Will Racism Ever Be Overcome by Unity in Diversity?

One big obstacle to diversity and inclusion is racism. An important question is whether racism will ever be overcome by unity in diversity. How can racism be dismantled?

Racism is a centuries-old social ill that plagues different societies around the world, not only in the United States. Racism may be of different types, but the most common understanding of it is that of a “whites vs. blacks” or fair-skinned vs. dark-skinned/black-toned people” kind of war.

See also: How Skin Tone Bias Affects Diversity Growth

Many still subscribe to the belief the white race is superior over any other race, and that comes at an economic cost. Blacks and other minorities have more difficulty in their job search, so they have a higher unemployment rate than whites

Can people of color be as prejudiced as the whites? People regardless of race can be prejudiced, though not necessarily because they are racist.

Racism and Racial Discrimination

For clarity, racism and racial discrimination are defined as follows:

Racism – any action or attitude, conscious or unconscious, that subordinates an individual or group based on skin colour or race. It can be enacted individually or institutionally.

Racial discrimination - To treat differently a person or group of people based on their racial origins. Power is a necessary precondition, for it depends on the ability to give or withhold social benefits, facilities, services, opportunities etc., from someone who should be entitled to them, and are denied on the basis of race, colour or national origin.

So back to the topic of racism – racial supremacy leads to racial purity. Humanity should not forget the unspeakable atrocity brought about by Nazi racism – the belief propagated by Hitler and his Nazi regime that the Aryan race is the master race, so must remain pure at all cost.

An excerpt from an article by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum shows how such belief is promoted:

When Hitler and the Nazis came to power, these beliefs became the government ideology and were spread in publicly displayed posters, on the radio, in movies, in classrooms, and in newspapers. The Nazis began to put their ideology into practice with the support of German scientists who believed that the human race could be improved by limiting the reproduction of people considered "inferior."

As put forth, the idea of superiority of one race over another is NOT innate in human nature. It is just an unfortunate human reality that there are individuals/groups overcome with delusions of themselves.

And great suffering it brings to human society when this delusion of supremacy takes control of the elite who holds the reins of power and authority over a nation – the right of a self-appointed few to impose their fanatical views on all the rest, to borrow the words of George W. Bush.

This is why the human race has been troubled for centuries with racial bigotry.

Today, belief in racial or ethnic purity, based on religious and cultural beliefs still persists. Racial/ethnic purity is an extremist view, but it contributes a lot to the current wave of hatred, violence, disunity in the world. Modern-day versions of the Nazi's ethnic cleansing under Hitler continues to happen in different parts of the world.

Another factor for racism is believed to be rooted in capitalism and slavery.

Rather, racism originated with capitalism and the slave trade. As the Marxist writer CLR James put it, "The conception of dividing people by race begins with the slave trade. This thing was so shocking, so opposed to all the conceptions of society which religion and philosophers had…that the only justification by which humanity could face it was to divide people into races and decide that the Africans were an inferior race."

Its existence is said to have stemmed from the long and complex history of western Europe and the United States that [...]influenced by science, government and culture—that has shaped our ideas about race.

Looking to history, one can see that aside from science, government and culture, religion also plays a role in the construction of the idea of race and racism.

Here is an excerpt from Racial Equity Tools, a website that is designed to support people and groups working for inclusion, racial equity and social justice:

During the reformation (16th Century [1500s] & 17th Century [1600s]), a key question among Christian religious hierarchy was whether Blacks and “Indians” had souls and/or were human. In this time period, Europeans were exposed more frequently to Africans and the indigenous people of North and South America, and the church vacillated between opinions. The Catholic and the Protestant churches arrived at different answers to the question at different times, which created significant differences between the two systems of slavery. [...]With the increasing importance of slavery, religion was used as a means to justify racist divisions, classifying people of color as ‘pagan and soulless’.

Religious beliefs remain a justification for the persistent problem of racism, among others.

However, [...] racism does not require the full and explicit support of the state and the law. Nor does it require an ideology centered on the concept of biological inequality. Discrimination by institutions and individuals against those perceived as racially different can long persist and even flourish under the illusion of non-racism.

