ALT-1 The Race Card and how it Affects Employment
How does race affect employment? Overall, from what I have seen, adversely in the U.S., unless you are a white male.
I can hear the whiners "whine-ding" up now, but the facts are clearly shown by statistics - white males in the U.S. - and probably elsewhere in the western world - are still paid the most when we break wages down by race alone. Worse, while women - well, white women, anyway - were paid $.72 for every dollar paid to white males in the late 1970's, by the 2000's, white women had backslid to a pay scale of $.58 for every dollar paid to white males. This is nearly as poorly as they were paid before the EEOA was enacted in the early 1970's; since prior to enactment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, white women were paid $.52 for every dollar paid to white males in the U.S.
Now let's consider how things change if you include all the races. If you simply compare the amounts paid to women collectively (i.e., all racial categories) with the amounts paid to all males collectively, in the 1970's before the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, females collectively were paid $.51 per dollar that males earned. If you take out the amount paid to white males, the statistics change radically, however, to females being paid $.70 compared to all non-white males. This indicates something seriously wrong with the economic system regarding pay in the U.S., since it clearly shows that non-white males were also hugely discriminated against in pay prior to the enactment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.
Of recent years there has been a rise in the hue-and-cry that white males are being discriminated against in hiring and pay, "and as a result, EEOA must go", but if you look at actual wages paid, you will see that white males are STILL paid considerably more than (a) males of other races (with American Indian/ ITI males being the lowest paid, as usual) and (b) females collectively, including white females. Again as usual, American Indian (i.e., ITI) females are paid the least of all categories.
This clearly shows that not only must the Equal Employment Opportunity Act NOT go, but that there is still considerable work to be done to bring wages in line with current reality. In short, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act needs upgrading, and white males ARE NOT discriminated against, overall.
While there are likely to be instances in which white males are discriminated against, overall, their case is minor compared to the discrimination seen by females of all categories and non-white males, us ITI getting the shortest stick of all.
I continually hear garbage from supposedly educated and 'aware' whites in Dakota Territory lamenting the lack of educated qualified ITI People to fill various jobs, yet I live near the first Tribal College established in the U.S., I have almost a Master's (in chemistry), and know many well-educated ITI People - most of whom are not even considered for suitable jobs.
I have "had" to make it in business, and I thank Tunkashila daily for the Internet, or I'd have starved to death long ago up here. I have heard many employers ask why I haven't "simply moved away".. to which my reply is, "Why should I? This land is named for my People - the Dakota!"
When I went to the state's only granting agency for a grant to establish a major business here, with three products having 5 huge markets for the food product (total over $200 billion annual U.S. sales), 5 similar markets for our non-food value-added agricultural product (total of over $75 billion in annual U.S. sales), and one market for our solar product, the Deputy Director of the state's Department of Economic Development told me in a public hearing, "I don't ever want to make a grant to any company whose mission statement says it means to provide jobs for Indians."
When I asked her for a reason for her perspective, given that Indian Preference is Federally mandated, we are full citizens of both the U.S. and our own countries (Reservations are countries under Federal law), our mission statement also says we exist to provide a profitable market for family farmers and support to keep family farming alive here... she replied in every case, "Because you're IN-DI-ANS!" When I asked her if she were familiar with the terms "discrimination, illegal, racist, and lawsuit", they suddenly ran out of time and closed the meeting. Isn't serendipity amazing? Let's just say that Linda's last name is spelled correctly.. "Butts"..
I'm still hunting development money, although the amount is small, I continue to run up against backward attitudes regarding women and Indians in business..
This being the official perspective of a state agency concerned with economic development, obviously the Equal Employment Opportunity Act is still vitally needed, and race is definitely a factor in employment in the U.S.
