Racial Discrimination At Workplace

It is impossible not to run into an Indian in any part of the world. We have spread ourselves so far and wide, entering into any and every field and making the most of all opportunities available to us. A good number of us work in European Nations, in African nations and a humungous number of us work in United States of America. It is when we reach there that we discover the flipside of the rosy picture – we were never invited into this country, because we are a different race. Many of them do not know that India and Pakistan are two separate states, often calling people of both country abusive names and categorizing them under the same bracket of criminals and terrorists. It happens even more in workplace. Natives feel that Indians, who are willing to work more and be paid less for the same job that a native Caucasian would demand. When this is combined with centuries of hatred that they feel towards non-natives and immigrants from Asia, African-American citizens and Hispanic and Latin American immigrants, we have what could be called as a ‘raw deal’ for the non-natives.

 

According to the United Nations, which recognizes racial discrimination as a punishable offense, racial discrimination is “any action or attitude, conscious or unconscious, which subordinates an individual based on race.” It could include verbal, physical, sexual discrimination or assault, denial of opportunities in workplace or any other field that they may be working in – be it research, music, art or sports. What makes it difficult to treat is that like discrimination based on gender, it is common across cultures. People who face racial discrimination in European countries and in USA often forget how they treat people in their own countries – for example Afghans forget the way they treat Hazara people and Indians who live in the heartland of the country forget the way they treat people from Northeastern parts of the country (“Chinki”), just because they are so completely removed the mainland. 

How To Handle Racial Discrimination At Workplace
It is often difficult to come to terms with racial discrimination in the workplace as it is often easily dismissed, especially when the victim works for a large organization. It is often difficult to prove it when one person – you – is being singled out and discriminated against. Usually, more than one person is a victim of racial prejudice at office. In such a situation, it is best to document the details of the whole incident – what was said, when it was said, who you complained to, when you complained to the person, how many people witnessed, what action was taken against the perpetrator and so on. You could hire a lawyer or an attorney to help you fight the case. If you have been denied promotion or any other advancement in the job due to racial prejudice, have a record of when you joined the organization, what nature of work you were given in the beginning, how you were denied opportunity to grow and who else was favoured in place of you. Keep all such details handy and also the copies of complaints you filed against your perpetrator. In the end, be prepared to fight a really hard battle; the path ahead will not be easy and you may be faced with a lot more trauma than what you faced in the beginning, adding insult to injury, but the best part is that you may save someone else from what happened to you.