Unity in Diversity

The concept of unity in diversity means 'unity without uniformity and diversity without fragmentation that shifts focus from unity based on a mere tolerance of physical, cultural, linguistic, social, religious, political, ideological and/or psychological differences towards a more complex unity based on an understanding that difference enriches human interactions.

How to Overcome Racism

Living out the value of unity in diversity is important for diversity working in society. It is one way for people to help destroy racism in our midst.

Institutional racism is certainly hard to dismantle, but ordinary people can start doing better to change the world for the better – and that is making a conscious effort to reduce racial bias in their own spheres of influence.

One insight worth pondering is this excerpt from an article by Nico Koopman, Vice-Rector for Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel at Stellenbosch University in South Africa:

To overcome racial discrimination we need to conscientise one another about the subconscious pictures with which we live. The words we use subconsciously betray our subconscious racial pictures and prejudices. […] Words are creative. They can either create a new reality of justice, or perpetuate old realities of injustice, discrimination and dehumanisation.

*Do not label people

Indeed, labeling people is not a bright idea, for it connotes separation. As the article above shows by an example, calling others on campus who are not white as diversity students and non-whites is to perpetuate racist thinking, and making white as the norm.

Likewise, using black as norm, and calling those who are not black as diversity students promotes racist attitude.

Classifying people according to their race or skin color, inspires segregation, rather than promote unity. All are human; all are of the same human race, regardless whether one's skin is black, white, brown, red, yellow. There is much beauty in diversity – just as seen in Nature itself.

*Understand where people are coming from

Research backs this idea of not labeling people. Vox reported last year that researchers came upon a radical way to reduce another person's bigotry. Although the study concentrated on anti-transgender attitude, it can also be applied to reducing racial anxiety and prejudices. Researchers found that labeling someone as racist is not good.

Rather, empathy is what helps. And as much as it might seem like a lost cause to understand the perspectives of people who may qualify as racist, understanding where they come from is a needed step to being able to speak to them in a way that will help reduce the racial biases they hold.

*Confront Your Racial Biases and Prejudices

The first step toward overcoming a problem is to face the problem, not denying its existence. Uncomfortable though it can be, acknowledging your biases and prejudices helps overcome these.

*Expand Your Horizon by Meeting People from Other Races and Cultures

Ignorance of others leads to close-mindeness, fear, intolerance and bigotry. So to better appreciate others, learn more about them by making friends. Build bridges of friendship, not walls of hatred and fear. Learn to understand what makes others tick despite their differences from you.

*Put More Love into Action. Help Others.

Sometimes, people become too focused on their own struggles, especially those who have to face discrimination. As a result, they become angrier, distrustful and weaker. Look for ways of how you can contribute to your community, school, workplace. Help others in difficulty no matter what their background is. By doing so, you develop strength of character and greater understanding of others.

Racism can be overcome, yes. It make take time. But it can be done. Unity in diversity is what the world needs, especially in post-election America where the wounds of political division are needing to be healed.

How Trump Policies Impact Hispanic American Jobs, Diversity

President Trump's policies must have the most chilling effect on the Hispanic/Latino American community, of all the different demographic groups in the United States. Trump's immigration plan are instilling fear in many Hispanic/Latino citizens, green card holders as well as undocumented immigrants, as they face the uncertainty of the future, including the possibilty of family separation, and continued pressure in their job search.

Due to the president's hard stance on immigrants and the border issue, many have come to fear the negative impact this will have on efforts to keep diversity working in American society.

Research shows that it is affecting their faith life as well. America’s Hispanic churches feel the impact of President Donald Trump’s immigration initiatives in their pews each week. […] Trump’s immigration plan does away with earlier exemptions for residents here illegally, putting more undocumented workers up for arrest, detention, and deportation, the Department of Homeland Security announced last month, according to a report by Christianity Today.

