The Advancement of Women and Minorities in the Workplace
The Advancement of Women and Minorities in the Workplace
HR 491 Senior Seminar in Human Resources Development
Park University
Within any organization there is a chain of command. Someone always out ranks someone else. In today’s workplace, issue like discrimination, harassment, and racism, are subjects that we as employees don’t want to believe are happening, and more so, hope they never happen to us. Over the past couple of decades, America has come a long way to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity for progression. Unfortunately, for those of us who are not naive enough to believe that this is always true, issues like these do happen. The glass ceiling, for example, refers to a level within the managerial hierarchy beyond which very few women and minorities advance. This is the invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from moving up in the world. The Hispanic population is estimated to increase by the year 2050 by 24.5 percent. (Vines, 2001) I am a minority and although my goals are to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource/ Management and becoming an entrepreneur, I want to see more minorities, and yes women, advancing in high position corporations. Many times you see minorities mainly Hispanics especially of the Mexican race working as cooks, janitors, or some type of work that does not take a very high level of knowledge or training. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not want a job given to me out of pity or because a company has to meet their quota of minorities. I want my position to be given to me because I earned it. For this reason I am totally against affirmative action; which is the basically selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity. (Fullinwider, 2005) I want to be hired based on my expertise, knowledge, experience and educational background. The following paper will cover this hard-hitting topic as it relates to the workforce and examine its anticipation to the need to change, the impact on a
HR 491 Senior Seminar in Human Resources Development
Park University
Within any organization there is a chain of command. Someone always out ranks someone else. In today’s workplace, issue like discrimination, harassment, and racism, are subjects that we as employees don’t want to believe are happening, and more so, hope they never happen to us. Over the past couple of decades, America has come a long way to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity for progression. Unfortunately, for those of us who are not naive enough to believe that this is always true, issues like these do happen. The glass ceiling, for example, refers to a level within the managerial hierarchy beyond which very few women and minorities advance. This is the invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from moving up in the world. The Hispanic population is estimated to increase by the year 2050 by 24.5 percent. (Vines, 2001) I am a minority and although my goals are to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource/ Management and becoming an entrepreneur, I want to see more minorities, and yes women, advancing in high position corporations. Many times you see minorities mainly Hispanics especially of the Mexican race working as cooks, janitors, or some type of work that does not take a very high level of knowledge or training. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not want a job given to me out of pity or because a company has to meet their quota of minorities. I want my position to be given to me because I earned it. For this reason I am totally against affirmative action; which is the basically selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity. (Fullinwider, 2005) I want to be hired based on my expertise, knowledge, experience and educational background. The following paper will cover this hard-hitting topic as it relates to the workforce and examine its anticipation to the need to change, the impact on a
References: [Web]. Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI, Stanford University. Retrieved Feb. 28, 2008, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/affirmative-action/ Greenberg PhD, Herb “calipercorp.com” The Qualities That Distinguish Women Leaders.(2005)http://www.calipercorp.com/womenstudy/WomenLeaderWhitePaper.pdf Journal, Career (2006, June, 22) Wall Street Journal Online, Retrieved September 22, 2006, from http://www.careerjournal.com/myc/diversity/20060622-surveying.html Stephenson, Mary Ann, Smashing Through the Glass Ceiling. http://www.ivillage.co.uk/workcareer/workrights/discrim/articles/0,,211_161221,00.html Vines, L (2001, April 12)