For this assignment, I have selected the movie The Help. Presented in theaters in 2011, The Help is centered on a novel written by Kathryn Stockett in 2009. The Help refers to the hired help that many white families had in the south to assist in raising their children. Both the film and novel follow the story of black maids in Jackson, Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement while raising a young white woman. This movie was intended to push aside stereotypes and prove to people who think people of color, specifically women, are lazy, not useful, and less valuable. By sharing their side of the story, individuals like Minny and Aibileen. They are maids for white families that can express the experiences that they endured.
At this time, one of the white children, Eugenia “Skeeter” is pursuing a career in journalism and becoming a writer after graduating from Ole Miss. When she returned home, she got the idea to write from the perspective of one of her maids to show the undaunting and segregated life that they live. Many try and persuade Skeeter to not write about this topic because it would expose the maltreatments of the ladies, especially since slavery is supposed to be over.
Minny is one of the maids who is trying to work and make a positive name for herself. She is later fired for using the guest bathroom rather than using the set bathroom for people of color at the house she was working. She was also called a thief by Hilly, who she was working for. Hilly chooses to spread this rumor in hopes to make it impossible for her to find a new job.
Though this film was referencing life in the 1960s, the airing of it in the 21st century is beneficial to show how things were years ago. The discrimination that occurred during these times was uncalled for and unbelievable. However, bringing awareness to these conditions and experiences can hopefully continue to help show that regardless of our race, internally, we are the same. My hope is that as the years go on, there will be continuous improvements made to eliminate the stereotypes. And like Skeeter, a small effort/ push can make a difference.
Podcast episode on Racism, Discrimination, and Implicit Bias in the workplace.
C: Caelan Warnecke
P: Patrick Gurd
Caelan: Hello welcome to this week’s episode on “Yo is this racist/bias” in the workplace podcast. I am Caelan Warnecke and I will be one of the two hosts this week. A little bit about me is that I am a third year Information Systems Major at The Ohio State University.
Patrick: Hey everyone, my name is Patrick Gurd and it is great to have you listening to this episode this week. I am a first year student that is following the Pre-Med track. However, as of now I have not declared a major. But I am thinking about maybe doing biology.
Caelan: This week’s episode will focus on discrimination in the work place. And how interview bias is becoming a large issue throughout many companies regardless of the size. And with that, it is limiting the expansion of culture within a company.
Patrick: So in the past few weeks an event took place with Amazon. A black female employee filed a lawsuit against her company alleging discrimination and sexism.
Caelan: You knowI think I saw something about that the other day. What information do you have on this situation Patrick?
Patrick: I have a lot,Charlotte Newman, who worked for Amazon’s Web Services in Washington D.C. filed a lawsuit against her company for many different reasons. These reasons include black employees being passed over for promotions even though they had the qualifications. Not being paid the same as her white counterparts. She was also faced with signs of bias towards her race and gender. The list goes on. Newman stated how she worked for two years above her pay grade until she got promoted. Her four years at Amazon does not seem like it was the best time.
Caelan: Wow that’s just crazy to hear because I feel many people pride Amazon on their diversity efforts throughout the company.
Patrick: That’s what I thought too.However,I found out that Amazon tries to be as diverse as possible but when it comes to executive positions, most of the people who have the positions are white. I know that in Amazon’s warehouses they have a diverse community, but when it comes to corporate positions it is much different. This is all very interesting to me, Amazon should not be doing this.
Caelan: I completely agree! Even though Amazon is a large corporation, these actions can not happen. Is there any steps Amazon is doing to rectify this situation?
Patrick: Amazon has started to make some progress.After some complaints and workers talking, Amazon added a black female to their top leadership team. They are -Amazon is a role model for almost every other business and they need to do better I think. Newman had a lot of courage to stand up to Amazon. As they are one of the largest companies in the world. And most respected as well, I feel. However, I hope Amazon makes the right decisions in the end.
