Value vs Worth: The Economics of Human Being
by Afroliterati
Over the years, working in an operations capacity atcomputer, bio tech, and aerospace companies, I've consistently witnessed Black Americans, and people of Latin, Hispanic, and African descent in lower wage jobs – security, reception, cafeteria worker, copy and janitorial services, and I've felt a kinship with them. Beyond the melanin. It's a kinship of status, of a certain class to which we've all been relegated, together.
For a long time, its seemed that highly skilled South Asian Indians and others brought to the U.S. on company-sponsored H-1B visas, have almost singlehandedly represented "ethnic diversity" amongst higher pay grades in technology.
That's diversity with a wink, of course, since these sponsored employees are found nowhere amongst the ranks of the aforementioned facility workers, yet are the literal cog and wheel of tech in America. This is fact. Interesting, obvious, maddening, uncontested, and sustained, even in corporations under the purview of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. How is this explained to the community, the customer base? It isn't. How is it packaged for Board members? Well, supposedly, these definitionsaren't applicable to human beings in this country (anymore), but my bestguess – value vs. worth.
We typically understand value as a measure of significance, or a measure of potential yield, especially monetarily.Valuespeaks more of raw attributes, inherent or intrinsic quality, and substance that doesn't depreciate. Conversely,worthis kind of like the goodness and quality that remain after the impact of external conditions. Worth is what's netted out after damages.It's a……non-appreciating trade equivalent.
In our daily lives, we don't put much energy into making distinctions between the concepts of value and worth, butthey're hard at work in the faux-diversity of high tech. There,valueandworthare set against one another, both morally and literally. If you've been anywhere in the U.S. over the last several years, and if you've been around tech companies, you've seen this in operation.
Submission of a visa application alone holds no guarantee of U.S. entry or corporate sponsorship, but when the process works – please readworkssarcastically – it makes all of this possible. It grants a limited stay for purposes of certain categories ofemployment by a U.S. company to citizens of other nations whomhave demonstrated technical aptitude and scholarship.
When theseparticular visas are granted, it's due in part to the likelihoodofapplicants' strong contributions to the U.S. economy, and even if it doesn'twork, the H-1B visa application process itself increases Government revenue. So, this is a win-win-win for Corporate America, American Government, and for the nations whose citizens become employees of U.S. companies through this scheme.
From year to year, this system of workforce classification by valuation – we can call itdiscrimination for short – masquerades as "tolerance" and "inclusiveness" and "corporate citizenship" and, bizarrely,earns accolades for the same.
Whatreallymatters to these companies though is taking the lead in the marketplace, due in no small part to the know-how of these sponsored employees, particularly in areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. No doubt, the STEM expertise of H-1B foreign nationals, and employment agreements that assign ownership of inventions to corporate sponsors, have greatly benefitedthese corporations.
Awesome for the South Asian visa-sponsored employee, and any visa-sponsored employee for that matter, but how does this affectthe rest of us? Once upon a time in this great nation – please readgreatsarcastically – melanin was an absolute equalizer, so the irony of all this is astounding!
It might even be comical if it weren't forthebastardization of equal employment opportunity, and the crippling effect on the psyche of run-of-the-mill minority employees wedged in between the modestly compensated minority security guards and janitors, and the high-wage minority H-1B techies.
It'scritical to guard against distinctions between value and worth in corporate settings, especially in America'scurrent political climate, but this is true wherever we are in the world. In support of our mental health and emotional IQ, why don't we develop value propositions?
A value proposition is probably best defined by what it is not. It's not like a resume. Our resumes showcase our skill and proficiency in assimilation, cooperation, and duplication. A resume isa statement ofcorporate worth, put bluntly. It's us,manufactured.A value proposition, on the other hand, highlights individuality. It shows off who we are, what we create, how we give. These things relay rawvalue – intrinsic, timeless, appreciating, and permanent. This is us,organically.
This isallof us. One Human Being. All equal since birthin purpose and potential, and some committedtill death to curing inequities like this.
Afroliterati, a new contributor to South Seattle Emerald, addresses inequities and atrocities that deform Human Being, sometimes with the help of a little chocolate peanut butter ice cream.
Featured image belongs to the public domain