Every human being deserves equal treatment. While this is a general desire, the reality is different. Discrimination based on color, gender, culture, and socio-economic status exists. Opportunities are equally distributed but are not awarded according to merit. The silence on discrimination has led oppressed groups to the streets to seek out justice, for the system has failed to protect them. The inclination to reject others based on their superficial features is something that exists. It is not only institutional but also individual. Identifying oneself with a majority group and oppressing the weak is subconscious and conscious in the human psyche. There is some power to being on the non-discriminated side, or the side that benefits from less friction in the processes of acquiring opportunities to get ahead in life. This fact explains why seeing a fringe group such as the LGBT hold rallies amounts to public bashing and further discrimination. This paper describes discrimination based on the quotas of ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and religion in human service interviews.
Ethnicity
The categorization of human beings based on their physical characteristics is not new. Human beings come from different ethnic groups, and that is a fact. There are many other races; Latinos, African America, Asians, and many more. We all live together and have the same needs.
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Some races, however, face discrimination in the allocation of job opportunities. An example of such a race is the black community. Employers tend to discriminate based on the parameters of police arrests and criminal records. The statistics of arrests victimize the black community due to a justice system that targets them. In any case, a criminal record should not stop one from getting meaningful employment unless the job is sensitive. Sometimes an arrest does not mean the person was convicted guilty of the offense, but still, some employers deny job opportunities based on a record of arrest.
Names and colloquial terms describing other races such as "nigger” are offensive and demoralizing to others. To call one such a word even though jokingly or as a tease puts down the victim's spirits. In today's diverse environment, we ought to accept others as they are and treat them by merit.
Stereotyping races as being lazy and incompetent without facts lead to discrimination at interviews. By giving information of being a certain color, an application is dismissed on such unfair grounds. Employers need not ask for such data as criminal records and race until the point after employment. This will ensure that the person is strictly judged on merit, effectively ending ethnic discrimination in the services industry.
Employers may claim to be non-discriminating employers; however, the subconscious psyche still discriminates when it comes to screening applicants. Recruiters overlook individual merit and favor the accepted race. It is painful to be the race that already knows the scales of preference lean against them. We can only hope for a better tomorrow through the proper implementation of equality in interviews and job opportunities in the human services sector. Such a dispensation will depict the appropriate picture that Americans are composed of a diverse race of people who live and work together in harmony.
Culture
The range of cultures in America is diverse. Cultural diversity is a strength of a society for the numerous varied ideas it brings. Culture has been known to fuel innovation, such as in the startup culture fueled by Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Culture is closely intertwined with elements such as social class and race. Even though people can speak the same language and come from the same race, it is possible to subscribe to different cultures.
Some cultures are more dominant than others, such as the Christianity culture. Dominant cultures are more favored by the system and cannot be opposed as they are the majority. An example is that Christians have a holiday known as Christmas that is celebrated. The culture is influential enough that during Christian holidays, schools are closed, and work activities stop.
This is not to attack Christianity or the Muslim culture, but other cultures exist that are not recognized in the national calendar. Mainstream culture threatens the existence of other sub-cultures, who ought to be recognized too for their diversity. Their ideas and values are worthy to them too.
It is common in the service industry to discriminate cultures during the interview by favoring dominant cultures such as Christianity. One's culture can be identified by how they dress and the media they consume. Therefore, it is possible to be unaware of the culture one belongs to. A Caribbean cultured individual may have as their hairstyle dreadlocks or have a bracelet branded with a certain group of colors. Upon presenting themselves for the interview, the recruiter could be a Christian angered by such culture. At this point, the job seeker will be unfairly treated due to the intolerance by the Christian recruiter.
There are many more cultures that can lead to discrimination if acceptance and tolerance are not taught in the human service recruitment process. Certain subcultures are thrown off the interview process not by demerit but by discrimination and stereotypes that these cultures are associated with.
Gender
The service industry is rife with gender stereotypes that are deeply ingrained in the minds of employers and recipients of the services. It is common, for example, to have the image of a nurse as a woman. This has been taught to us through images in media and even in education materials. This has led people to believe that care can only be given by a woman. Which is far from true. This phenomenon has also been witnessed in the hotel industry, with women being on the far front in being trusted and men being entrusted with decisions and manual labor.
