Commercial Diversity
So many companies and places of employment vouched they have gone the extra mile to be as diverse as possible. I like to think it is true for some, but can't help but face the statistics and what I come to face each day. I watched my family members growing up face the reality of America's faux diversity claims
"Corporations spend billions of dollars to attract and manage diversity both internally and externally, yet they still face discrimination lawsuits, and the leadership ranks of the business world remain predominantly white and male."
Corporations think of diversity as a commercial profit pitch and nothing more, the same is applied to holidays of diversity, and events. Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, Pride Month, Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and AAPI Month are just a few of the monopolized celebrations used as pawns of corporate greed. As these celebrations roll out throughout the year, stores may feature artists after charging up fees to get their items in store and to tear them down for clearance less than a week after. Corporations with color-changed logos and designs across their already identified brand to claim alliance but won't promote an ethnically diverse employee over a white one.
It is overlooked and very much a scorned wound to minority groups when our labor-to-reward ratio is not equally met at work or in life. "Partner Track" a 2022 Netflix series is about Ingrid Yun's (Arden Cho) journey to becoming a partner at the law firm she works for. Throughout the series not only does it highlight Asian American children to Asian parent conflicts, but also the lack of diversity in the office. When her friend Tyler Robinson (Bradley Gibson) gets into conflict with Dan Fallon (Nolan Gerard Funk) over his "white fragility" the office goes into an HR feud. When the staff is given space to share their frustrations and harm they've experienced not just from Dan alone but from the remaining staff he's influenced, their boss Marty Adler (Matthew Rauch) reveals to Yun that Dan will face little punishment and remain at the firm in his upper position despite the shared intel from coworkers. Marty mentions that the client loss and Dan's networking resources are too much to lose over something so small. This is precisely what happens when the issues form and companies put profit over safety. On a social class scale, minority groups and their children continue to be put in lower positions despite fair work ethics and accomplishments. Yun faces the reality herself when she and her coworkers celebrate her reaching the goal to be a partner and still not being promoted despite her numbers. Marty tells her to "try harder" as if her work thus far was a bare minimum, his condescending words ring through the ears of decades of people of color who try to move up the ladder.
Diversity is more than a promotional logo design and merchandise for sale...
America doesn't see us as a factor until we prove we can fund them and they just take advantage of it. From our authentic cuisine altered to better suit their taste palates to sexualizing our traditional clothing to be sold as costumes, and claiming to be diverse with one person of color in office in sight. Sources: How Diversity Makes Us Smarter
Partner Track Unapologetically Tackles Workplace Sexism and Racism
https://www.cbr.com/partner-track-workplace-sexism-racism-netflix/
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