Last week I explored two sentiments held by some employees regarding race issues and how management makes employment decisions.

The sentiment goes something like this:

On the one hand there’s a view held by some minorities that they’re missing out on jobs and promotions because they’re being discriminated against (aka systemic racism). And on the other hand there’s a view among some whites that they miss out on jobs and promotions because minorities get preferential treatment (aka reverse discrimination).

But analytically, these are completely opposing views of reality: “I can’t get ahead because I’m a minority”, vs, “I can’t get ahead because I’m white and minorities get preferential treatment”. They can’t both be true. Let’s say both points of view are wrong but also carry a kernel of truth.

First let’s look at systemic racism.

Are large organizations systemically racist? I don’t think so. Are there racist managers inside? Sometimes, but they are kept in check by HR people like me.

How about small businesses, are they racist? They can be. But not on purpose. You might have noticed some private small businesses owned by white people (for instance a law firm, a dental office, a marketing group) who happen to only have white people on staff.   Is that because they’re racist? or engage in racist hiring practices? do they exclude minority applicants from consideration? Probably not. I think for the majority of white owned business who have no diversity in their ranks, it’s more a result of inertia and the status quo, than racism. People hire other people who look like them. Period. We hire what makes us comfortable.

So if you’re a white business owner, unless you go out of your circle to look for diverse applicants (like large companies and public organizations do) you will end up with a fairly homogeneous staff. Not because you are racist but because of inertia.

Unfortunately, whether we mean to be racist or not, if we are not aware of our “unconscious biases” the resulting outcome looks and feels very much like racism.

And let’s not just pick on white people. This is also evident in minority owned businesses. Their workforce tends to look like the owners.

So, are you saying there’s no racism? Yes, there is some. But it’s rarer than people think. And it’s not systemic in large organizations. In my opinion the abundantly clear inequality we see in the American pie is more a function of indifference and inertia, than outright racism.

Next week, let’s look at the sentiment of “reverse racism” that some whites experience.

©Copyright Eva Del Rio

Eva Del Rio is creator of HR Box™ – tools for small businesses and startups. Send questions to Eva@evadelrio.com