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Introduction
Women and ethnic minorities are still underrepresented in many fields because barriers exist to gender and racial equality. For example, there are very few female top managers in large corporations across the United States (Pierre, 2019). Furthermore, the number of men is still more significant in science and such areas of medicine as surgery (Coe et al., 2019). Many women who work in academics claim that it is exceptionally challenging to advance in a system that was initially structured as racist and sexist (Coe et al., 2019). Indeed, at the 2018s conference in Italy, one of the nuclear physicists stated that women are intellectually inferior to work in the field of high-energy physics (Coe et al., 2019). Although this speech caused a substantial negative response from the public, the fact that even people in scientific circles have such beliefs cannot be denied. The three possible obstacles to attaining ethnic and gender equality in some fields are harassment, bias, and racial discrimination at the workplace, and these causes should be eliminated through collective effort.
Gender and Racial Bias
Workplace harassment and gender bias are considered the two strongest demotivators for women to pursue careers in specific organizations and fields. It was determined that male applicants for instructor positions of laboratory manager roles were offered a greater salary than females with the same qualifications (Marín-Spiotta et al., 2020). Although women dominate teaching, nursing, and social work, such areas as law, politics, and STEM are still controlled by men (Pierre, 2019). Even though the number of women in the industry and science has increased significantly since World War II, female employees still struggle with the negative attitudes of their male coworkers (Pierre, 2019). According to Marín-Spiotta et al. (2020), bias and sexual abuse are the major contributors to the low retention of women in geosciences. For example, 41% of the U.K. and 59% of the U.S. undergraduate female students reported some form of harassment (Marín-Spiotta et al., 2020). These attitudes from faculty and staff are disrespectful and create a hostile environment, discouraging women from going to graduate schools and research in particular fields.
Racial discrimination is also a significant barrier to equality in the workplace. Unfortunately, African Americans, especially black women, are still viewed as inferior; thus, it is more challenging for them to succeed in areas dominated by white males (Pierre, 2019). In fact, people from marginalized groups are more likely to suffer greater effects of stereotypes, stigma, and discrimination in the workplace (Pierre, 2019, p. 12). The possible reason for the persistence of this issue is that the United States has an enormous history related to racial and ethnic tension. Enslaving people of African descent, discriminating against individuals of color, and deprivation black citizens of rights are some examples.
One of the potential ways to remove these obstacles in a workplace is to change the organizational climate. Indeed, employers should promote a culture of diversity and inclusion in their firms (Coe et al., 2019). Equality can be achieved by raising awareness about the problems of harassment, bias, and discrimination through such movements as #MeToo, #MeTooSTEM, and #BLACKandSTEM (Coe et al., 2019). Companies and institutions consisting of women and men of various ethnicities equally contributing to organizational development should become the new normal rather than an exception.
Conclusion
In summary, gender and racial bias still exist in many fields, resulting in significant turnover rates among female and black workers. Sexual harassment is an obstacle to creating a healthy environment in a workplace with an equal number of women and men. At the same time, discrimination against ethnicity impedes racial equality at the workplace. Unfortunately, individuals who believe that women and African Americans are intellectually inferior to white men still exist in science and industry. Therefore, the possible solution to this problem is to promote a diverse and inclusive culture in organizations.
References
Coe, I. R., Wiley, R., & Bekker, L. G. (2019). Organizational best practices towards gender equality in science and medicine. The Lancet, 393(10171), 587-593.
Marín-Spiotta, E., Barnes, R. T., Berhe, A. A., Hastings, M. G., Mattheis, A., Schneider, B., & Williams, B. M. (2020). Hostile climates are barriers to diversifying the geosciences. Advances in Geosciences, 53, 117-127.
Pierre, F. (2019). Breaking the concrete wall: The challenges facing African-American women in the workplace [Bachelors thesis, Salem State University]. Salem State Universitys Digital Repository.
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