Discrimination in the work place. Workplace Safety - Research Paper Example

? Number Workplace Safety Introduction Workplace safety entails ensuring that allemployees in a given company are kept safe from any kind of harm or injury that would be happen at their places of work. Injury or harm would either be physical, psychological or even emotional. There are high numbers of employees who lose their lives while others become physically or mentally incapacitated by the kind of work they engage in. ( cited in work place safety ) This research focuses on area of discrimination of single women in the work place. The research begins on the hypothesis that ‘Single women are discriminated in the work place’. The research will be looking at different methods of data collection in order to establish whether the hypothesis is valid or null. The research will be looking at whether single women get promoted in their places of work as compared to their married counterparts, do they receive pay rises at the same rate as their married counterparts, does the work place treat them more harshly as compared to their married counterparts?, these are some of the questions that the hypothesis will be trying to answer. The Research Process The research process is divided into various processes that may at times overlap but largely work independent of each other. The research process will entail doing research in a number of work places specialised in different fields of profession. It will be a sampling process that will see us sample the population size to a sample size of only 15 single mothers. The process is as follows. 1. Defining the area of research specifically; our area of research will be conducted in eight major companies whereby we will be seeking to conduct a research on the single mothers in these companies. The four companies are ‘ABC Forex’, Savannah Coffee Lounge, Barclays Bank, Mayfair Casino, Deloitte, TNT, Securex, Westgate. All the eight areas have people specialised in different fields major companies whereby 2. Developing an overview of the area of study or what we intend to achieve. This is one of the most important parts of this research. In the research, we will be seeking to find out whether the single and married women in the work place face any kind of discrimination as compared to the male and married counterparts. Here we will be expecting answers either in the positive or in the negative with reasons to support these answers. 3. Determine methods of data collection. In our research various methods will be used. However, sampling will be the major method of research. The research method will be supplemented by other methods such as interviews, questionnaires, observation, focus groups, and mail surveys. This methods will be necessary in coming up with all the data required in a very efficient and effective manner. 4. Determining information requirements. This is where we have to make a choice on whether we may need to adopt and survey other reports on research done by others I this area of discrimination among single women in the workplace. 5. Organization of the information. This is where we will need to organize the information collected in the study. The information will have to be organized in a systematic manner in different sections each showing how we have been conducting the process right from the beginning of the process to the ultimate end of it. 6. Analysis and evaluation of the information. This is where we will be analysing and giving critical inferences about our research process. We will be seeking to either support or dismiss the hypothesis based on our research. This is one crucial part as it forms the main reason as to why the research was conducted in the first place.(Research Methods) The Research Process As stated earlier, the research involved a study conducted among people working in different areas of specialisation. All the women involved were single some mothers, others widowed and others still had just cleared from school and had just begun working. The research was as follows. Most of the workers were not ready to participate in the process and it took too much of persuasion to get them involved. However, we finally managed to get a sample size of 15 that was effective for the study. Our method of sampling was random sampling. We managed to get a total of 200 participants from the study. This was to be our population and further we were to sample this population in order to come up with a study representative of the whole population. Our population was stratified into women of different ages from 21-50. In order to achieve a random sample of fifteen units, the population was arranged and a computer program for random sampling was used and this gave us a number of 15 units and each unit was a representative of the whole population. The fifteen units were spread as follows. 2 units from ABC, a single mum aged 23 and a single lady aged 36 1 unit from Savannah ,a single mum aged 35 2 units from Securex a single mum aged 28 and a single mum aged 47 2 units from Deloitte ,a single lady aged 25 and a single lady aged 37 2 units from TNT , a single lady aged 22 and a single mum aged 24 2 units from Mayfair, a single lady aged 48 and a single lady aged 35 1 unit from Westgate, a single mum aged 29 3 units from Barclays, a mum aged 45 ,a mum aged 31 and a single lady aged 25 From this unit size, the sample was derived that composed of 8 single mothers and 7 single ladies. The sample size was composed of 7 ladies aged below 30 years,5 ladies aged between 30 and 40 years and 3 ladies aged between 40 and 50. Research Methodology The research process administered individual interviews to the ladies, group interviews were avoided for privacy reasons. The interviews were interactive sessions between the interviewers and the individuals. The interviewers were given a chance to express their views as opposed to being questioned; they could talk based on what they felt about how other people reacted in the job place. The research also included administering of questionnaires. The questionnaires were open- ended in that the interviewees had a chance of adding whatever issues they felt were not covered or any other such sentiments. The research questions included narrative questions as well as optional questions in the form of yes and no. Panels were also used that addressed the concerns of the group in general. In these panels, the individuals talked about problems facing them in common and what should be the best ways in which to address the issues without affecting their professions. The methodology also included mail surveys where we did the interviews via the emails in case the individual was not available or they were held up and could not make it for the interview, this was a new approach to us as it proved very cost effective and it yield much more results as the individuals were not afraid of publicity, we could chat with the individuals and send them copies of the questionnaires whereby they could do the filling in and mail them back. Another approach entailed conducting observations of the individuals during the interviews or even in the group participation. Some individuals seemed emotional during interviews about certain issues while others talked about some of these issues with a lot of humour and sarcasm. Some tried to avoid some of the questions or discussions. Another approach that we used was to find out through interviews and telephone to government institutions about what has been the governments’ reactions and input towards the elimination of discrimination of individuals in the work place. We also sought legal experts on labour laws on the position of this kind of discrimination in the work place and what has been the position in the courts regarding this kind of discrimination. Our research proved that there was no need of looking into what other researchers had done in looking at the field of whether discrimination took place in the work place. We tended to focussing on coming up with an independent sort of research report that will deal with the issue independently. (Research methods knowledge) TOTAL Report of the Research Process The research process proved that 12 of the single women experienced discrimination in their work places at relative degrees. The study revealed the following. 