Natalia Aristizabal, working with Make the Road, a non-profit organisation in New York dealing with Latino and working-class communities, said in an interview with Aljazeera, undocumented immigrants are "yearning to fight back. "Our basic model right now is that we're here to stay and we're not going to go out without a fight." Arizitzabal noted that resistance is strongest among so-called Dreamers; unauthorised youth who were brought to the US as children, some of whom were granted temporary relief from deportation under President Barack Obama. "Those are the folks I hear even more of a defiant tone of I'm not going anywhere," she said.

In the employment field, illegal immigrants A Pew Research Center analysis of occupational profiles as of 2012 revealed that the U.S. unauthorized immigrant workforce now holds fewer blue-collar jobs and more white-collar ones than it did before the 2007-2009 recession, but a solid majority still works in low-skilled service, construction and production occupations.

A comparison between unauthorized immigrants and US-born workers, also by Pew Research, found disparities: In 2012, fully a third of U.S. unauthorized immigrants in the workforce (33%) held service jobs such as janitor, child care worker or cook, nearly double the share of U.S.-born workers (17%) in those types of occupations. An additional 15% hold construction or extraction jobs (mainly construction), triple the share of U.S.-born workers who hold that type of employment. Overall, 11%, compared with 6% of U.S.-born workers, are employed in production jobs, which include manufacturing, food processing and textile workers, among others.

To see how significant immigrants, specifically from Latin America, impact the country's economy, here are some figures gathered by the Migration Policy Institute:

* In 2015, approximately 27% of immigrants in the US were from Mexico, which made them the largest foreign-born group in the country.

* In 2015, 19.5 million people or 45 % of immigrants said they were of Hispanic or Latino origins.

* While majority of U.S. Hispanics are native born, 35 % of the 56.6 million people in 2015 who self-identified as Hispanic or Latino were immigrants.

* Most Mexican immigrants are in the West and Southwest, and more than half are in California or Texas.

* In 2015, about 69% of the 11.2 million immigrants from Mexico 16 years and older were in the civilian work force.

* From 2010-14, most unauthorized immigrants in the US came from Mexico and Central America, with an estimate number (by MPI) of7.9 million people, or 71% of the overall unauthorized population.

More facts on immigrants from Mexico, from a Pew Research survey:

* There has been a drop by 1 million in the number of illegal immigrants from Mexico since 2007, but even with the decline, Mexicans still make up about half of the nation’s 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants (52% in 2014).

* Mexican illegal immigrants are more likely to become long-term residents – but with the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal staying aliens, this would no longer be the case.

* At least 75% of the total unauthorized immigrant population in 3 states are from Mexico:

New Mexico - 91%

Idaho - 87%

Arizona - 81%

With their sheer size, there will be a big dent in occupations normally held by unauthorized Hispanic/Latino immigrants, if they are to be deported.

Adverse Effect of Immigrant Deportation

According to one expert's view (Kent Smetters, Wharton professor of business economics and public policy), deportation of illegal immigrants will not result to more job opportunities for native-born workers.

Trump’s plan assumes that if these workers were deported, native-born workers would take over these jobs. “That’s just simply not empirically true,” Smetters says. “When you export undocumented workers, those [typically low-skilled] jobs really aren’t replaced by native born workers” but by automation. Moreover, the presence of undocumented workers raises the wages of those who can legally work in the U.S. - Read more at:

Other analysts are of the same view that mass deportation of illegal immigrants will hurt the economy even more.

* It would immediately reduce the nation's GDP by 1.4 percent, and ultimately by 2.6 percent, and reduce cumulative GDP over 10 years by $4.7 trillion, according to the Center for American Progress.

* The agriculture and construction industries would suffer in case of widespread deportation.

* Deportation would cost the federal government between $103.9 billion and $303.7 billion.

On the other hand, some do believe allowing illegal immigrants to stay is an economic burden,

in ways such as lowering wages, putting financial strain on the federal, state and local levels of government, and burdening law enforcement and local school districts, among others.

Why Immigrants come to the U.S.

The great American Dream is often invoked by people coming to the United States seeking greener pastures. But also, many immigrants from Mexico and Latin America only want to escape the dire conditions in their home countries: poverty, drugs, and political instability. They see the United States as a promised land with plenty of job opportunities.

