Op-Ed: Why it’s so difficult to find long-term employment

I understand that it is difficult in today’s job market to find employment. Finding a long-term or permanent position with benefits is similar to hitting the lottery in today’s market. I understand that I’m not in a unique position. But I can’t help but feel that something about my identity and how I look has a role to play – I’m a visible minority, a woman of color, with a slight accent and a headscarf on my head. While I was younger, I was accepted into many workshops and conferences as people tried to increase the representation of racialized minorities in their gatherings. And I took up all these opportunities without the slightest thought of guilt over being tokenized. I was just happy to be able to travel. Such a lifestyle gave me opportunity to travel and see the world more than anyone else in my family, and I was happy to get those benefits.

What did not occur to me during these social justice conferences was that there was a reason why they were working so hard to bring racialized minorities to these platforms. I only realized the reality after graduation, as I sought stable employment. Turns out, while people are very happy to accept you to conferences, they are not as happy to keep you in places of employment especially if the visible identity you carry makes them uncomfortable. My last contract was working as a Summer Program Director with a non-profit that facilitates dialogue between Palestinian-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli citizens. I gave my heart and soul to the job, much like when I was an Executive Director for a youth center in the Canadian Arctic. But in both situations, I seem to have ruffled the feathers of those whom I was supervising and those who were supervising me. A lot of that ruffling had to do with my opposition to paying respects during Veterans Days or during the Hatikvah. People thought I was against the nation-state (Canada or Israel) while I was simply against the excessive use of force and militarization. But no one gave me an opportunity to explain myself.

I find it extremely difficult to discern if the lack of positive references from these jobs is because I sincerely did not have the skill set required to perform the job. Or, if the reservations in referring me to future positions is due to my identity, opinions and how I chose to express them.

Thus, this op-ed speaks to prospective employers and employees, supervisors and subordinate: please be just in assessing your own biases. Your prejudices or biases, if present, can have a significant impact on another’s mental health, and future career prospects. Please know that as a racialized visible religious minority, one is always trying to assess if the surrounding is safe for them to express their identity and opinions. For they are always fearful that the expression of their identity and opinions will result in negative repercussions for their professional and personal life. If you have feedback, please share that feedback so that the person can improve for the better. But please know that if you feel that someone is not “fit” for a certain job upon the first meeting than that may more have to do with your biases rather than their credentials.

I hope that through this op-ed, at least one person can be encouraged to revisit their biases.