Have you experienced gender, racial, or ethnic discrimmination? How much has it cost you?

[Anonymous]

I would estimate that I have lost close to $1 million over my career because of discrimmination.
Anyone else care to guess what they might have lost?

[Anonymous]

Wow! how did you reach to $ 1 million?
I am curios, was this discrimination at one job? different jobs? or was it outside work?
Lisa

[Anonymous]

In progressive nonprofits, it hurts to be a woman (where I am paid less than men of all races) but it also hurts to be white.

My African American colleagues all make more than I do, and I have been passed up for jobs when younger, less qualified people of color are hired instead.

I have even done this discrimination while hiring myself. Grant funders require a certain diversity among staff and board (and this is a good thing! But it still stings when job hunting).

It's a fact of life---- progressive people of color can really advance if they are willing to work for groups that have racial baggage, like the environmental and women's movements.

[Anonymous]

Without details to support the legitimacy of her claim, OP's post just sounds to me like someone with an ax to grind.

[Anonymous]

Your AA colleagues all make more than you...so your AA colleagues and you all hold the exact same job, with the same duties, reporting to the same supervisor, and they are paid a different wage? Or is that they do different jobs than you, for which they have different qualifications, but you believe they are somehow not qualified because you're full of yourself? I believe it's the latter, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your AA colleagues all make more than you...so your AA colleagues and you all hold the exact same job, with the same duties, reporting to the same supervisor, and they are paid a different wage? Or is that they do different jobs than you, for which they have different qualifications, but you believe they are somehow not qualified because you're full of yourself? I believe it's the latter, OP.

Swap out AA and add the word white, you will then turn from being PC to racist.

[Anonymous]

Interesting question. I don't know how OP got to her $$$ calculation. But I can tell you this very specific example:

About 15 years ago, I sent out a batch of 10-15 resumes using my ethnic-sounding first and last name, and heard nothing back. Months later, after marrying DH (whose family hails from Northern Europe), I tried resending resumes to those same places using my new married surname and the Anglicized version of my first name. As an example: Annupama Vindushranan marries Mr. Jones and becomes Ann Jones (not my real names, but you get the idea).

Guess what? With my Anglicized name, I received 2 calls for interviews, and accepted an offer at one of the firms. I had a great time working at that firm, and the people there were great, but I've never forgotten that I wouldn't have gotten an interview had I not had the option to de-ethnicize my name.

[Anonymous]

13:55, is it possible that the companies didn't have a need to hire someone when you sent the first batch of resumes out but then their hiring needs changed by the time you sent out the second round? If you had sent out both sets at the same time and the Caucasian sounding name received replies and the set with the ethnic sounding name didn't, that would seem indicative of possible bias.

[Anonymous]

I was once declined a job after a third interview at a firm - I was specifically told (by my head hunter) that she was told that the reason I was passed over was that I wore a pants suit instead of a skirt suit on that last interview (I ran out of skirt suits!). I always thought that smacked of discrimination.

[Anonymous]

I experience age discrimination daily. I am in my early thirties, a mother, married, etc. My current boss is in her late 50s and started working in our field six years ago after MANY years as a SAHM. I have more experience than her and she is almost completely incompetent. I will never get anywhere working for her because she just looks at me as being young…I am not THAT young! She got her job because she has white hair and looks like she knows what she is doing. I got my job because of by background, experience, and track record. She has told me that I am young and I know I will never get anywhere under her thumb. Another 60ish boss I have calls me kido! Grrr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:55, is it possible that the companies didn't have a need to hire someone when you sent the first batch of resumes out but then their hiring needs changed by the time you sent out the second round? If you had sent out both sets at the same time and the Caucasian sounding name received replies and the set with the ethnic sounding name didn't, that would seem indicative of possible bias.

No. Both times I applied to be an account associate, an entry-level position for new MBAs that has top-of-the-market-pay and direct contact with clients. I worked my way up at this form for almost 7 years and know specifically that the firm is always hiring for this role because of high burnout (70% travel), and relative scarcity of MBAs from top 20 schools. If anything, the timing of the second resume I sent was "off cycle" in the hiring year and should have disadvantaged me.

I also want to be clear that I don't assume SINISTER bias was going on. Before electronic resume sorting, a recruiter had hundreds or thousands of resumes to manually sort through, and needed to make snap judgments to weed through those stacks. The psychology research is filled with examples of a tendency to select those the reviewer "identifies with". I was able to make lemonade out of my situation, and am not bitter about the resume discrepancy (I cashed 6-figures worth of stock options before the crash). I'm just realistic that people make all sorts of snap judgments, some of which help me ("she's going to be good because her MBA is from X school") and some of which will hurt ("how the heck do you pronounce that name?").

BTW, while I worked there, the HR director was replaced by someone who redesigned the entire hiring process. By the time I left the firm (on excellent terms) the employee base was significantly different, more women, permission for PT/Flexible/remote arrangements. Those changes were a direct result of the firm's willingness to acknowledge that the world was changing and adapting to those changes.

[Anonymous]

OP here, the men in my filed make about $200K more per year now, but I reduced the amount when I took into consideration my slightly lower productivity. Before I had kids, I was as productive as they were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was once declined a job after a third interview at a firm - I was specifically told (by my head hunter) that she was told that the reason I was passed over was that I wore a pants suit instead of a skirt suit on that last interview (I ran out of skirt suits!). I always thought that smacked of discrimination.

That was a blessing in disguise. Very few women under 50 wear skirt suits anymore. Do they even sell them? I haven't owned one in years. Yuck!!! That's DC for you. So used to government workers with pantyhose, block colors and quarter-inch heels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In progressive nonprofits, it hurts to be a woman (where I am paid less than men of all races) but it also hurts to be white.

My African American colleagues all make more than I do, and I have been passed up for jobs when younger, less qualified people of color are hired instead.

I have even done this discrimination while hiring myself. Grant funders require a certain diversity among staff and board (and this is a good thing! But it still stings when job hunting).

It's a fact of life---- progressive people of color can really advance if they are willing to work for groups that have racial baggage, like the environmental and women's movements.

It's not a good feeling to feel discrimination, but a situation in which a minority gets a higher salary over a white colleague is more the exception than the rule in the rest of America, whether it's for-profit or non-profit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In progressive nonprofits, it hurts to be a woman (where I am paid less than men of all races) but it also hurts to be white.

My African American colleagues all make more than I do, and I have been passed up for jobs when younger, less qualified people of color are hired instead.

I have even done this discrimination while hiring myself. Grant funders require a certain diversity among staff and board (and this is a good thing! But it still stings when job hunting).

It's a fact of life---- progressive people of color can really advance if they are willing to work for groups that have racial baggage, like the environmental and women's movements.

Why stay in that field and make less when you, as a white woman with so many options, can make more $$$? What about those 18M cracks in the glass ceiling?