Affirmative action: how they combat racism in the labor market

Understand how affirmative actions gain relevance in the racial equality movement within companies and why they are so necessary.

The scenario of racial exclusion and discrimination affects several sectors, unfortunately in the job market it is no different. The IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) conducted the survey “Social inequalities by color or race in Brazil” and found that in 2018, 64.2% of the unemployed were black while their representation in the Brazilian population is 55.8%. In other words, the labor market is not represented by black and brown people in the same proportion, which shows racial discrimination when it comes to getting a job.

Concerned with this photograph, an increasing number of companies are adopting affirmative actions as a way to promote racial equality, making their selection processes fairer and with opportunities for all people.

What are affirmative actions?

We would like everyone in the job market to be equal and everyone to have the same chance, but we know that this does not happen in practice.

Groups that have been historically excluded, such as the black population, tend to have lesser conditions to match those that do not belong to these groups. This scenario causes black people with low access to academic training to be eliminated at the beginning of selection processes, strengthening the lack of representation in organizations.

The same can happen when hiring. Racism and the unconscious biases themselves cause black or brown people to be eliminated from selection processes by unjustified preferences or irrelevant criteria. It can also happen when it comes to promoting one person instead of another to a leadership position.

These are situations that show how historically discriminated groups have fewer opportunities when it comes to getting a job or evolving professionally, and it shows that not everyone is treated equally.

Affirmative actions are initiatives that seek to repair social and racial inequalities, solving the situations above. In companies, they are programs or policies that serve as a means for people from historically excluded groups (such as blacks or trans people, for example) to have the same opportunities as people who are not part of those groups.

Examples from the labor market

More and more companies are looking to reduce racial inequality in their workforce. There are several forms of affirmative action to achieve egalitarian racial representation. Here are some examples.

Recently, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, disclosed that one of the group’s goals is to increase the representation of black professionals in leadership positions by 30% by 2025. Last year, here in Brazil, Google also launched Next Step, an internship program aimed at expanding the representation of black professionals in the company. The interesting thing is that, in the program’s announcement, the company cited estimates that point out that less than 5% of Brazilians are fluent in a second language. The share is even smaller when the cut is made exclusively among young blacks. Result: Next Step was the first Google program that does not require fluency in English. Instead, the company offered an intensive language course.

Carrefour is yet another company that has had inclusive policies for years. The result is that, currently, 58% of its employees declare themselves black or brown. 42% of them are in leadership positions.

Coca-Cola, also recognized for promoting actions against racial inequality, invited its employees to talk about racial equity last year. Among the company’s initiatives is the creation of a Racial Inclusion group within the company’s Diversity Committee. The goal is to make Coca-Cola Brasil reflect the market in which it operates, promoting an inclusive work environment, with opportunities for personal and professional growth for all.

In addition, the Human Resources area set out to review recruitment processes for hiring black professionals at all levels, in addition to the development of employees who were already at the company. The company also created the Reverse Mentoring program, in which black professionals are mentors to senior leadership on racial literacy in order to develop inclusive management.

How does VAGAS.com support affirmative action in companies?

To support the racial inclusion movement, VAGAS has created a resource that allows users to complete their racial declaration in the curriculum. Only companies that sign a liability waiver can use this information.

Filling in the field is not mandatory, however, it helps companies to see if there is a discrepancy between the number of white, yellow, black, brown or indigenous people in their selection processes.

With this information, the company is able to be more clear about the level of racial representativeness it is obtaining during the curriculum screening process. And, if necessary, it can also make necessary adjustments to make the selection more balanced already in the initial phase, in addition to the possibility of creating exclusive vacancies for people belonging to minority groups. Without this, the lack of representativeness can only be observed in the face-to-face stages, when many candidates have already been left behind in the selection.

Why fill out the racial declaration

At VAGAS we believe that making self-declaration is, in the end, supporting a movement against racial inequality in companies. We believe that this resource is a way to support the construction of a job market with opportunities for all, making visible the information (self-declarations) necessary so that companies can make this transition more quickly.

How to fill out the racial declaration on VAGAS.com.br

If you want to fill out your declaration, just inform your color or race in the field of the curriculum that is just below the personal data, as shown in the image below.

If you already have a resume at VAGAS.com.br, update it here to include the racial statement. If you haven’t already, register your resume now and take advantage of numerous job opportunities.