The pervasive discrimination at all levels has a number of causes. However, privilege accorded to a particular group of people and pervasive societal prejudice against particular groups of people are the main causes of discrimination. (Andersen & Collins, 2015). In the same way, certain social groups have privileges granted to them. For instance, women perceive males to have enormous privileges. On the other hand, most privileged individuals are unaware of their advantage. A privilege is a right or advantage that is bestowed upon some individuals at the expense of others. The expression of whiteness leads to racial privilege. Precisely, it entails social advantages of white people that are uncalled for and mostly unappreciated, though practiced frequently. To begin with, the notion of whiteness came into existence in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century. Besides, whiteness is not all about the skin color as perceived by most people. Nonetheless, it is about supremacy and honor. Whiteness refers to the creation and replication of power instead of subservience, normativity instead of eccentricity, and honor instead of weakness.
The manifestation of whiteness in organizations has a long account and can be dated back to the period of industrialization. Mainly, it was construed based on the racial and ethnic differences of the people (Witt, 2015). Thus, the developments and practices of the era barred ethnic minorities and progressed racialization of the job settings. Some individuals belonging to the minority tribe were denied job opportunities in some organizations because of the social class. In some countries, black people lacked the right to mingle or associate and work together with their white counterparts. Subsequently, the notion that some racial individuals are superior and deserve the right to some jobs, supremacy, as well as privileges has been hard to oust over the years. To an extent, the misconception regarding the white privilege enabled social inequality between people of color and the whites.
Purpose
The paper aims at determining the manifestation of the white privilege in the United States and its impacts on the society.
Methodology
This paper depends on the available historical literature work, culture, as well as the organization, found predominantly in the sector of labor and sociology. Similarly, the paper denotes the present-day organization studies in addition to sociological works in order to elucidate the on-going implication of the ethnic (white) privilege in various agencies in the United States, for instance, the schools and working places (McIntosh, 2010).
Key research questions
The paper will use some questions to achieve its objectives. Thus, some of the major questions employed in the paper include:
What are some of the ways that people can be disadvantaged in their daily lives due to race?
How does privilege possibly function in job settings to the advantage or disadvantage of employees or a particular group of individual in the job environment?
Research implications or constraints
The main emphasis of this research paper is in the United States of America and the white privilege. There is for that reason the omission of the present other forms of differences as well as situations in the country. Recommendations for future research are offered together with the decision-making repercussions. Similarly, even though there is the possibility of information gathering from literature review progressing well as was anticipated, there is the probability of literature limitations in some case studies facing some impediments.
Originality
This research paper offers chronological perception into the formation of the white privilege in the various institutions and institutes a preamble to understand its present-day existence in the workplace. These perceptions recommend ways to unsettle disparity as well as create comprehensive systems that do not privilege one ethnic group over the other ethnic group.
Literature review
A review of literature is necessary to establish the definition of some major concepts or terms, research methodology, the hypothetical structures and to give a historical analysis of the white privilege (Andersen & Collins, 2015). This paper for that reason depends on the literature work, culture, as well as the society found predominantly in the fields of sociology. These works confirm the manifestation of privilege and inequality at the job settings. Equally, this paper referred to the present-day current organization behavior, and the existing sociological research to demonstrate the on-going significance of the white privilege in the job settings. In addition, this section of the paper is divided into two subtopics; the first subtopic discusses the forces that resulted in the formation of whiteness and the prospects of ousting the white privilege in organizations while the second section discusses the impacts of the white privilege.
Forces responsible for the formation of whiteness
From the historical viewpoint, it is evident that two forces are responsible for the creation of the whiteness. These forces are colonization and racialization. Firstly, during the period of industrialization, most elites, industrialists, and pundits of those days felt that industrialization was a national success. These individuals (elites, industrialists as well as pundits) believed that those races and the ethnic groups who belonged to the advanced phase of human development could only realize industrialization (McDowell, 2009). Similarly, local industrialization was seen as the only integral chunk of the comprehensive process of race and ethnic competition, implying that some races would progress whereas others would remain stuck in nascent. Thus, whiteness became a sign of extraordinary success and pre-eminence (Nkomo & Al, 2014).
On the contrary, industrialization was responsible for the class differences that emerged between the capitalists and the proletarians in the 19th century. This manifested itself where the wages of the white working was higher than black working class laborers in the United States. Nkomo and Al (2014) contends that the practices of the new industries in the United States at that time mostly paid white inborn workers higher wages as equated to those of the black workers. For that reason, this implies that white workers received a temporary material subsidy by the advantage of being white. On the contrary, the blacks were archetypically placed in unskilful employments. Most of these jobs were dirty as well as dangerous to their health. On the contrary, the white workers amassed the benefits of being white in the public sector despite their working class status.
The impacts of the white privilege
The white privilege in the United States is real, and it cannot be denied. The notion of white privilege takes shape in the everyday lives of the members of the public of various races. The white privilege has many impacts on the members of the society. The impacts of the white privilege are manifested in many ways. First, it is evident that the unemployment rates for black people are unswervingly double when compared to the white Americans living in the United States (McIntosh, 2010). In the year 2005, the ABC News reported that the unemployment rate of the black people had risen to 9.6 percent that is twice as high as the white unemployment rate that stood at 4.7 percent (McDowell, 2008).
Studies indicate that white people are unlikely to be arrested for the same drug crimes committed by people of color. According to the Washington, post dated September 2014, the white people are more likely to engage in drug deals as compared to their male counterparts. However, black people are the ones who are still more likely to get jailed for committing the same delinquency.
Precisely, the paper aimed at determining the manifestation of the ethnic or white privilege in various organizations in the United States. Chronological analyses of the ancient days of industrialization establish the link between the industrialization with whiteness. In this case, industrialization was seen as a racial success representing the pre-eminence of the white people. For that reason, the white employees accumulated some material benefits in the early eras of industrialization that provided them with the capacity to claim a desired, greater position in the incipient organizational hierarchies. It is important to conclude that there is a predetermined relationship between the European global growth as well as colonization, industrial development, in addition to the racialization of the nineteenth and twentieth century in the United States organizations. Moreover, the precise existence of the white privilege currently need to be understood within its historical improvement and the new meanings whiteness has attained within the workstation if researchers and specialists are to be successful in creating inclusive workplaces.
References
Andersen, M., & Collins, P. H. (2015). Race, class, & gender: An anthology. Nelson Education.
McDowell, L. (2008). Thinking through work: Complex inequalities, constructions of difference and trans-national migrants. Progress in Human Geography, 32(4), 491-507.
McDowell, L. (2009). Old and new European economic migrants: Whiteness and managed migration policies. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 35(1), 19-36.
McIntosh, P. (2010). White privilege and male privilege. The Teacher in American Society: A Critical Anthology, 121.
Nkomo, M. S., & Al Ariss, A. (2014). The historical origins of ethnic (white) privilege in US organizations. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 29(4), 389-404.
Witt, J. (2015). SOC 2014 (3rd ed. update). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
