No work ethic?
The other day, while researching a story about diversity on Wall Street, I interviewed the author of a book on anti-discrimination laws. Our conversation reminded me of the debate between Rachel Maddow and Pat Buchanan during the Supreme Court nomination hearings for Justice Sonia Sotamayor.
Remember when Buchanan went on Maddow’s show and explained why most of our Supreme Court justices have been white men? He said, “White men were one hundred percent of the people that wrote the Constitution, one hundred percent of the people that signed the Declaration of Independence, one hundred percent of the people who died at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, probably close to one hundred percent of the people who died at Normandy. This has been a country built basically by white folks…That’s why.”
You can watch the clip here.
It’s easy to mock Buchanan, roll your eyes, dismiss him and think, “Well he’s just playing for the camera in an attempt to get ratings.” Hello Ladies, that mentality exists — not just on the TV, but in everyday life.
This author I was talking to dismissed gender discrimination in the workplace as no longer explicit but now subtle; institutional. My own work experience backs that up. But that doesn’t make it any less wrong. He seemed to think it did. He said claims of hostile work environments were bad practice and cause anxiety on the end of the people who may have offended. How unfair of us to stress out those who discriminate! I was already getting annoyed and then this man channeled Buchanan.
He said, the reason we don’t see more women in senior management positions on Wall Street is because of work ethic — women don’t work as hard as men. He said “the white guys with the Ivy league degrees are running so scared of losing out due to affirmative action and quota hiring practices” that they work 24/7 to protect their jobs.
He and I seemed to agree on two things:
- It is a problem there aren’t more women in senior management positions. But I see the problem as a lack of diverse thinking at the top, and proof that discrimination exists and outdated workplace policies make managing family and career difficult. And he sees the problem as the reason those already in power have to work so hard to defend their positions.
- Workplace discrimination is often subtle and hard to fight. But he seems to think don’t fight it and I find myself thinking how, how do we fight it?
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