On the average, Hispanics/Latinos, together with blacks, have higher unemployment rate than whites and Asians. For example, the average unemployment rates from January 2000 to December 2016 for blacks and Hispanics were substantially greater than those for either non-Hispanic whites or Asians.

Even with the same level of educational attainment with whites and Asians, Hispanics and Latinos still have far greater unemployment rate.

The BLS report on the employment situation for Hispanic/Latin Americans, for the month of February 2017 shows minimal decrease of .3% in the unemployment rate, from 5.9% in January to 5.6%. Problems such as limited job opportunities and long term unemployment still face Hispanics/Latinos..

Here is an overview of their employment situation, in statistics, in January 2017:

* 5.9% unemployment rate, remaining above the national unemployment rate of 4.8%

* 66.1 Hispanic participation rate, compared with the 62.9% national participation rate

* 1 out of 5 Hispanics were looking for work for more than 27 weeks

* 7.81% Hispanic millenial unemployment rate

* 1.10 million Hispanics were forced into part-time jobs

According to this report, one of the long-term problems in the economy has been a lack of entry-level opportunities, as government regulations and mandates make it costlier and more difficult for small businesses to hire new staff. These opportunities are often critical for Latinos, and for workers who need to acquire and develop new skills.

Immigrants contribute a lot to the country's progress, including the illegal ones. The Center for American Progress, in a report made last year, noted the positive effect of immigrants on the business community and the country's economy.

Although immigrants’ economic contributions are significant, they could be even greater. If Congress enacts a legislative reform that includes a pathway to citizenship, then more unauthorized immigrants could participate in the formal economy. - Read more at:

Integrating undocumented immigrants via a comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to full and equal citizenship was a measure supported by then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

If the present administration pushes harder on its hard stance on illegal immigrants, then there's more to lose. As noted by an article (last year) by The Nation, undocumented immigrants contribute more than $11 billion to the economy each year, and it is more beneficial to grant them a means to become permanent residents.

Though they would pay more taxes, it’s estimated that many of the undocumented would willingly get “on the books” if it meant shielding their families from deportation; there’s an immeasurable benefit to keeping families intact instead of tearing them apart through deportation and detention.

More importantly, immigrants contribute much to the diversity of the country; there is strength in diversity. As Hispanic/Latino immigrants form a large part of the US population, they have economic and political power.

It is hoped the Trump administration policies focus more on how to keep leveraging the gains already being realized from this important segment of the American society.

Brooks Running Opening for Email Marketing Specialist, Seattle, WA

Brooks Running, maker of superior running shoes, apparel and accessories for men and women, and among DiversityWorking.com's prestigious diversity company members, has an opening for an Email Marketing Specialist, Seattle, WA. 

 

Job Overview: The Email Marketing Specialist will manage the day to day activities to keep Brooks email marketing efforts running successfully and ensure all emails are engaging, relevant, on brand, and timely. This is a salaried position.

Job Responsibilities (among others)

• Manage the day to day activities to sustain current email programs and launch new efforts for Brooks Running
• Build and deploy all emails in Bronto ESP
• Maintain, edit and customize content and images for triggered, transactional, and editorial calendar emails to ensure relevant and up to date
• Collaborate with Brooks’ creative teams and product marketing groups to secure assets for digital marketing campaigns to hit deadlines

Job Qualifications/Requirements (among others)

• Bachelor’s degree required
• 2 - 3 years of related experience in email marketing and Ecommerce
• Familiarity with Bronto or other ESP required
• Strong understanding of email marketing best practice preferred.

Excellent compensation, benefits and perks await the successful candidate.

For more details about this job and to apply for it, click on this link.

Ongoing Posting for Retail Sales Associate I, Trailhead, Seattle, WA at Brooks Running

Brooks Running, maker of superior running shoes, apparel and accessories for men and women, and among DiversityWorking.com's prestigious diversity company members, has an ongoing posting for Retail Sales Associate I, Trailhead,Seattle, WA. This is an hourly-paid, part-time job.

Job Overview: The Retail Sales Associate 1, Trailhead, (part-time) is responsible for providing the “Run Happy” shopping experience to Brooks consumers, offers expert guidance on fit and product selection.