Caelan: I agree, I look forward to seeing what steps Amazon makes as this story continues. We are also recognizing that this is a common issue that many companies are facing. Personally, as I begin to approach the corporate world in a field that I will be considered a minority, this is frustrating beyond belief. I feel as though being a woman should not determine the ability to grow and climb the ladder within a company. However, Ms.Newman’s experience is more discriminatory than just her gender, she was also discriminated against based on the color of her skin. This racial discrimination is not just not okay and its not only occurring in leadership/managerial levels in companies, it is happening throughout some companies. One of the recurring themes is that we noticed these individuals are being categorized as a minority within a company – rather than seeing them as who they are. Whether it is based on the color of an employee’s skin, gender, culture, or any mixture of these and others, that are include in this discrimination needs to be stopped.
Patrick: Caelan, I totally agree with you. No one should be held from a position because of one of their demographics.
Caelan: And we’re finding that some of these issues are because of the hiring process is. Companies tending to hire someone who has similar interests and looks similar to them, and this is known as affinity bias. So these are some subconscious biases that are hindering the growth of a company for diversity. When you are not having a diverse person interview or having a diverse mindset, these employees that come in aren’t going to be able to come in and feel as though they are welcome. So companies can connect more with individuals and be more supportive of their employees when having a diverse background of employees in their company. And that creates a welcoming feeling to a new hire and helps that culture continuously grow throughout the organization. So getting a diverse group of employees throughout all departments and levels of the company will then reduce implicit bias and hopefully help on that discrimination. The hiring process though is that initial display of implicit bias that many people see, and however though, it’s not always shown there. So these biases can be more apparent as time goes on which is where racism, discrimination needs to be addressed and stopped within companies right away.
Patrick: Caelan just unpacked a lot right there. I agree that having more diverse groups of employees allows companies to connect with a wider group of people. Diversity brings people from different backgrounds that allows different perspectives. We should be focusing on diversity but also look out for interview bias.
Caelan: Moving forward then, How can we combat these issues? How can we make amends to everything that has been going on Patrick?
Patrick: That is a great question. If only it could be fixed right away.
Caelan: That would be something! But I feel like this like others might take time and can not be done overnight.
Patrick: I agree with that.Great things take time. However, this is something that will probably take lots of time. It is interesting, I found an article about 4-H in Illinois.
Caelan: What exactly is 4-H?
Patrick: 4-H is a program for the youth and it stands for Head, Heart, Hands and Health. Across the country over 100 public universities help teach our youth different life skills. These life skills include teaching them about different career paths so the kids may know what they want to learn later down the road. 4-H is all about positive youth development. They welcome children from all backgrounds and beliefs. What is also great about 4-H is, they focus on equality and how to make our communities a better place. Caelan, what do you find interesting about 4-H in Illinois?
Caelan: This is a great program. And I find this program is going to be so impactful for all these kids that participate in it. And not just now, future as well. Once they start to grow within a company they are going to see how this implicit bias has happened. But with the steps that 4-H is implementing and teaching early on, it’s going to help to educate them – these young individuals especially on culture and diversity that may be in the workplace that they might come across. So bringing awareness to these topics to them at a young age, allows them to look out for these issues within a potential company. In 10-20 years, these kids are going to be out in the workplace looking for a job, starting their career. And have this information on implicat bias and discrimination will help them stand out among their peers. Many companies know that there are issues within their organization, but don’t know where to start. And that these issues will be more apparent to the individual as they have been with the company as time goes on. However though with 4-H, it is going to stay with them forever and they will be able to reflect upon what they learned throughout their life and apply it to the company that they join. I would also believe that by shining a light on these issues will help diversify future organizations as these individuals will begin the workplace.
Patrick: I think the new program Illinois 4-H added in will really help change our communities. Hopefully other 4-H’s in different states will follow what Illinois decided to do. I think it will really help the youth and help change the future. That’s all we had time for today. I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you all for listening! I hope you all have a great day and week.
