Karla Erickson, associate professor of sociology, weighs in on former Iowa resident's discrimination claims
Grinnell in the News 2013-06-07
Summary:
"While the district is not able to comment on a pending legal matter, it is the policy of the ICCSD not to discriminate on any basis in its employment practices. We are committed to providing an equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees," human resources director Chace Ramey wrote in an email to the Press-Citizen.
Cedar Rapids-based Diversity Focus recently released survey results about discrimination in Eastern Iowa. Twenty-six percent of Johnson County residents surveyed indicated they had experienced employment discrimination. That's about on pace with results from surrounding counties.
Across Eastern Iowa, 21 percent of survey respondents said they'd faced discrimination in the public school system. In Johnson County, that number was slightly higher at 27 percent.
The survey results show minorities are more likely to say they were discriminated against. Seventy-one percent of black respondents in Johnson County, for instance, say they've faced employment discrimination.
Karla Erickson, a Grinnell College associate sociology professor who studies gender and race in labor markets, said claims of "white injury" tend to increase when employment opportunities are sparse. Often, she said, whites are more sensitive to feelings of possible discrimination than are minorities.
"I think that's based on the belief that the jobs out there are for whites — a sense of white entitlement," Erickson said. "If most minorities complained every time they faced aggression, they would spend all their time doing that."