We live in a world where everything is full of colours blue sky, green grass, multi colored rainbow and what not. But when it comes to our society it has been divided into two colors- black and white. We have light skin people, called the ‘White’ and the dark skin people, called the ‘Black’. The White here signifies a mass of people with angelic deeds and Black to be the devils. Skin color has been given undue importance in the world for a long time. But does this discrimination in society effects our professional life?
Since the appointment of Barack Obama on the highest position of administration of US, it is surprising to see the number of people who say that it does not. With this one event they declared racism, discrimination and prejudice in all its forms officially dead. But is it really dead? Though there has been a vast progress in the mindset of people over the years regarding the skin color but it still holds on its roots beneath.
For instance, when it comes to getting a job, honesty, integrity, strong work ethic and a willingness to learn are some of the essential characteristics. But, the first judgement of the interviewer, at least a part of it, is based on the physical appearances which include the skin color on the top list. The society has made us believe, that the people with fair skin are more confident. Thus, we have enormous number of products related to skin care and skin color like skin creams, skin bleach, face wash etc. for both men and women, that claims to make us fairer and as a matter of fact, have the maximum recorded sales. This certainly indicates that people are conscious about their skin color, to make that first impression, no matter how much one says ‘it does not’.
There are even professions that include a particular skin tone, like in airlines the air hostess are often of the same skin color to the region the airline belongs to. Surprisingly, there are even organizations named after the skin color like ‘The Organization of Black Airline Pilots Inc.’ Organisation like this have the best interests of their members. But through this name they’re also telling everyone outside of their organizations that other people come second. The purpose of such organizations is to provide some sort of benefit to their members based on their skin color.
Dr. Martin Luther King said it best: "We should not be be judged by the color of our skin, but the content of our character!”
People like Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Will Smith, Barack Obama, Toni Morrison, Tiger Woods and many more have proved the wordings of Martin Luther King right and have managed to make their mark on the world.
Over the time the mindset of the people has expanded its horizons but the prejudgments based on skin color remain a possibility, pretending that they aren't a factor, however, just isn't a very viable option.
In the next story I will write some more health care tips which will surely help others to live better and healthy life.