Percentage of Black Males Working

Percentage of Black Males Working in Human Resources

Racism is a raging issue and its extent the workplace is worth exploring. The employment of Black men is of particular interest to this paper. They constitute only a small percentage of the national population. Nonetheless, they are a force and a part of the nation. They are realities who contribute or not to the national welfare and economy. They should, therefore, be made productive part of the nation's workforce. Because racism is inconsistent with this ideal, straightforward questions must asked. Are they as likely as white men to complain about work discrimination in connection with their color? Are they treated equally or unequally when applying for jobs? How do they compare in the matter of raises and promotions? This paper will attempt to answer these questions.

Literature Review

Coleman, Major C.; Darity, William a.; and Sharpe, Rhonda V. Sharpe. Are Reports of Discrimination Valid? American Journal of Economics and Sociology: American

Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc., 2008. Retrieved on March 2, 2009 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0254/is_2_67/ai_n27911457?tag=content;col1

The authors discuss the findings of a Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality that Black workers are far likelier to complain about discrimination at work than white workers. Those who do also show statistical evidence of wage discrimination. The study also found little evidence to support the moral hazard argument. This argument held that employers tend to be reluctant to hire Black workers to avoid the risk of groundless lawsuits. Black workers filed discrimination complaints far more than whites and evidence bears statistically discernible racial discrimination behind these complaints. This is not the same with whites. These complainants were also subjected to wage discrimination, which was not done to white workers. And the moral effect argument states that employers are disinclined to hire Blacks so as to avoid possible lawsuits filed by them. Employers intend to avoid the legal hazard of being sued for a violation. This study did not support the argument.

The Multi-City Study supplied the lack of appropriate data on the issue by collecting detailed employment and wage information and Black employees' perceptions of job discrimination. The surveys were conducted on 8,000 respondents living in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit and Los Angeles. Findings showed that Black workers - male and female - were 6 or 7 times likelier to complain of job discrimination on account of their race than whites. Black males were also 11 times likelier to complain of discrimination in raises and promotions than white males. Tabulations reflected that white men earn $16.69 per hour as compared with $14.27 if they were treated as Black men. White men do not suffer racial discrimination in terms of wages. Black men earn $1.89 less for their race. Only 12.5% of the Black male respondents who reported discrimination did not provide evidence of wage discrimination. The Study concluded that the feared moral hazard effect was only theoretical and not actual. Black workers are likelier to report experiences of both racial discrimination in the workplace and provide evidence of wage discrimination. The situation was not true for whites. The Study also concluded that the fears of improper lawsuits of racial discrimination were without basis. It recommended that employers address their discriminatory practices in the workplace rather than refrain from hiring Black workers.

Porter, Brenda. Black Males Locked Out of Jobs: White Ex-Cons More Likely to Find

Work than Black Counterparts, 2006. Black Enterprise: Earl G. Gravis Publishing Co., Inc., 2006. Retrieved on March 2, 2009 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_7_36/ai_n26245110?tag=content;col1

Porter connects the findings of a 2004 study conducted by Princeton University sociology professors and the hypothesis on employer discrimination and race in contemporary urban labor markets. Professors Bruce Western and Devah Pager conducted the study on 13 young male applicants in 1,470 private companies in New York City in February 2004. They found that Blacks with no criminal record were treated the same way as white males with criminal record in finding employment. Employers also refused employment to 57% of Black applicants but only to 35% of white applicants. Latinos had a higher acceptance rate than Blacks. Gerald D. Jaynes of the Black Enterprise Board of Economists was not surprised by the findings. He interpreted these to mean that employers in general would give a second chance of employment to whites who committed a "mistake." But they would not take the same risk with Blacks with a criminal record.

