Personally, I agree with Thomas Jefferson that "all men are created equal... with certain unalienable rights." Therefore, I believe in diversity at the workplace and equal rights for all who bend over backwards for the same employer. Anyone who works just as hard as their co-workers deserves equal treatment; that's common sense.

I've also had the unpleasant experience of being a manager in the retail business. One of the observations I've made in this position is that terms like Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) can be somewhat misleading. Through federal EEO laws, it is illegal for employers to discriminate against people (during both the hiring process and employment period) based on gender, race, age, religion, sexual orientation, or even disability. This is a good thing, we all agree. However, it seems that some people take this concept to mean that every workplace must display an array of diversity within its staff. Simply put, this is not always feasible.

When I was an assistant manager at Family Dollar (a discount retail chain), my duties included hiring new associates. We were allowed barely enough payroll to employ five people part-time (myself included) and the store manager. Six total employees for the store, and that number was only met half of the time. Needless to say, the hiring process was quite selective. The only criteria I judged potential employees on while interviewing them was: will this person work hard for low pay like I do? There was no room to consciously attempt to have workplace diversity. Martin Luther King Jr. would agree that employees should "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

For the record, this is primarily an issue of race. According to GenderStats, as of 2004, 46% of the labor force of the United States was female. Discrimination against age and disability is somewhat of a lopsided debate because these factors can make a person physically or mentally unqualified for certain jobs. Nobody is ever required to disclose his/her religion or sexual preferences for general employment purposes. Hiring or not hiring someone based on race (or even apparent race), however, can be described as nothing but discrimination. It is a form of segregation that creates more problems than it solves, no matter what side of the fence you're standing on.

The workplace is a microcosm for our society as a whole, and so equal rights is important. This should be recognized as an obvious part of a democracy; it should not have to be forced upon employers or their employees.

Learn more about this author, Joseph Vanburen.
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