Job Responsibilities (among others)

• Provide consumers with premium, Run-Happy service and in-depth product information
• Be a storyteller, and a fantastic listener who gets to the core of customers’ needs and makes them feel at home, regardless of their athletic ability
• Guide consumers in the selection and purchase of Brooks and Moving Comfort gear
• Develop a keen ability to understand and empathize with runners and those aspiring to be active

Job Qualifications/Requirements (among others)

• 2+ years of retail experience. Strong sales and service experience is a big plus
• Availability to work up to 24 hours per week (two to three shifts), including evenings and weekends
• Moderate computer proficiency and ability to quickly learn new computer/Point Of Sale (POS) programs
• Accurate cash-handling and inventory counting abilities. Basic retail math a plus.

For more details about this job and to apply for it, click on this link.

Brooks Running Opening for Global Integrated Marketing Manager, Seattle, WA

Brooks Running, maker of superior running shoes, apparel and accessories for men and women, and among DiversityWorking.com's prestigious diversity company members, has an opening for the position of Global Integrated Marketing Manager, Seattle, WA.

Job Overview: The Global Integrated Marketing Manager is responsible for helping develop, implement and measure strategic integrated marketing campaigns based on the priority stories of the business each season. This is a salaried position.

Job Responsibilities (among others)

• Drive development of seasonal campaigns that evangelize the key seasonal integrated marketing stories
• Manage elements of integrated campaign development, implementation and measurement to ensure greatest impact
• Work with members of the global marketing team, product teams, regional marketing, and sales to form cohesive marketing communications campaigns

Job Qualifications/Requirements (among others)

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing or communications
• Minimum 3-5 years’ relevant experience in brand marketing or similar field
• Proven superior project management experience and ability to work with minimal supervision and manage shifting priorities
• Excellent communication, organizational and interpersonal skills that inspire and build trust resulting in effective working relationships across the company.

Excellent compensation, benefits and perks await the successful candidate.

For more details about this job and to apply for it, click on this link.

DiversityWorking.com Announces Brooks Running Its New Diversity Company Member

DiversityWorking.com, a career opportunity resource and job search engine for the cultural diversity marketplace, announces the inclusion of Brooks Running to its prestigious roster of diversity company-members.

Brooks Running, with headquarters in Seattle, WA, makes high quality, top performing men's and women's running shoes, apparel and accessories. The company believes running makes good things happen, so it is its mission to inspire people to run and be active.

Because of its work culture and environment that nurture the long-term well-being of people and the planet, Brooks Running has been recognized as one of the best places to work, and as a green company.  

In 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, Outside Magazine recognized the company as one of the best places to work because of the excellent benefits and perks for its employees.

In 2012, 2013, and 2014, Seattle Business awarded Brooks Running with the "Washington Green 50" company recogntion, and as a leader in the Consumer/Retail category. Seattle Met named Brooks Running also as one of the best places to work in Seattle in 2013.

A strong believer in diversity and fair labor, Brooks Running, has partnered with DiversityWorking.com, whose mission is to help companies promote their jobs, build their brand and send targeted and qualified diversity candidates directly to the best jobs possible. Products and services include a resume database, job search engine, and targeted corporate diversity branding opportunities.

To find out more about Brooks Running and its job opportunities, competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits, please click here.

The Transforming Power of Women for Diversity Working

The 2017 International Women's Day has just been observed the world over with various events marking the day. Activities, such as protests, strikes, calls to action, serve to underscore the continuing struggle for gender equality, an end to violence against women, and respect for women's human rights.

A one-day strike was held in the United States, the “Day Without a Woman” organized in the same spirit of love and liberation that inspired the Women's March, to dramatize the value of women; hence, the call to refrain from work and shopping to demonstrate their economic strength and political clout.

It's a day of rejoicing, too, for International Women's Day is meant to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

Indeed, despite all their great accomplishments and contributions to make the world a better place, women still have to struggle with disparity and injustice: receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment and job insecurity"

Thus, it is not only fitting, but more so, essential that women get together to demonstrate their transforming power for diversity to be working well in society. As “A Day Without a Woman” has shown, everything would grind almost to a halt if there were no women. Women are part of the equation.

