To make the workplace a more equitable place I think the first thing that should be done is revise the hiring process. First, I don’t think that a person should need to specify their race or gender, unless it is relevant to the job (which shouldn’t really be the case of any job, unless it benefits the community, ect.). An example of this is maybe hiring a Black or queer person in a mental health position, such as a therapist, because it’s important to some people to speak to an individual with the same identity as them as the other person may understand their position more than someone who could sympathize or understand as much because of the different of identity. I think that adding gender or race questions to an application only leads to discrimination by employers as they will only call back and hire the individuals whose identity fits the idea atmosphere that the workplace wants.
Another aspect of the hiring process that I disagree with is the option that requires people to mark if they had criminal history. This requirement discriminates greatly against people who may have been convicted on non-violent crimes, such as theft or drug related crimes. I am a firm believer that people change, and people make mistakes and your mistakes, especially from your youth, shouldn’t define you. This requirement also leads to employers’ discriminating against indivisuals because they do not hire them because of their past record. This requirement also has specially targets and continues to oppress people of color. It is known that white and Black people commit crimes at very similar rates, but due to racism and racial profiling by law enforcement and bystanders’ people of color are more likely to be arrested and charged for these crimes. The rate of arrest and incarceration is a lot higher than their white counterparts.
In American it is no longer “acceptable” to bluntly discriminate, but by implementing laws and requirements that indirectly discriminate against a specific marinized group of individuals then people at the top are able to get away with it. By excluding convicted felons from the workforce (a larger percentage being people of color), politicians can use this in their favor when creating laws that may impact the working class. I understand that in some cases for safety reasons it may be important for employers to know if a person had a violent or abusive criminal history, but I think that this should be looked at in a case to case basis depending on the situation and the employer. The reality is that it’s not rapists or murders that are being denied jobs because of this law, but individuals with non-violent misdemeanors or petty offenses that are being denied jobs.
