so-few-women-and-minorities-at-the-top-heres-the-real-reason/ Jackson, Jerlando & Callaghan, Elizabeth. The Glass Ceiling: A Misunderstood Form of Discrimination. Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2005. Web U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment and earnings. Current population survey. 2006. Accessed from http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsa2005.pdf Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights Essay”, n.d.)
Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1680692-black-women-are-less-likely-to-get-the-better-job-because-they-are-still-discriminated-against-in-today
(Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights Essay)
Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights Essay. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1680692-black-women-are-less-likely-to-get-the-better-job-because-they-are-still-discriminated-against-in-today.
“Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1680692-black-women-are-less-likely-to-get-the-better-job-because-they-are-still-discriminated-against-in-today.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Social Protest: Intersectionality and Black Women Employment Rights

Intersectionality Theory

women are socialized into believing that they are inferior to men and that their place is in the kitchen although in recent years women have been absorbed in the workplace but still they are engaged in the service sector which is lowly paid.... A black woman is considered inferior to a white woman hence even if one is educated; she still suffers oppression due to race ethnicity.... For example, one may be regarded as a black African female from a middle or low social class and a lesbian....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Race and Intersectionality

Stripping away a baby is like stripping a mother all her motherly rights.... The present research has identified that racism affects women in some way compared to men, and gender discrimination, on the other hand, affects women very much.... hellip; The conclusion from this study states that as much as racism and gender discrimination is concerned, women are most affected by both.... For example, as highlighted by Harjo, women are mistreated in the hospitals and their children were taken away....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights

The paper 'Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment rights' focuses on Federal Legislation which requires employees to grant reemployment rights to employees who have served in the military dates back to World War II.... Which Employees are entitled to reemployment RightsReemployment rights extend to employees who have been absent from their civilian jobs by reason of service in the uniformed services.... Thus, after five cumulative years have passed, there is no need to offer reemployment rights....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment

Chinese Women in a Globalized Economy

This paper talks about The Chinese traditional society regarded women as second class citizens who did not have the rights and freedoms that were enjoyed by men.... It is not until 1949 that women began enjoying their rights.... According to Chatterjee (2003), the societal structures were modelled in a manner that placed women in an inferior position with a minor role of taking care of children and in-laws.... women were regarded as ‘passive and unambitious' and hence were considered to be of no value to economic development in China....
7 Pages (1750 words) Assignment

Issue of Womens Rights

Fighting Chance: The Struggle Over Woman Suffrage and black Suffrage in Reconstruction America.... Jones argues her case against the idea of votes for women, her argument fails to disapprove the need for votes for women as discussed by Senator Owen and these identify Owen's story as the better one. Senator Owen argues Women's rights The two stories address the issue of women's rights and their roles in the society.... rom the two stories, one can conclude that the story by Senator Owen makes a better case for women rights and is based on evidence....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Amearican Pop Cultures and Politics from 1940 to Present ( short questions)

“Music's utopians potential”, suggests the concept that music can help convey ideas During the formal political protest of 1950-1970, audiotopia music was used to make an awakening call to Americans to oppose bad governance and fight for more civil rights and liberty.... In this case, culture politics basically defines the role of culture in defining economic, social and political lives of the people.... moral panic is the term used to express a strong feeling of fear among the population that the social and moral orientation of their culture is being threatened....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Concept of Intersectionality Basing on the Work of Jordan-Zachery

Since then, different feminist scholars hailing from different disciplines have approved of intersectionality and studied it in different contexts.... From this essay, it is possible for one to understand the concept of intersectionality and whether or not this concept will remain relevant in the future.... nbsp; Since the term's coining in 1989, the main goal of this concept was to provide redress to situation whereby the experiences and struggles of women of colour were categorized under the feminist and anti-racist discourse....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

The Place of Women in Australian Families Has Changed Significantly in the Last 50 Years

In many countries, although it is a modern era where there has been increased advocacy for human and women's rights, women are still underestimated, in contrast to the treatment of men.... According to the Australian Bureau of statistics women, the employment pattern has changed significantly over the last 25 years (from 40% in 1979 to 53% to 63% in 2004).... The socially assigned family duties to women are attributed to the male's decision to dominate them in politics, education, social spheres, economic empowerment, and employment (Lindsay & Dempsey, 2009, p....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us