Whether starting a new job or trying to build a career with your current employer, you expect your hard work and dedication to open up new paths.
Washington laws make it illegal to discriminate due to age, religion, race and more. Unfortunately, some companies have subtle signs that may make your excellent work ethic seem for naught.
1. Leadership team lacks diversity
Although not always a key indicator of underlying discrimination, a leadership team that lacks diversity may indicate the company may have unethical principles. If the lower-level staff members represent a rainbow of diversity and high-profile jobs and executive board members do not, it may mean a red flag to watch out for.
2. Raises and promotions rarely given
Promotions and raises inherently have nuances that make it hard to tell why one person gets a promotion and another does not. If you have worked at a company for a substantially long time without a raise or consideration for advancement, it may indicate that the company has no plans for you to rise in the ranks.
3. Subtle stereotyping occurs
Stereotyping often factors in during the hiring process in which a human resources person, intentionally or not, hires one person over another due to misconceptions. Even after you are hired, stereotyping may still rear its ugly head in the work culture. Those stereotypes often come in the form of language usage. Making supposed jokes or saying insulting phrases about a certain group also points to a workplace rife with potential discrimination.
While hostile work environments and blatant discrimination clearly show the company has not operated under the law, subtle discrimination has the same result on victims.