am I the token person of color at my new job?
Hi yall
Sigh. I just got this amazing new job as a bartender, at this new restaurant that opened in the area where I will be moving in two months. Because it’s a new restaurant, i basically got to pick my shifts and I feel so lucky and blessed to have gotten this job..especially in these hard economic times.
One problem: the community and neighborhood is very multicultural, but the staff at this new restaurant does not reflect that in the least bit.
In fact out of the approx 18 staff that got hired as foh i am the only person of color! (there is one black guy and he is working kitchen, i’m not even kidding)
I am surrounded by skinny white girls, and I know the thought probably does not even cross their mind….but as the OBVIOUS minority…i deff noticed. I mean, it really sucks!
I have friends of all races, and consider myself an anti-oppressive person…yet at this place I feel so damn awkward and weird.
Morally, is it wrong for me to stay? I am so torn. Not only do I love the job, I have children at home to support so it’s not like I have the luxury to find a new anti-oppressive workplace.
I can’t help but wonder did they hire me because of my complexion? What can I do to make this situation into a positive? How do I stop feeling like the minority? At what point can I bring this up in a sensible, educational way … in a way that does not cost me my job? Am i going against my values and morals for staying?
I would really appreciate the insight, especially from an anti-oppressive standpoint. Thnx for reading :
Get over it. You are not the "token" person. Bottom line, they are under no pressure at all to hire you. They are not receiving a government grant or government funds to run their bar. You got hired on your own merit. You are not a token anything. With that said, you may want to take a closer look at your reactions to being treated as an equal. People treat you as an equal and you talk about quitting? Something going on there?
You would be the "token" minority if you had applied for a government job or a government funded job and the company had to hire a minority to keep their points within the appropriate range for government funding. If an agency or company is out of compliance for three reporting periods, all government funding stops. Needless to say, these companies are always on the lookout for qualified applicants and frequently bend the rules a bit to get someone in the door who is not exactly up to standard. It is the only way for the companies to keep their funding. Hiring on as a minority because the company needed someone to fill a slot and give them points would qualify you as the "token" minority. Getting a job on your own merits, does not.
May 25th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Why does it matter? Why can’t you assume that you were hired because you were among the most qualified for the position? Have some faith that the other persons hired were also hired for their abilities.
This situation does not need to be "made into a positive" because it is not a negative. You are extrapolating, projecting and assuming based on nothing.
You cannot bring it up in a "sensible, educational way" because it makes no sense and the only one here who needs educated is you.
What do you mean by "find a new anti-oppressive workplace." How is it that are oppressed? You got your pick of shifts in a brand new establishment. You are not being oppressed. You do however sound like an Obama: whining when there is nothing to whine about.
Who these folks hire is none of your business. But I think you would do well to assume that you were among the few persons of color who applied for the job. Focus on your good fortune and don’t go looking for problems where none exist.
With so much wrong in the world, don’t waste your time creating drama and imagining problems when there are none. Enjoy your new job, make the most of being onboard for the ‘honeymoon’ of this new place and start cultivating a following. This is far more positive, healthy, worthwhile and profitable than sitting around imagining that you are "oppressed."
The only thing standing in your way is you.
References :
May 25th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Get over it. You are not the "token" person. Bottom line, they are under no pressure at all to hire you. They are not receiving a government grant or government funds to run their bar. You got hired on your own merit. You are not a token anything. With that said, you may want to take a closer look at your reactions to being treated as an equal. People treat you as an equal and you talk about quitting? Something going on there?
You would be the "token" minority if you had applied for a government job or a government funded job and the company had to hire a minority to keep their points within the appropriate range for government funding. If an agency or company is out of compliance for three reporting periods, all government funding stops. Needless to say, these companies are always on the lookout for qualified applicants and frequently bend the rules a bit to get someone in the door who is not exactly up to standard. It is the only way for the companies to keep their funding. Hiring on as a minority because the company needed someone to fill a slot and give them points would qualify you as the "token" minority. Getting a job on your own merits, does not.
References :