Black employees working in STEM fields in New York and around the country are more likely to report on-the-job discrimination than STEM employees of other ethnic groups and races, according to a study. STEM fields include jobs in science, technology, engineering and math.
The study, which was conducted by the Pew Research Center, found that 62 percent of black STEM employees said that they have experienced some form of racial or ethnic discrimination. Examples mentioned in the study include earning less money than other employees doing similar work, enduring repetitive on-the-job slights and being treated as incompetent. In comparison, only 44 percent of Asian employees, 42 percent of Hispanic employees and 13 percent of white employees reported experiencing discrimination.
Meanwhile, 41 percent of black STEM employees reported two or more forms of race-based discrimination, compared to 26 percent of Hispanic employees and 6 percent of white employees. However, a similar percentage of Asian STEM employees also experienced two or more forms of discrimination. Finally, 40 percent of black STEM employees said that race discrimination made it more difficult to succeed at their job. In comparison, 31 percent of Asians, 19 percent of Hispanics and 5 percent of whites working in STEM fields reported feeling the same way.
Racial and ethnic discrimination in the workplace is forbidden under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. People who have been the victim of these types of job discrimination might want to meet with an employment law attorney in order to see what remedies might be available.
Source: Pew Research, “Black STEM employees perceive a range of race-related slights and inequities at work“, Monica Anderson, Jan. 10, 2018