Levitan, Mark. A Crisis of Black Male Employment: Unemployment and Joblessness in New City. Community Service Society Annual Report. Community Service Society, 2004. Retrieved on March 2, 2009 at http://www.cssny.org/pubs/special/2004_02/labormarket.pdf

The author describes the recovery of New York City's economy since the terrorists' attack, but prosperity is not yet in sight. Unemployment is still a problem and it is high. He wonders if true economic growth would ease out the joblessness crisis confronting the City's Black men. The Community Service Society's annual report compares unemployment figures in 2000 and 2003. It found that the unemployment rate for 2003 was 8.5% but many groups felt it was higher. These groups consisted of teens at 28.7%; young adults at 13.1%; Blacks, 12.9%; Hispanics, 9.6%; those with less than a high school degree, 11.2%; and blue collar workers, 10.1%. Jobholding since the business cycle peak of 2000 has been declining for men more than for women at 5.4% and 2.2%, respectively. Among the men, the unemployment decline was sharpest for the young at 11.6%; Hispanics at 7.1%; and Blacks at 12.2%. In 2003, only half of New York's Black men were employed at 51.8%. In comparison, 57.1% of Black women and 75.7% of white men also in New York were employed in the same year.

Recession is generally associated with the 9/11 attacks but the labor market in New York City was already in trouble since December 2000. From 3,761,000 jobs existing 9 months before the attacks, the figure dropped by 81,700 by September 2001. The City lost 78,300 jobs from September to December 2001. The figure continued to decrease from 2002 to 2003 by another 93,700 jobs. It reached and remained at 3,528,000 from August to September 2003. The most affected groups were the Blacks, the Hispanics and younger men. Statistics said that 27-35% of New York men 16-24 years old were African-American and Hispanic, respectively. This suggested a crisis of Black employment.

This crisis was not unique at this time. During the 1989 -1992 recession, the decline in employment of Hispanics was at 12.9% decline as compared with the Blacks at 2.3%. During the 1992-2000 recovery and boom period, however, the employment of Hispanics went up by 14.4% while that for Blacks at only 3.2%. These levels were unchanged from the peak of economic expansion in 1989 till the 90s economic expansion. Then in 1989, Black employment fell to 16.6% below that of White males and 8.3% of Hispanic men. By 2003, the gap between Black and white men increased to 23.9% while the gap between Black and Hispanic men stretched to 13.9%.

The steep fall in employment or job holding among Black men has been customarily attributed to the cause behind their overall and ever-widening social disadvantage. Their situation can be compared with that of Hispanic men. The employment of Hispanic men in the manufacturing sector in the 1898 recession fell sharply with the collapse of the sector itself. But the service industries made up for that loss and employed Hispanic men later in the 90s. But Black men did not benefit as much as Hispanic men did in the service industries.

In his report, the author suggested three steps, which could make a difference in solving the stubborn and gargantuan issue. One was to renew the Temporary Extended Unemployment Program or TEUC, which the President and Congress failed to do. Another was to create transitional jobs. And the third was to open the door to opportunity.

The persistently high level of unemployment warranted the renewal of the TEUC. It would not only relieve the hard consequences of unemployment but also support consumer spending and boost economic growth in New York City. Under the second step, transitional jobs would make available publicly subsidized and temporary jobs to the unemployed. And under the third step of opening a door to opportunity, Opportunities could be major infrastructure projects to employ people without a college degree. Examples are new or expanded subway lines, sports stadiums, and rebuilding at the World Trade Center site. Because public resources would be needed, the people of New York would have the voice in their policy goals. These are opportunities for unemployed Blacks and Hispanics.

Johnson-Elie, Tannette. Study Shows How Deeply Black Men Face Discrimination in Hiring. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: JSOnline, 2003. Retrieved on March 7, 2009 from http://www.jobbankusa.com/News/Hiring/hiring100803a.html

Johnson-Elie discusses the findings of another study, which provides evidence of racial discrimination in hiring Black men. The study was conducted among job applicants in metro Milwaukee because of its size, racial demographics and industrial base. The researcher-sociologist was Devah Pager of the Northwestern University of Evanston, Illinois between June and December 2001. She sent equally matched pairs of Black and white men to apply for low-skilled jobs in 350 places in the area. These applicants were bright, articulate students who pretended to apply for the jobs. The result was that the Black applicants without criminal record were called back for interview only 14% of the time as compared to white applicants with criminal record at 17% of the time.