The banking and aviation sectors paint a clear picture of gender discrimination and roles in the recruitment process. Cashiers are mostly ladies, which shows the rate of discrimination that the male gender faces. It is hopeless for a man to apply for such a job as the opposite gender is already favored. Conversely, males are tasked with more executive positions in the banking sector, denying opportunities to women who are as qualified.
One is puzzled at the aviation sector's arbitrary choice of females as air hostesses. It is puzzling to see how males have no chance to get such a job. As a man, I would like to know that if I train to be a flight crew member, my scope would not be limited to being a pilot or air martial only.
Sexual Orientation
Of all wrong things is to deny one medical care based on the grounds of their sexual orientation. In America, in 2010, more than half of the LGBT community reported denial of needed medical services (Singh & Durso, 2017) . Such is the situation that shows a lack of inclusion of the LGBT community in the healthcare service sector.
One is puzzled at such acts and the audacity of healthcare service providers. In lieu of this, how discriminative are the recruitment policies? If one is asked for data about a partner, would they be confident in getting accepted despite their training qualification? I highly doubt. The mention or hinting of sexual orientation could automatically lead to disqualification in the recruitment process.
The rate of discrimination in this sector needs to be addressed. To end this, the LGBT community needs to change healthcare services' culture by joining the sector. The recruitment process should be rid of sexual orientation bias. A general culture of tolerance and acceptance should be inculcated in the processes of interviewing.
As an LGBT or transgender member, I should be able to apply for a position that I feel qualified for without the need to hide my sexual orientation. As a heterosexual, other than enjoying the liberties of showing affection to those we love, we also deny the other non-heterosexuals their right to enjoy the same things that we do. Acceptance and tolerance seem to escape a majority of the population. There is an urgent need to let others be themselves and give them the opportunity to serve based on the quality of service they offer rather than the sexist connotations of service delivery.
Socio-economic status
Poverty is associated with certain races. Therefore, one cannot discuss economic status without the underpins of poverty. Richer individuals in society dissociate themselves from the poor. A rich person thinks that one is poor due to laziness. Rich people disagree with social support funds and services targeted to the poor, decrying they should work hard to earn a living.
This hate is deeply ingrained in the psyche of individuals leading to discrimination and bias. Such factors lead to denial of opportunities and a chance to mingle and socialize with a different class of society. Homeless individuals and people on social support, regardless of their race, however, face discrimination due to the stereotypes that employees harbor.
Employers think it is risky to employ a homeless person. Such risk is undefined and just a mental idea of the homeless person's conditions. This perception is a projection of hate that people have for the homeless and needy of society. The risks are unquantified, and yet they are denied job opportunities.
The homeless are also discriminated against due to stereotypes of having an addiction or mental disability. The cycle of homelessness will continue to grow if the homeless cannot get past interviews due to the negative connotation they carry. People said to have mental problems are known not to keep jobs.
The need to explain a gap in employment history negatively targets the homeless and the poor. A gap in employment can happen to anyone, but this raises grounds for disqualification in interviews for the poor. This criterion, coupled with a possible criminal record, renders employment difficult for the homeless.
A poor or homeless person possibly lacks good references for obvious reasons. Another fact to consider is the hygiene standard required in the interview process. Poor people have no access to showers and proper grooming to make a good impression on the interviewer (Crowe, 2020) . A person living in a camp could be qualified, but the amount of untended beard they have or the musky body odor is enough to trigger dismissal by an interviewer.
The requirement of a permanent address also negatively targets the poor and homeless. Most employers will ask for a permanent address when interviewing. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine the mental state of a person preparing for an interview from a homeless tent versus one who is coming from a residential place.
References
Crowe, A. (2020). Thehumanimpact.org. Retrieved 19 February 2021, from https://www.thehumanimpact.org/post/stereotype-2-homeless-people-should-just-get-a-job .
Singh, S., & Durso, L. (2017). Widespread discrimination Continues to Shape LGBT People's Lives in Both Subtle and Significant Ways - Center for American Progress . Center for American Progress. Retrieved 19 February 2021, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbtq-rights/news/2017/05/02/429529/widespread-discrimination-continues-shape-lgbt-peoples-lives-subtle-significant-ways/.
