White Privilege in the Job Market

White privilege’s impact on the job market has been felt for centuries. White privilege is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “inherent advantages possessed by a white person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice”. Its roots in the United States can be traced to the 17th century with the advent of slavery. After fighting in the Civil War for their freedom, Blacks were introduced to a new form of maltreatment with sharecropping. Similar discriminatory actions continued legally until Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Despite this law and continued efforts by the government, discrimination against Blacks in the job market has been proven by studies over fifty years later. Efforts were further made with the Kerner Report in 1967, citing White racism as the cause of Blacks’ lack of economic opportunity. Despite attempts at support for the Black community in legislation, it has failed to revert centuries of White privilege, resulting in the perpetuation of de facto discrimination.