Caelan: We hope you learned something new today or were enlightened by our episode today. Thank you for joining us!
An injustice that is close to home is every morning after a home game at Ohio Stadium, prisoners arrive to collect and sort waste to achieve zero waste. Following the cleanup of the stadium, bags of recycled materials are then shipped to other prisons throughout the state to be sorted. Stadium cleanup by incarcerated individuals is more recent, these individuals throughout Ohio have been sorting recycled materials that come directly from Ohio State campus since 2013. While on the outside this seems like a logistical idea to have incarcerated individuals of Ohio contribute to the community, they are not being properly compensated for their work. It is recorded that these individuals could be making less than a dollar per hour. More specifically, about 47 cents to $1.10 an hour, which is roughly 6% of the minimum wage in Ohio. This is uncalled for and is a version of modern-day slavery. This reminds me of one of the first pieces that we read this semester, Hegel. Specifically the master and slave dialect and position of power. Some incarcerated individuals desire to do better and have the want/need to perform and prove others once they are released. People have been able to find a gap in the 13th amendment of the abolishment of slavery, to use individuals, regardless of race, for labor as a way of punishment. However, it has been recorded that people of color that are from lower incomes are five times more likely than white people to be incarcerated. Even though the idea of being a waste-free stadium is great for the environment and sustainability for our planet, to what extent is this acceptable, if at all? Involuntary labor should not be put before human rights and dignity. If the university still wants this program to continue, they should increase the wages of these individuals to make it more just and equitable. Also, with the amount of revenue that is produced from football games, 55.6 million is produced from ticket sales alone, these incarcerated individuals who are working to better themselves should be paid more. Half of the employed incarcerated individuals make less than $10,090 a year. I am not saying that paying the workers more makes it better, but it would make it less of an injustice. Getting to participate in these jobs allows the incarcerated individuals to feel like they have a job, given the outcome/conditions it is unjust. These individuals are human beings, and they are working, therefore should be getting paid minimum wage regardless of if they are in prison or employees of the university. Through this program, the incarcerated individuals get to earn a forklift certification, a Composting Operators License, and learning interviewing skills. If they were invested in the future of the incarcerated individuals, they could have accounts set up for them, and following their work, the money gets deposited into that account in-which they have full access to following their release. They could have a restriction placed on how much they could access weekly to buy things or whatnot but using their labor in benefit to the university’s name is uncalled for.
Here is the petition that is available to sign to make your voice heard.
Jhumpa Lahiri, the author of Interpreter of the Maladies, tends to have some of her characters who are immigrants of India experience cultural displacement, marital troubles, or problems of finding their own identity. Immigrants can suffer a lot of emotional trauma from their experience of moving from their home country. Displacement from others can be difficult to deal with but having those who support and love you can make the situation better.
Love is a strong bond, and it’s feeling brings people and families together. Sometimes relationships can result in a friendship or even marriage. Love can also come with conflict and barriers. Some barriers include language, culture, and socioeconomic class, which can put a damper on any relationship if not accepted. While many parents try and look out for their child’s best interest, controlling everything, including who they marry is not a great option. In some cultures, arranged marriages are common and accepted. For example, in India, it is still considered the norm, with 90 percent of marriages being arranged, but in the United States, it is less common.
I would consider Twinkle and Sanjeev’s relationship is similar to an arranged marriage but a modern version of it. In This Blessed House, both Twinkle and Sanjeev had an option to show interest in one another and the choice of marriage. They married within a few months and following their marriage they experienced some tension between the two of them. Many couples experience these struggles regardless of an arranged marriage or not. They found that compromises need to be made to make the other happy. Like all relationships, there has to be given and take. Both individuals have to be on board and be willing to express themselves to make the relationship work. Deep rooting a relationship between love and bond that is created can help the couple grow and get closer together. In doing so, it allows both individuals to find their own identity, along with an identity together.