The author quotes Julia Taylor, president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee as saying that a lot of work had to be done towards educating employers and their attitudes towards race. Taylor commented that racial discrimination in employment affected the region, its workforce and inner-city growth. The result of the study did not surprise many African-Americans who knew the existence of this type of discrimination in the region's job market. On the other hand, many white Americans thought that direct, racial discrimination of this kind had become less of a problem in society. The sociologist-researcher Pager expressed surprise at the result. She expected that the effect of a criminal record would make a difference. Instead, her study revealed that racial stereotypes, prejudices and assumptions remained a strong factor in hiring. Leonard Wells, chairman of the Milwaukee Parole Committee inferred from the result that Black male ex-offenders would, therefore, face greater odds in finding jobs and reintegrating into the economic mainstream. He perceived a silent but strong prejudice against Black men in getting employed and remaining oppressed. Wells was also a former police officer and president of the League of Martin, an organization of Black Milwaukee police officers. He expressed disappointment towards the claim of reintegrating people into the community and solving unemployment among the Blacks in the community. Many said criminal record prevented Blacks from obtaining jobs. But it was only, undisputedly and clearly racism behind it.

If the Black applicant had criminal record, he could expect only a 5% chance of being called back for an interview, the study added. White men without criminal record had a high 34% chance. The law prohibited discrimination against applicants with criminal records if their crime did not correspond to the job requirement. Professor Phoebe Weaver Williams of the Marquette University who specializes in employment discrimination. She noted that the setting up of many laws against it had not corrected it. The result of Pager's study showed that not only did criminal record deny employment opportunity. It also found that employers were unwilling to take risks on Black applicants, even when they had no criminal record. The study said employers perceived Blacks as possessing criminal tendencies.

The U.S. Department of Justice tried to explain the bad image as media's creation of Black men as gangsters, thugs and rappers in dark areas. It also said that more of them entered prisons than college. These inmates were brought back to their communities with little chances of getting legitimate jobs. Employment, or the lack of it, was, in fact, a factor in recidivism. Associate Director Weldell Hruska of Project Return in Milwaukee said that Black felons were certainly viewed by the job market with hostility. He said he could well understand why many of their clients, who are felons and convicts of misdemeanors, got discouraged or gave up applying for jobs.

Finally, the author presents the problem about employers still making hiring decisions, based on fear and misunderstanding surrounding color.

Love, Alice Ann. Black Men Complain of Job Discrimination at Social Security. Topeka Capital Journal: Associated Press, 1999. Retrieved on March 2, 2009 at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_19990420/ai_n11725575?tag=content;col1

Black male employees at the Social Security Administration have a job but not a career. This was the sentiment expressed by Harry Dunbar and his two co-complainants in a class action suit filed against the SSA at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1995. In their complaint, they claimed that Black men received fewer promotions and less satisfactory job evaluations than deserved. After four years of delay, the Commission ruled that the joint complaint could proceed. Social Security officials, led by deputy commissioner Paul Barnes, however, denied the charges. Instead, they claimed SSA as among the most diverse agencies of government. Barnes said that 6.7% of their employees were Black men, compared with the civilian workforce at only 5.2% in the national level. Among its most senior executives, he added, 10% were Black men and 6.1% of those who received promotions in a single year were Black men.

Methodology

This study used the descriptive-normative method of research in recording, describing, interpreting, analyzing and comparing information, gathered from authoritative or peer-reviewed journals on the subject matter.

Results recent Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality, conducted in New York City, concluded that Black workers in general were likelier to complain about discrimination in the workplace on account of their race (Coleman et al. 2008). Black males, in particular, were found to be 6-7% likelier to do so than white male or even Black female workers. Black males were also 11 times likelier to complain about discrimination in wage raises and promotions than white males. The Study also concluded that the fear of improper lawsuits of racial discrimination by employers was baseless in deciding not to hire Black workers (Coleman et al.).

Another study, conducted in metro Milwaukee, showed that employers exercised racial discrimination in selecting applicants (Johnson-Elie 2003). They preferred white male applicants with criminal records to Black male applicants without criminal records even if these two groups had comparable qualifications (Johnson-Elie).

2004 study conducted by Princeton University Sociology Professors Bruce Western and Devah Pager yielded similar results (Porter 2006). Black males without criminal record were treated the same way as white males with criminal record. They refused employment to 57% Black male applicants as against only 35% of white male applicants. They were also inclined to give white ex-convicts a second chance but would not take the same risk with Blacks with a criminal record (Porter).