If you’re something besides a cis white man, you have almost certainly experienced some form of discrimination in your life. It’s particularly a challenge when that discrimination impacts work or school. What can you to about it?
First, let’s acknowledge that it’s a real thing that happens, not something you’re crazy for imagining. This is a very real issue: people are passed over for promotions, denied reasonable accommodations, and not given access to training. Pregnant staffers are sometimes surprised to find their hours cut, and older workers may well be laid off before younger ones.
And that’s just on the job! This sort of thing happens to applicants as well, whether you’re looking for an internship or a job.
If you suspect you’re not landing roles because of something like your race, gender, gender presentation, country or origin, or ability status, you may find it more helpful to seek potential employers who have a track record of hiring a more diverse range of folks. You can talk to friends and family, or check out resources like workplace equity scorecards, equality indices, and membership sites focused on equity like the Institute for Workplace Equality. Yes, it’s unfair to place the burden on you, the job-seeker, but seeking more compatible employers is at least something actionable.
If you’re experiencing unfair treatment at a current job, there are some steps you might want to consider. Start by documenting each incident so you have a paper trail. If you have coworkers experiencing similar things, or if others have witnessed some of these incidents, have them write things down, as well.
If you have a trustworthy manager or person of authority, schedule a conversation with that person. Sometimes simply addressing the issue is enough for some improvements, although it’s unlikely that the issue will resolve entirely unless the perpetrator is a single individual who can (and is likely to be) be disciplined or let go. Also look at resources for whistleblowers in hostile workplaces.
Once you’ve pushed your concerns up the ladder a bit, if there’s still no real improvement, you can see if you realistically have a case for legal action, but bear in mind that discrimination is difficult, expensive, and stressful to prove. You might have better luck if there are others at your employer in the same situation, in which case, you may well have a class action suit you can consider bringing.
If you decide legal action isn’t the way to go (and who could blame you?), then sadly it’s time to start looking for a new role. To answer the inevitable question about why you’re looking for a change, you’ll say something generic like, “The job was great, but there were some changes that made it no longer feel like a fit for me.” And then you’ll talk about what you experienced on GlassDoor and Indeed!
