Mellie Garcia
Ms. Kacvinsky
AP Lang
13 April 2018
African American women in today’s society should be given more opportunities for jobs
in order to compensate for the racial prejudice and underestimation dealt with on a day to day
basis. Black women in America shouldn’t be stripped of the value they hold as a whole when
white Americans don’t get that same treatment. To be punished simply for having a different
color of skin is a problem dealt with daily as African American women continue to be oppressed
by the majority. Ever since the Great Recession, college-educated black women (and men) are
being given less employment opportunities full-time. It is not a reach to claim that black women
in today’s society have to work twice as hard to be accepted as an equal in the workforce and
even then, there’s always doubt in their capabilities. Opportunities for jobs and a higher
education should be presented to African American women during high school. Public schools
especially should be more informative during the college application process to students of color
when it comes to minority scholarships. The students should be well aware of the things they can
apply for when they are part of the minority and teachers should encourage the students to apply
so that they can then have a better chance of getting jobs when coming out of highschool or
college Even if society can’t be changed to be less discriminatory or more accepting, women of
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color can still become more aware of what they can get in order to make a change and perhaps
Modern discrimination
Minorities often have a hard time trying to avoid discrimination because of the racism
and stereotypes that still exist today. Some don’t even realize that they are stereotyping others,
people such as the majority. This stereotype that African Americans are predisposed to crime
allows the majority to justify the racist views they hold against others. This old-fashioned
concept of social Darwinism must be invalidated as we progress further to eliminate all traces of
these outdated beliefs. The theory that “human groups and races are subject to the same laws of
natural selection” (Britannica) is an idea that has lingered into the 20th century despite claims
that there has been a decline due to the “expanded knowledge of biological, social, and cultural
phenomena.” (Britannica) The real question is, how many white Americans actually understand
that there is more to a person than the color of their skin? How many Americans actually care to
understand that there is more to a person behind the color they are wearing, that there is a
beautiful culture behind the face they are discriminating against and maybe if they weren’t so
busy fearing that culture, they could come to love it. The color of one’s skin shouldn’t be
associated with their level of competence and ability to do a job. More job openings should be
created to allow African American women to get one foot into the door and then start walking on
their own. Even the smallest businesses or startup companies should consider making the
environment welcoming and encourage a place of diversity. Businesses need to show that they
are open to diversity to stop the cycle of black women being discouraged because they believe
Many African American women in the workplace deal with discrimination, but it is not
only limited to direct racial slurs and subtle wage discrimination. Many times, women are
sexually harassed by men who believe flirting while including their race should be taken as a
compliment. When comments are made about women of color regarding their skin tone, it is not
flattering but rather biased and hurtful. This is another thing that African American women have
to deal with when working, they have to deal with potentially being fetishized by men who are
uneducated on how to not be offensive. This behavior can be dated back to the colonial era when
“pseudo-scientific investigation suggested the subhuman and inferior sexual nature of black
people.” (Holmes) So-called studies would claim that black people were scientifically ‘“less”
evolved than white Europeans.”’ while justifying the dehumanization of the entire race,
specifically about abuse towards black women. Even Thomas Jefferson implies that black
women have this hyper-sexualized nature and sexual capacity which would justify the rape
culture standard he set. (Holmes) As outrageous as these claims sound, this is still the mindset
being held in society. These women are being discouraged from working because of these factors
African American women in particular are faced with a double minority standard due to
being both black and female. The majority lacks the ability to understand what it’s like to live as
a minority, much less a double minority. Never having to face discrimination and racial
profiling, the majority has become accustomed to the privilege they have been granted yet still
fail to acknowledge this advantage. These societal privileges include making biased decisions
based off of skin color and being given benefits due to being part of the majority.
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A hate crime that occured in November 2017 where a college student repeatedly harassed
her roommate is a prime example of how black women continue to be victimized by the
described how her white roommate was “Rubbing bloody tampons on my things” and how her
roommate “got me out of the room after a month of spitting in my coconut oil, putting my
toothbrush in places the sun doesn’t shine, putting moldy clam dip in my lotion" (Fox) which
demonstrates how she intentionally sabotaged her just because she wanted her to leave the dorm.
