The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

            Derman-Sparks & Edwards (2010) define prejudice as “an attitude, opinion, or feeling formed without adequate prior knowledge, thought, or reason. Prejudice can be prejudgment for or against any person, group, or gender” (p. xiii). One of the most prominent examples of prejudice within my own life happened when I received my first job in a local nursing home.

            After applying for numerous jobs and getting excited to become more independent by finding my first job, I was happy when I received an interview and call-back from a local nursing home working in their kitchens. After accepting the position and beginning my job, I noticed many of my coworkers having a ‘chip on their shoulder’ and an attitude towards me as if I was not adequate enough to work there. At first I had attributed their attitude towards my age (15), yet was still confused as to why this would matter as other 15 year old individuals also worked in my department. It was not until later on that one of my colleagues finally told me the other workers felt as if I was just ‘handed my position’ because my sister had worked for the same department for years. I was very frustrated to find out people’s thoughts about how I had received my position, which I was so proud to have. None of my coworkers knew my qualifications, knew me as a person, or knew how hard I had worked to prepare for the interview and develop my resume. Instead, I was met with attitude and microaggressive behaviors.

            In my specific example, I felt the prejudice I had received due to my sister being a former employee diminished equity as I was not treated fairly and was not welcomed into my new position. People did not care to train me in as thoroughly as I should have and when asking questions, I felt as if I was a burden to many of the coworkers. Thankfully after my boss talked with many of the workers, the attitudes began to diminish, yet I still felt as if I was not being accepted into my workplace the same way as the other new employees whom I was hired with.

            Determined to work hard, I set my frustrations aside and proved myself as a dedicated, hard worker through picking up any extra shifts I could and being ‘overly’ nice to my coworkers. Eventually my coworkers saw how I had a lot of skill set to offer to their team and although it was exhausting at times going above and beyond picking up extra shifts just to prove myself to my coworkers, I finally felt accepted after several weeks of working there.

            In order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity, I believe the staff need to have the opportunity to attend in-service trainings where they learn about diversity, interpersonal relationship skills, as well as how to work together as a team. From my point of view, I wish I would have said something sooner to my boss in order to eliminate the prejudice towards me sooner. By finding my voice and talking with my coworkers, as well as my boss, perhaps I could have avoided exhausting myself as I attempted to prove my worthiness within my position.

            Examples of prejudice are prevalent all around us in society. If we do not begin standing our ground and advocating against microaggressive behaviors, then we will not see a reduction in people’s behaviors. The first step is to begin within ourselves and allow ourselves to reflect on our own personal bias and prejudice through educating ourselves about where bias and prejudice are initiated, then we can begin to help other individuals to make the same changes within their own lives, eventually leading to a more understanding and accepting society.

Reference

Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. O. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and

ourselves. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).