Discrimination in Job Hiring due to Being White

Written By:  Andrew Eide

Today I will tell you of some of the instances where I was denied a job for no other reason except that I am White.

In 1982 I lived at my mother’s home in Oakland, California. I found a job listing that fit me perfectly. It was for someone with administrative & secretary skills who wants to teach young people entry-level administrative & secretary skills so that they could enter the workforce with basic knowledge to perform as a Secretary, Administrative Assistant, or Office Clerk.

The requirements for this job were listed as follows:

(1) Desire to teach young people entry-level administrative & secretary skills.

(2) Ability to type 55 words per minute or faster.

I applied and talked to a Black woman who was in charge of hiring. I explained that I have 8 years working as an Administrative Assistant and since I love my work I would love to teach young people entry-level skills.

She asked if I could type 55 words per minute or faster. I explained to her that while serving in the United States Navy from 1972 to 1980 I was tested numerous times and I was always tested at 70 words per minute or faster with high accuracy in spelling and grammar. I then explained to this Black woman that I would be happy to take a typing test, either in her office or at a testing facility, and that I am sure I would test out at 70 words per minute or faster.

Without hesitation she started screaming at me the following:  IF YOU CAN’T TYPE EXACTLY 55 WORDS PER MINUTE THEN WE DON’T WANT YOU! and then she ran me out of the office ending my job interview.

Why in the hell would she do that to me if it wasn’t due to her being racist and discriminating against me for being White? That had to be the reason since most of the young people that were obtaining administrative and secretary training from this organization were Black and Hispanic.

About a week after that horrible incident mentioned above I applied for a job at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, California. They wanted an Office Clerk and they required a minimum of 5 years administrative and office experience and typing of 50 words per minute or higher. Two people applied for this position. I applied and a young Hispanic man applied. We knew each other and I knew that his experience and abilities was that he had only 4 years of administrative and office experience (which is 1 year LESS than the minimum requirement for the job) and he could only type 40 words per minute (which was 10 words per minute LESS than the minimum required for the job.) I was sure I was going to get hired for this position due to only two people applied for the job and I was the only one who met, or exceeded, the requirements for the job.

I was extremely disappointed when I called and was told that they hired this Hispanic man instead of me. When I questioned why they hired him when his administrative and office experience was one year less than the minimum requirement and his typing was 10 words per minute less than the minimum typing speed requirement they refused to provide an answer for me.

So I said:  OH I SEE HOW IT IS! YOU ARE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST ME BECAUSE I’M WHITE! THANKS FOR BEING RACIST ASSHOLES!

Now do you still believe that White people cannot be discriminated against when applying for a job?