Race Affects Career Opportunities

Uncovering the racial injustice towards people of color through the lens of career opportunities

By Aurna Mukherjee

She was sitting on her desk as her boss walked over and handed over her paycheck. It was the same as it had been for the last few years, but then, she noticed that her white colleague, who had less experience and tenure than her, had been consistently getting a higher pay than her. If someone were to ask any one person if racism is wrong, they would surely respond with a quick “yes,” yet this is a common problem in Austin; there is a struggle for career opportunities specifically for people of color. V Rohatgi, director of engineering at a high tech company and MH, vice president of institutional planning, development and evaluation at an educational institution, have both experienced and seen these issues firsthand. Rohatgi said the demographics of his department were not very racially diverse. “I did have my peer in HR (Human Resources) run demographic numbers, at least for my team, and it’s [not very diverse],” Rohatgi said. “You have other minority groups, [but] I haven’t actually met a Black engineer at [my company]. I’m sure

Black employees working together on project. (Courtesy of Unsplash)

there are a few here and there, but very few. Hispanics, there are some, but very few. There’s mostly white and Asian males.” Rohatgi said that the disparity in race is likely influenced by a lack of promotion of STEM for young people of color. Rohatgi said many people of color do not have the same opportunities and exposure to STEM at a young age as others, leading to colored individuals steering away from these careers. “Look at it from a STEM standpoint, is everyone learning the sciences and math? From genders to all minorities, the answer is not really,” Rohatgi said. “Then if you advance in higher education, you can start to see all of these opportunities start to close off for a lot of these different minority groups.” H is a Black woman of color, and has experienced this education gap through personal experience. H described a lack of racial diversity in her career, intensifying her issues with less

that she has

Group of colored employees gather to drink coffee while doing work. (Helena Lopes, Courtesy of Unsplash)

recognition compared to her white counterparts due to her race. H said her doctorate degree is the only reason she has gotten so far in her career. “I don’t think any of that would’ve happened if I hadn’t gotten my doctorate degree. As a woman of color, I’m sure I would have never gotten those opportunities,” H said. Though she is qualified for her career, H said she is still affected by the lack of racial diversity at her organization. H said sometimes people are shocked that she has a doctorate degree as it is rare for many African Americans to have one. H said because of this, she feels she always has to be one step ahead of her co-workers to prove her worth to the company she works in.

“It’s that kind of stuff that women of color, no matter what organization we are in we still experience.”- MH

“We’re going to do this, but we got to take care of this white male over here.” - MH

“You always have to dress better, you always have to carry yourself better, you always have to articulate yourself better. People of color have to be one step ahead because there’s an expectation or there’s an assumption that you’re not capable,” H said. H said she still faces blatant favoritism from white males over her. H said that there have been many instances where she describes something, but when it is said by a white male, all of the sudden it’s gold. H said she got little recognition for being promoted to vice president in her organization’s letter because most of the focus was on her white coworker. “There was one little paragraph that said, “MH is being elevated to vice president, and it was like [ [saying] ‘we’re going to do this, but we got to take care of this white male over here,’ ” H said. When describing the demographics of the organization, H said there is only a small minority of students and staff who are Black. “Our student body of African Americans is about 6 or 7%,” H said. “We have no executive vice presidents of color.” This is reaffirmed by a study taken to show the racial makeup of the student body at the institution, which aligns with H’s numbers.

Board of black employees working together. (Photo by Christina Morillo, Courtesy of Pexels)

Hispanic employees working together. (Photo by William Fortunato, Courtesy of Pexels)

The disparity of African American students and staff is also affected by the shrinking African American population in Austin, leading to fewer African American workers and students. According to H, it is clear that, in this field, there is a lack of African American workers and students, which seems to keep repeating itself from generation to generation. She said that many people are shocked when they learn that she has her doctorate degree, which leads to her asking, “why are you surprised?” However, these widespread stereotypes have the potential to be changed, and many industries are taking the steps to accomplish this. With more and more people recognizing this prevalent issue, there have been many efforts leading Austin in a more diverse direction. For example, even at Rohatgi’s company, 43% of the employees are ethnic minorities. People such as H have started to advocate for more diversity in STEM and technology, but there is still much work to be done to be as diverse as possible. As Austin pushes for a more diverse workforce, H said she hopes that we can create a society where everyone can have the same response as her when asked if they have their doctorate degree, leading to a new, updated assumption that minority races are capable of achieving success in their careers.