1. All the single women with no children especially were required to work extra hours as compared to their coupled colleagues. It was held that since they had no ‘major’ family obligations, they could work the extra hours in the evening and over the weekends limiting their social life. 2. They job places also had a silent kind of slogan that since they were single, perhaps they did not need a social life, in short they were anti- social. The singles were also looked out of the events that involved couples in their organizations and if it happened that they brought a friend of the opposite gender along, they were given suspicious looks. 3. Their colleagues, married women were cautious about socialising with them to the extents of family level lest they prey on their men. This sentiment was expressed by all the women aged 40 and above. They said that those of their colleagues who had their spouses work with them always warned them about preying on their husbands. One lady age 48 from Securex stated that most of her colleagues feared her and most of them regarded her as a husband snatcher. 4. In terms of job promotion, there was discrimination too however hard one worked. One lady from ABC that this personally happened to her. was in charge of credit control and her boss had been recruiting her to replace him when he was to move to another of their branches, however, the head office demoted her upon finding out that she was single. They suspected her of having an affair with her former boss. She recalls this with lots of tears. In her view, she said that she felt like she was facing a financial penalty in being single while the world out there is working towards empowerment of women. The story is the same for the ladies aged below 30, they explain that for them getting a job was viewed by their colleagues as a result of an affair with the bosses and it was a way or form of ‘paying or compensating them. 5. Another view that was brought up was that women are their worst enemy. A single mum from Savannah expressed that in her job place, it was the married women who discriminated against due to lack of a man in her life and a father for her daughter. She said that whenever she happened to get late from work ,her boss a female would scold at her and ask her to manage her family affairs more carefully the next time. This was very offensive and she had no recourse to take in order to curb this kind of discrimination. 6. Another woman expressed that she had received a threat by her employer that should there be another full-time workers’ lay off, she might be up for consideration, this filled her with fear recounting that she was the sole beneficiary in her house; she had no one to supplement her income. 7. From ABC, a mum aged 23 expressed her fears that it was very difficult for her to get a job. Most of her potential employees had difficulty employing her as she was a mum and their jobs needed people who could dedicate themselves totally to the job .They were reluctant the more since she was single too. She is of the opinion that one should not be judged and discriminated due to the fact that they are parents. 8. The women expressed that this kind of discrimination either worked positively or negatively to you.10 of them admitted that it worked in their favour, they mostly worked hard so as to achieve better results in the work place and have good performance as leverage should they be discriminated against by their peers. 9. Out of the 12 women who admitted being discriminated, 8 of them had no idea that was they were undergoing was illegal and they could institute legal proceedings against their employers and colleagues. 10. The 3 women who did not experience discrimination said that they enjoyed being single and most of their work mates admired them as they had total control of their lives and had reduced amounts of stress. To them, being single or married was not a measure to define someone’s status and stated that organizations that upheld such beliefs were out dated. One of these mums said that she did not experience discrimination simply because she did not allow it, in fact she even performed better and lived a better life than most of her married colleagues. Legal Recourse Any individuals undergoing such kind of discrimination could seek redress in the law. For instance, there are provisions for Family Responsibility Discrimination, this kind of laws apply to individuals facing discrimination at their places of work as a result of having family. Applicable statutes would be the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Equal Pay Act. At the same time all jurisdictions discourage discrimination of any kind whether in terms of sex or gender, age, family responsibility or marital status. The state has an interest in this kind of areas. Discrimination laws also prohibit stereotyping at places of work on the premise that women miss work simply because they could have been taking care of children. (Family Responsibility Discrimination) Thesis restatement At the beginning of the study, we were seeking to prove the validity of the hypothesis ‘Single women are discriminated at the work place’. From the study, the hypothesis is valid, it is true that single women are discriminated at their places of work by other colleague be it their married colleagues, bosses among others. Conclusion In my conclusion, the discrimination of women in the work place is a significant issue. Most organizations tend to overlook this position as they are mostly focussed on results as opposed to employee welfare. In today’s work place, it has become an emerging trend to look at the employees’ welfare. In this spirit, the employer should look into empowering single women in their respective areas of work specialization. This should include advising, addressing their issues privately and providing a conducive environment for them to advance their skills. Organizations should aim at providing employment opportunities to all kinds of human power. In my view , I strongly believe that a woman who can manage to match up to the skills of a fellow male colleague has the capacity to perform equally as good whether they have family, spouses, children or none of these. However, it is good to note that today’s organization is moving from a chauvinistic one and male centred one that regards men as the source of identity. This move should be acknowledged and uplifted in order to provide women with the kind of empowerment they need in order to be equally ranked with their male counterparts. At the same time, there is need to instil strong values at the work place for all. These values should work at all levels of office. Such values should include respect for others, courtesy. Non- discrimination of any manner. No one in the organization shall be held to be immune. There should also be serious consequences if anyone is to break these values including the senior management. The government should also come up and uphold these values. The courts too should be vigilant in exercising its power to uphold this spirit of core values and anyone who should go against such values should be fined and if possible receive an imprisonment term. Trade and labour unions should also be vigilant in exercising its mandate to protect the employees and industrial workers. References Family Responsibility Discrimination extracted from < http://employeeissues.com > on 22/04/2012 at 1930 hrs. Research methods extracted from http http://www.statpac.com on 24/04/2012 at 2000 hrs. Research methods knowledge base extracted from < http://www.socialresearchmethods.com > on 24/04/2012 at 1530 hrs. Single people feel discriminated at work extracted from < http://www.guardian.co.uk > On 21/04/2012 at 1654 hrs. Work Place Safety extracted from< http://www.nonprofitrisk.org> on 21/04/2012 at 1700 hrs Read More