A Concerning Observation About The Type Of People Getting Laid Off From Their Jobs
The tides are turning and not in a good way.
Alexander Suhorucov / Pexels A woman named YaYa noticed a very specific trend across TikTok regarding people being laid off.
She shared her concerning observation about the type of people getting laid off from their jobs.
“I’m starting to see more videos of people getting laid off and I noticed two things,” YaYa said. “People of color and women.”
She continued, asking, “I wonder how many people that are getting laid off are people of color and women versus how many people [who] are staying on their jobs are white men.”
“I’m not saying white men are not getting laid off,” she added. “But I wonder who’s staying with these companies.”
YaYa brought up a significant event as a possible reason behind this concerning trend, noting, “Now that they have removed affirmative action, I wonder…”
“I see people of color and I see women. Maybe they’re just the only ones posting,” she considered. “But I’m just saying.”
Photo: fizkes / Shutterstock
The people in the comments section agreed with YaYa’s perspective.
As one person noted, “As soon as the Supreme Court ruled against the DEI, companies started letting us go, especially in top positions.”
“All women and POC” another user commented. “My org laid off ‘redundant’ roles, but for some reason literally ALL the middle-aged white men were safe.”
Another person posed a significant question, asking, “Hasn’t it always been that way, though?”
An actor named Lisa Beasley stitched YaYa's video and shared a satirical take on the issue of corporate diversity and layoffs, embodying the role of a character called “Corporate Erin.”
Beasley imitated a woman in a HR role in a TikTok post titled, “Corporate Erin Explains White Diversity.” She spoke of the different countries various white people on the imaginary corporate team were from, including Germany, Australia, and Ireland.
Her astute humor captured a reality of the modern workplace — most higher-up positions in companies are still held by white men.
In fact, according to a USA TODAY analysis of named executive officers at S&P 100 companies, 70% are white men. Just 17% are women, and only 3% are women of color.
Since women and people of color are already in the minority, they are put further at risk when it comes to layoffs. According to data from Forbes, through the first nine months of 2023, there have been around 605,500 announced layoffs, which is an increase of 198% from last year.
The outlet reported that tech employees have been hardest hit by the waves of layoffs, as about 152,000 layoffs in the industry were announced, up 716% from the same time last year. Two other industries that have felt the effects of layoffs are retail and healthcare, as the retail industry has had 71,000 job losses and healthcare has lost 53,000 jobs.
Photo: Media_Photos / Shutterstock
Forbes also reported the sheer number of layoffs from major companies over the past year, such as Amazon, Pfizer, Google, and Citigroup, along with a slew of other companies.
What both YaYa’s post and Lisa Beasley’s hilarious response highlight is that people are losing their jobs and layoffs are definitely happening — and they appear to affect some demographics of people more than others.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers issues in the workplace, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.