Discrimination in Job Promotions Due to Being White

Written By:  Andrew Eide

I served for 20 years in the United States Navy. As you may have seen from advertisements for Military they all claim they are “Equal Opportunity Employers” but I’m here to tell you that is not the case.

I was in the Rating titled Yeoman which means Administrative Assistant. The process for being selected for promotion from a First Class Petty Officer (Paygrade E-6) to Chief Petty Officer (Paygrade E-7) in the United States Navy is extremely competitive in the Yeoman Rating.

To be selected to promotion to Chief Petty Officer you must first take an exam and score high enough to become what they call Selection Board Eligible. Only those who scored high enough have their Service Records reviewed by a Panel of Senior Enlisted Personnel on the Selection Board.

So with the Yeoman Rating you would have maybe 1,000 Sailors who are Selection Board Eligible and only 10 get selected for advancement to Chief Petty Officer. With competition this fierce, with only a one percent promotion rate to Chief Perry Officer, you need to be on top of your game.

What they do on the Panel is to evaluate everyone’s Service Record and they assign them a number from 1 to 1,000. With that computation I am only talking about the Yeoman rating at the time of these incidents as every rating is different.) You would think that the ones numbered 1 through 10 would be the ones promoted to Chief Petty Officer right? Oh man nothing could be further from the truth.

To use an example let me show you a list of the top 10 persons using made up names:

1 - Yeoman 1

2 - Yeoman 2

3 - Yeoman 3

4 - Yeoman 4

5 - Yeoman 5

6 - Yeoman 6

7 - Yeoman 7

8 - Yeoman 8

9 - Yeoman 9

10 - Yeoman 10

Everyone below this list of the top 10 should NOT be selected for advancement to Chief Petty Officer as a Yeoman. Shocking as this is going to sound let me tell you what my Master Chief Petty Officer, who went to Washington DC to be on the Selection Board for Yeoman, told me really happens.

You have everyone listed from 1 to 1,000. Only the top 10 persons should be advanced to Chief Petty Officer. However what happens is that the Selection Board will ask WHERE IS THE FIRST BLACK PERSON ON THE LIST? Say there is no Black person in the top 10 listed. They will then find the first Black person on the list and regardless of where they are located on the list between 11 and 1,000 they will move them into the number 10 spot thereby knocking the person originally assigned number 10 off the list of the top ten. Hmmm.

Then they will ask WHERE IS THE FIRST HISPANIC ON THE LIST? If there is no Hispanic in the top 10 listed they will find the first Hispanic, no matter where they are on the list between 11 and 1,000 and they will move that person from number 50 to number 9 and knock the original person in the number 9 spot out of the top 10 list. Hmmm.

They do this again for an ASIAN and then for a WOMAN and if no Asians or Women are in the original top 10 list then two more persons will be moved up from their low positions to be in the top 10 and they will obtain advancement to Chief Petty Officer. Hmmm.

So the worst case scenario is if there are no Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, or Women in the original top 10 list then when they move 4 lower-ranking persons into the top 10 list, and that knocks 4 persons out of the top 10 list so that they are no longer eligible for selection to Chief Petty Officer, then those 4 who got knocked off the list are victims of discrimination. Why would they be victims of discrimination? Since there were no Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, or Women in the top 10 then the only logical answer is those in the original top 10 were White Males. Got it? Good!

My question has always been HOW MANY TIMES WAS I ON THE ORIGIAL SELECTION LIST ONLY TO HAVE MY NAME REMOVED TO PROMOTE SOMEONE WHO FAILED TO GET INTO THE ORIGINAL SELECTION LIST IN THE FIRST PLACE? Since I was before the Selection Board 8 times in my 20 year career I would say at least 6 of those 8 times I was knocked off the promotion list due to discrimination.

Do you still believe that White People are NOT discriminated against when it comes to promotions?