The white woman would also talk about her online saying things like “Finally I can say goodbye
to Jamaican Barbie” (Fox) and poke fun at her culture. This woman thought it was acceptable for
her to slander her roomate online and post about what she’s been doing, what happened to
making racists afraid again? African American women continue to be belittled and for what? For
being black and female. It just keeps getting harder and harder to be a black woman in America,
to the point where getting an education in college is being interrupted. How can African
American women get jobs when racism in society continues to delay their efforts?
Statistics on jobs
In today’s society, many African American women will be turned away when applying
for jobs. A good amount of job discrimination occurs when employers respond to seeing
University of Southampton found that emails received from those with rooted African American
names are four percent less likely to receive an answer than similarly structured emails signed by
names that are ‘white-sounding’. (University) The issue in America is that racism still controls
the way society is structured and social status. Employers who discriminate against applicators
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with these “ghetto” sounding names are controlled by racism when they decide to make biased
decisions. Deeming an applicator incompetent simply by looking at their name isn’t reason
enough to turn them away. To be able to destroy someone’s chance at becoming employed based
off a decision from unobservable skills is outrageous. This is a standard set by society that needs
Many employers do not realize that they are making biased decisions and may not be
aware that they are even being biased, however this just proves how traces of racism has subtly
crept into society and brainwashed the existing population. More than 6 in 10 of Black women
are in the workforce and are the only group of women with a higher labor force participation rate
than their male counterparts. However, between 2004 and 2014, Black women’s real median
annual earnings declined by 5 percent. (Washington) How is it that African American women
seem to be working harder than white males within the workforce, yet still make less? Flat out
racism. The majority can’t stand to see African American women prosper in our progressive
society, much less acknowledge them. Black women will always be viewed as inferior towards
the ‘superior’ white male. Black women have increased work hours 18.4 percent since 1979 in
comparison with white women, however the wage gap relative to white men has grown. In 2016,
the wages of white women grew to 76 percent of white men’s, compared to 67 percent for black
women relative to white men, creating a racial difference of 9 percentage points. (EPI) African
American women are working just as hard, if not harder, than their male counterparts, yet there
is no progression. Pay inequity is very real, and it hits harder on black women who deserve to be
paid equally. For black women to need to work seven months into 2017 just to be paid the same
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as white men in 2016 is a huge step backwards. For a society who likes to call themselves
“progressive”, this is a big let down towards African American women all around.
Black women who work 39 hours a week only would earn $23.46 hourly in contrast to
white women who work 36 hours a week and earn $26.29 hourly. (EPI) The statistics are staring
down at society while they continue to willingly put on a blindfold and preach that the wage gap
is unreal. White women work 3 hours less, yet get paid 3 dollars more than black women. White
women are being rewarded for working less while black women struggle to keep up as they are
being left in the dust along with society’s ancient concepts of prejudice.
Conclusion
Opportunities for job openings need to be created in order for black women in America to
have a chance to make a contribution. There are many willing and skilled workers that are being
turned away and not even considered because of their skin color. In order for African American
essential. Coworkers should also be supportive and society needs to come together as a whole to
be less discriminatory since it’s never actually going to go away. Racism and discriminatory
behavior needs to be shamed and proven as morally wrong. Society can change the direction they
are going towards and change the mindset of the new generation to become progressive and
supportive of the different races in the country. Society as a whole needs to come together and
have a real conversation about this issue of discrimination in America and directly address it
instead of letting these subtle acts of continued dehumanization to stay. Only by speaking about
it and saying it out loud can society help these African American women feel like they have a
chance to finally change this outdated mindset and finally become truly accepted and celebrated.
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Works Cited
Holmes, Caren M. The Colonial Roots of the Racial Fetishization of Black Women. 2016,
openworks.wooster.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=blackandgold.
Davis, Kathleen. “This Is What It's Like To Search For A Job As A Black Woman.” Fast
www.fastcompany.com/40504481/this-is-what-its-like-to-search-for-a-job-as-a-black-woman.
Garland, Jon, and Corinne Funnell. Howard, Jacqueline. “New Study Confirms Depressing Truth
About Names And Racial Bias.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 8 Oct. 2015,
www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-sounding-names-study_us_561697a5e4b0dbb8000d687f.
“Study Shows African Americans Discriminated against in Access to US Local Public Services.”
University of Southampton,
www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2015/08/african-americans-discriminated-against-in-access-to-pu
blic-services.page.