Corporate Racism And Misogyny

 Here's a little food for thought. It's a belief of many that the business community, especially the corporate business community, supports the Republican Party much more than the Democratic Party because Republicans are more business-oriented. But we already know that the stock market does better under Democratic presidents, and more private sector jobs are created under Democratic presidents, so maybe there's a different reason why corporate America supports Republicans.


But what could that different reason be? Well, take a look at the charts to the left, and maybe it'll give you a clue. The top chart shows us that the labor force is 64% White, 16% Hispanic, 12% Black, and 3% Asian.


Then we get to the second chart, which shows the racial make-up of the CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. The raial make-up of CEOs is much different -- being 95.8% White, 1.2% Hispanic, 0.8% Black, and 1.8% Asian. It seems like equal opportunity hasn't arrived in the boardrooms and upper echelons of the corporations. Interesting.


Then we get to the third chart. This one shows the percentage of women and men in the workforce. Note that women make up nearly half of the total workforce in this country -- about 47%. They're still not paid as well as men, but they have made their way into the workforce in a big way.


 Then chart number 4 shows us the gender make-up of the CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies. Once again we see a huge discrepancy. While women make up 47% of the workforce, they make up only 3.6% of the CEOs. Again, very interesting.


Are we really supposed to believe that White men are the only ones capable of running a huge corporation in America in 2012 (and I'll bet these same percentages will hold for other corporations not in the Fortune 500)? I don't buy that.


I think it is far more likely that corporate America still clings to an outdated view. They still have the racist and misogynistic belief that the top corporate jobs should go to White men. It's OK for women and different races to work at lower levels in the corporation (for ridiculously low wages), but when it comes to running a company -- that's a job that requires a White man.


Maybe the corporate honchos, the richest 1% in America, still operates through a "good old boys" club. Maybe they support Republican candidates over Democratic candidates because those Republican candidates are more closely aligned to their own views -- not on business matters, but on views toward gender and race in this country. Maybe they just feel more at home in a party that tolerates racism and misogyny.


I know that suggestion will probably irritate a lot of right-wingers, but I still think it is an idea worth considering. Do the richest 1% in this country consider themselves too privileged and special to allow women and other races into their ranks. It sure looks like it.