Create a Workplace Disparities Chart

Disparate treatment occurs when employers have different standards for different groups of people and when they apply rules, policies and procedures inconsistently because of these differences. In simpler terms, one group is somehow being treated better by receiving some form of preferential treatment. For instance, White and African American employees with the same education and experience don’t receive the same pay. The African Americans may receive $5,000 to $10,000 less per year than their White counterparts with no justification for the lesser pay for Blacks.

By tracking disparate treatment on your job, you can show patterns of discrimination that are in effect at your workplace. For instance, if African Americans can only work on African American projects, while Whites work on “mainstream” and minority contracts, that might be one way to show unequal opportunities at work.

Highlighting employee qualifications (e.g., education, years of experience, etc.) versus salaries and titles could potentially show unequal treatment. For instance, a White employee with a Bachelor’s degree and 3 years of experience makes $45,000 per year and is level 4 employee, while an African American with a Bachelor’s degree, a certification in a specific aspect of the field, and 5 years of experience receives $38,500 per year and is a level 3 employee.

Another way to show disparate treatment and discrimination could include identifying the number of African Americans promoted in the previous 5 years compared to the number of Whites promoted in the previous 5 years. If only 4 African Americans received a promotion and more than 50 Whites received a promotion, for example, something is truly amiss at your job. This, of course, depends on the number of Blacks on your job. If there are only 10 Blacks at your company, for instance, the major problem is not in promotions, but in hiring practices!

Track disparities and use your chart/log to address issues directly with your employer or with a third party, such as an external investigator or attorney.