Gender and Racial Expectations in the Workplace: A Comparative Study

Abstract

I want to test the generalization that Eurocentric societies have come far, regarding how women and people of colour are treated in a professional setting. Are there more opportunities for marginalized groups and rules in place to combat discrimination? Are people more respectful of different genders and races? In this essay, I will compare two case studies: my own experiences as a young, mixed-race, Indo-Guyanese/French Canadian woman, working part-time jobs from 2018-2020, and those of my aunt, Jenny Rajaballey, who as an Indo-Guyanese immigrant woman (Jenny Rajaballey) had a successful career as a health executive from the 1990s to 2010s. I interviewed her using a questionnaire I composed. My goal was to study how the expectations of women, particularly of color, in the workplace have changed over time and how minimum wage jobs and administrative positions can be compared.