How Discrimination in the Workplace Works

Discrimination is hard to detect. It’s incredibly insidious, especially in our modern environment where outright discrimination is illegal. In years past, signs like “No Irish Need Apply” or “No Blacks” or “No Asians” were common in different areas of the country. Women were often shut out of employment except for very specific industries where women were supposed to be better at the job like textiles or personal services (servants). Since the 1970s discrimination in employment and housing have been illegal. However, discrimination continues. This is a personal story and I am not going to go into the statistics around this or the other political issues. I trust if you want to dig into that you can do your own research on the topic. Perhaps I would do another blog post on that specifically but this about how I came to discover it personally.

I’ve never thought that I experienced discrimination, however, I recently lost a job to discrimination, and it got me thinking about what other opportunities I might have lost due to simple discrimination based on skin color or sexuality. I wish I had a law firm like Dhillon Law on my side to navigate this situation. It never occurred to me that my appearance or my personality would be at issue when it came to employment. I am smart and capable and I always felt that would win over anyone and give them great reasons to give me the job.

My first experience with discrimination in regards to employment took place in college. I was a brand ambassador with a variety of brands, and I was excited to get a brand ambassadorship with Dell computer. It meant a free laptop that I desperately needed and $20 an hour to encourage people to buy the popular laptop brand. It was a great fit for me. I struggled to find a job that would fit around my class schedule in college. I went through 3 interviews to land the job, and I got it. In a chance meeting with the head of the school technology store, I introduced myself as the new brand ambassador, and she looked me up and down and stated that it was impossible. She already had people in mind for the job, and I was not a fit for it. I explained the process that I had gone through, and I said that I knew there was just a misunderstanding about it. She went to work and pretty soon, I received an apology letter from the company for wasting my time.
In 48 hours, I had lost my $20 an hour job as a brand rep for this major computer brand, and another young man was installed. I can’t say it was racial, but there was clear nepotism.

Another recent job was a bit different. All my followers know I’m a big guy. My father is 6′ 7″ tall with my wide-shoulder build. I was at a job where my boss informed me at a one-on-one meeting that I had a body odor problem. The climate in Seattle doesn’t leave you sweating too often. I drove to work, and that wasn’t the problem either. I showered regularly and used light cologne to make sure that my natural odor didn’t shine through. I returned to my desk dejected and told my cubicle mate what had happened. She smiled and shook her head. “Ignore it, if you smelled I would have told you about it, you’re fine, she’s just picking on you.” Weight discrimination? Maybe, and certainly not illegal either. However, it did not do anything to improve my performance or make me feel welcome in the workspace. If there were complaints from fellow staff, that would be understandable but for one person to use their power to undercut someone on a very personal and sensitive manner is simply inappropriate.

Most recently, I was discriminated for being gay, or at least not straight. One of the biggest complaints against me was being out in the workplace and not making my personal sexuality a secret. While everyone else was talking about their crushes or their own partners, I was expected to keep quiet. Women in the office gushed over delivery guys; however, when I made the fatal mistake of doing the same, I was accused of exposing younger members of staff to homosexuality. This experience highlights the importance of knowing how to understand employement discrimination laws to protect individuals from such unfair treatment based on sexual orientation.

It was this moment that got me thinking about that story from high school or other small jobs I applied to where the hiring staff was excited to talk to me until I walked in the room or where the interview chilled when I arrived. I know there were times when my application (back when we had paper) was binned the upon receipt.

All of this taught me one very significant lesson: employment discrimination is a very real thing. Getting a job takes knowing the right people but also being the right “people” for the job. You do have to meet the expectations not only in skill but in appearance and personality to land the right job. How many people are left behind because of this? If America is a true meritocracy where hard work and persistence are rewarded with success, then should it stand to reason that you cannot even get onto the ladder without someone else giving you the chance to do so?

I was very lucky. That brand ambassador job didn’t end my career being a brand ambassador. I was able to find other forms of work but I wonder what opportunities I missed simply because of who I am and there are millions others just like me.