Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.bonus From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: bonus Fri, Apr 24 1992 Date: Fri, 24 Apr 92 05:26:46 EDT Message-ID: 04-24 0000 BONUS: Affirmative action scrutinized USA TODAY Update April 24-26, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network Maybe white men can't jump, but they sure can whine. In offices and factories across the country, the complaints from some particularly vocal white men are reaching a crescendo: They can't get hired, they can't get promoted, they can't get a raise, they can't get on the fast track. Women and minorities, they say, are getting all the breaks. No fair. WHAT ARE WHITE MEN SAYING? "The white male struggles every bit as much as others in the workplace, and doesn't have recourse to a system that supports him," says Bob Mannis, a psychologist in Frederick, Md. "White males are being discriminated against," says Gordon Fineberg, a travel agency owner in Miami. "It's illegal, and it should be challenged." WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH THAT THEORY? By any measure, the white man is still king of the hill. Twenty years after affirmative action changed the face of the workplace in the USA, women still hold fewer than 5% of senior management jobs, and minorities fewer than 1%. Women make 72 cents to every dollar a white man makes, blacks make 68 cents, Hispanics 60 cents. Yet the push by employers to correct this imbalance has caused an uproar among white men who feel their rights disappear the moment they report for work. WHAT'S THE BIGGEST BEEF WHITE MEN HAVE? When a less-qualified woman or minority is chosen for a job over a better-qualified white man. "Almost to a man, they are furious," says Warren Farrell, a San Diego-based therapist and author of "Why Men Are the Way They Are." Farrell conducts workshops on men's issues. "They feel it on a personal level. They feel it's condescending to women and minorities, and it's undermining the country's ability to compete globally." WHAT ELSE DOES FARRELL SAY? Farrell says the majority of white men at his workshops say they've seen less-qualified women and minorities getting promotions. They also claim women and minorities abuse the system and get away with it - taking more time off, calling in sick more often, refusing to work the graveyard shift or accept a transfer. ARE THE COMPLAINERS SIMPLY RIGHT-WING BIGOTS? It's more complicated than that. Yes, white men dominate the top, but the vast majority of them never make it that high. Instead, they languish in middle management, which is precisely where women and minorities have made the most progress. At that level and below, some white men feel, they are at a distinct disadvantage. Many of the men complaining are sympathetic to the cause of affirmative action, and feel strongly they have always treated people fairly, regardless of race or sex. So when an individual white man loses an opportunity because he doesn't happen to be the "right" color or sex, he feels he's right to cry foul. ARE THE COMPLAINERS REALLY SYMPATHETIC? Mark Golin, 30, is editor of a new magazine, Young Executive, for "guys who need a boost to get ahead." Half his college class was female. His first boss was a woman. Nobody has ever accused him of being part of the old-boy network. In fact, he says it doesn't exist for men his age. "What's that book, `Backlash'?' " asks Golin, referring to Susan Faludi's best seller about the barriers to women's progress. "I say to myself, `Gosh, am I subconsciously persecuting women?' And I know I'm not. You start to feel like a criminal. It gets on your nerves." HAS THE DISPUTE EVERY GOTTEN NASTY? Last November, tempers flared at The Boston Globe after a white male reporter leaked the news that two black reporters had gotten pay raises to keep them from jumping ship. Because of a contract dispute, management has not given raises in 15 months. One white male reporter at The Globe who wasn't involved in the incident, Thomas Palmer, 44, says he's been told a couple times during his career that a position he wanted was "more or less reserved for a minority or a woman. But I just figure that's part of life." ARE WHITE MEN FORMING GROUPS TO COMBAT THE SITUATION? Some white men have become so upset they've lobbied corporations to form their own support groups. They're feeling left out. "Most white men see workforce diversity as a win for women and minorities and a loss for them," says Anthony Ipsaro, a Denver-based management consultant who leads seminars for white male managers. WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY? Marilyn Loden, a San Francisco diversity consultant and co-author of "Workforce America: Managing Employee Diversity as a Vital Resource," thinks it would be dangerous for a company to bend over backward to accommodate white men. "Reverse discrimination is a bogus issue," she says. " `The best defense is a good offense' is at work here. They're doing it right now. Maybe it's all that good sports training they have." WHAT IS LODEN'S BACKGROUND? Loden has worked with at least 10 companies where white men have considered setting up formal committees to promote their cause. But, she says, it has yet to happen. Why? "It's redundant." What is needed, she says, is more education directed at white men that will show how diversity improves the bottom line, increases the standards of performance for everyone and ultimately creates a better product. WHY ARE WHITE MEN SPEAKING OUT NOW? Many consultants who work with companies to develop a more diverse workforce say it's no coincidence white men are speaking out now. The recession has made everyone's job more insecure. Middle management spots are disappearing just at a time when baby boomers are scrambling to get them. And the competition is more fierce than ever because women and minorities have known for years they have to work twice as hard as their white male colleagues. Suddenly, says Loden, the stakes are higher: "This comes as a great shock to those who had expected to get to a certain level by dint of their white maleness." WHAT DO WHITE MEN NEED TO REALIZE? Women and minorities complain that white men jump to the conclusion they are incompetent when in fact they're just different. Many women and minorities approach tasks in a way that doesn't conform to the white male culture. Muriel Lazar, a diversity consultant with Harbridge House in Northbrook, Ill., cites the case of an Asian man who did a presentation for a group of white men. He buried his recommendation in the middle of his talk, since in his culture, being direct would have been considered rude. One participant grumbled, "He's going to have to learn to do it our way." SO WHY CAN'T EVERYONE JUST GET ALONG? Some say it's because those in power don't want to give it up. But many diversity experts now believe special programs directed at disadvantaged groups in an organization have done more harm than good, creating resentment among white men and turmoil in the workplace. The new thinking: Exclude any group, including white men, and you're asking for trouble. Bonus Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. 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