7 Industries That Really-Really Need More Diversity
By Business Desk
Friday, June 15, 2018.
Finally, there is enough noise being made to warrant some attention in the mainstream. We’re talking about people like Deborah Rhode, a respected professor at Stanford Law School, scolding the lack of diversity in the legal profession and individuals like Chris Rock highlighting the shameful state of Hollywood with the #OscarsSoWhite. Yes, both of these examples may stretch back to a couple of years, but they both got the conversation rolling; a conversation that desperately needed to happen.
Why? Because it’s 2018. The fact that this conversation is only just happening is embarrassing and, above all else, because it’s not just Hollywood or Law that needs to be popped under the microscope. Not enough career fields out there reflect the diversity enjoyed in the real world. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about race, colour, gender, sexuality or religion, there is not enough equality.
But it’s the gobsmacking inequality people of colour face in the job market that we want to focus on. Not just to make a point of it, but to spur people on to say, “Yeah, I can do that. Yeah, I’, interesting in that. Yeah, I want to lead the charge, close the gap and be a role model to others that need it”.
So, without further ado, here is a lost of professions that are still so white, they actually put that Oscars fiasco to shame a little. Go get ‘em, people.
1. The World Of Planes
If you’ve got a thing for jetting around the world, enjoying some of the most amazing office views ever, upping your Instagram-game and having so many perks they stretch to your family and friends, you need to check out pilot training in the UK. Yup. For some reason or another, minorities are not taking-flight when it comes to careers as pilots of flight engineers. We’re talking about 91% of pilots being white (and only 9.4% of them being female). It’s one of the most underrepresented career fields out there.
2. Fundraising Needs You
When it comes to raising funds of any kind – whether that be for a campaign, a charity or a community – it’s almost always white people who take on this role. They are the people who go around trying to drum up some money. The fact almost 90% of people in this field are caucasian is ludicrous, but that’s what the data is showing. But if there is anyone that can drum up emotion and passion, a bit of a buzz and a lot of excitement, it’s you. So get out there and prove it to people. Knowing you raised money for a great cause is one of the most satisfying feelings you can ever experience.
3. The Same Goes For Vets
Once again, according to research, data and all that analytical stuff, the people that will take care of your beloved puppy when they start to feel any sort of poorly will most likely be white. We’re talking about just 1 out of 10 vets being from a minority background. That’s a tiny proportion. Yes, the road is long, the education needed is intense, but the chance to enjoy a job where you’re working with animals and inspiring the next generation to chase this dream is too much to ignore.
4. The Advertising Arena
A recent campaign called Breaking Adland’s Silence has cast a light on the lack of (women and) people of colour working in senior positions within the advertising world. And it’s right in doing so. It’s an industry where more white workers than minority employees are drawn to work, or at least that is what the data shows. Just 12% of people in advertising and promotions are of ethnic minority. Sure, this might be because those from minority backgrounds know how soul-destroying it can be, but it’s more likely to do with something more worrying. Thankfully, “we have the power to change this business until it looks more like the industry we want to lead”.
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5. Move Into Museums
There is something utterly infectious and mesmerising about museums. It’s the preservation of the past and the celebration of our journey to the now. And yet there is an overwhelming lack of archivists, curators and technicians working in museums. In fact, 88.8% of the people enjoying these restorative roles are from a white background. This needs to be changed. So if you have even the smallest inkling in history, in what used to be, in the trends that shaped the world or the questions “why and how”, then you need to get onto the right path and leap at any job opportunity you can to work within the walls of a museum.
6. Psychology Too
Let’s get to the point shall we: according to the data, 87.6 percent of paid psychologists are white. But it’s not just the fact there is a lack of diversity in this industry, but a lack of diversity when it comes to people getting PhDs in psychology too. As with most of the careers we have mentioned above, a big part of the problem is probably a lack of role models in this sphere. Parents, friends, doctors, the media – it all counts. You can change that. That’s the power you have. You have the ability to set a new precedent and encourage others to forge a career in this most fascinating of jobs.
7. Chief Executives In General
This is a title that almost exclusively belongs to men from white ethnic backgrounds. Yes, women are represented here equally wrong too, with just 27% of white females working as CEOs, according to data. But the lack of minorities working in this high-power position is even more shocking. The data shows, just 13% of CEOs come from a black or Hispanic background. That is overwhelmingly low.
Like we said at the beginning, this article wasn’t pulled together just to highlight the gap in equality. No way. It was to show you there are people of minorities out there, proving the statistics wrong and making their passions a reality, and you can join them.