From time past until today, the world is replete with amazing stories of the power of women, of how they can transform society for the better.. Here are 5 present-day women, among countless of them all over, who are doing so.

Yet because of traditional roles and stereotypes women are mostly relegated to the home, or to caretaker occupations.

This traditional role of fostering and nurturing others ensued from various sources, but the results are a decrease in the value of work done by women and a decreased ability to work outside the home. This is paired with the societal expectation of the woman to take care of the home and family, and with that the lack of male support in the caretaking of the home. This all leads to the expectation that women have responsibilities in the home and often plays a part in occupational sexism.

Here are some hard facts on how women fare, from UNESCO:

* By 2016, fewer than half of the countries in the world had achieved the goal of gender parity in both primary and secondary education (UNESCO);

* 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence in their lives (UN, 2015);

* Nearly two thirds of illiterate people are women, a proportion that has remained unchanged for two decades (UN, 2015);

* Women make up only 23.3% of Parliamentarians worldwide (IPU, 2017);

* Women account for two thirds of the world's poorest citizens (UNESCO, 2014);

* Women are underrepresented in scientific and technological disciplines. Only 29% of the world’s researchers are women (UNESCO, 2014)

As already noted above, it is often expected in many countries that women take on the domestic responsibilities and chores, and while many women do so, especially in more traditional cultures, these responsibilities and chores are unpaid work.

However, as the UN noted:

What is the real value of unpaid work? Around the world, women do the vast majority of the unpaid work, including child care, cooking, cleaning and farming. This unpaid work is essential for households and economies to function, but it is also valued less than paid work. UN Women expert Shahra Razavi reveals the real value of unpaid care, and how we can reduce the burden on women by tackling entrenched stereotypes. - See more at:

In Western cultures, this traditional arrangement wherein the husband is the breadwinner and the wife takes charge of the household is changing is no longer the norm, as more and more women are opting to get a job and pursue their own careers. Yet career women still carry the main burden of managing the household, not to mention child rearing.

Many women quit their jobs or careers in favor of taking care of their growing families. This is one factor others say women are often bypassed for promotions, or are not paid equally as their male peers.

These are just some of the travails confronting women today, and many stem from embedded sexism. Despite the strides and achievements women have reached, society and culture still expect men to enjoy more freedom at home and outside. Many conjugal disputes arise from unfair division of labor at home.

Thus, inequality starts in the home, but there is a need to change this narrative, and transform people's mindset. And change should also start right at home. Girls should be taught that they too can pursue their life's purpose.

"We need to send a message to every girl that she is valuable, powerful, and deserving of every chance and opportunity to pursue and achieve her own dreams," as Hillary Clinton said.

The sad reality in many places is that boys are brought up to believe they are the stronger sex; hence the male dominance and feelings of superiority that still prevail.

Importance of Gender Equality

Gender equality benefits the economy. Here's what a MckKinsey article said about this advantage:

In a new report, The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in the United States, the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) finds that every US state and city can add at least 5 percent to their GDP in that period by advancing the economic potential of women. Half of US states have the potential to add more than 10 percent, and the country’s 50 largest cities can increase GDP by 6 to 13 percent.

Another report said:

If women’s participation in the workforce increased, it would transform the global economy for the better. One study projects that if the female employment in the U.S. matched the male rates, our overall GDP would rise by 5 percent. In Japan, the GDP would jump by 9 percent. Addressing the education gap would be a good way to start to achieve these figures. The Council on Foreign Relations estimates that each country’s GDP grows by 3 percent for every additional 10 percent of girls going to school.

One feminist wrote that empowering women is just the right thing to do, and it is probably among the most efficient things any country can do to develop society.

Indeed. Women have the power to transform the world. They have tremendous capacity to make the world better. Without women, economies will not grow as much, for gender diversity drives economic success, among others. But mindsets need to transform as well, as the struggle for gender equality goes on.