Discrimination in the Work Place - Research Paper Example

Symposium Research in entrepreneurship: Types of discrimination in the work place Lavan Taha , 10016066 with joint organisers Business School, University of Glamorgan, UK Types of discrimination in the work place / HRM Anthony Lewis University of Glamorgan Business School, Pontypridd, South Wales, CF37 1DL E-mail: alewis2@glam.ac.uk, Tel: 01443 482752, Fax: 01443 482380 Abstract This Report focuses on Discrimination in the work place. It shall be defining and distinguishing between the concepts of equal opportunities and discrimination such as gender differences, race and ageism. Our society is becoming more complex and diverse. Overall population is growing; we are more ethnically diverse; and we are getting older. Equality legislation has helped challenge much discrimination and prejudice, but there are still big equality gaps. Before this report goes ahead with the types of discrimination it shall define the word discrimination which is “to make a distinction in favour of or against a person on the basis of the group, class, or the category to which the person or thing belongs, rather than according to actual merit”(Klarsfeld, 2010). Introduction Discrimination has always been a problem in this world and for this reason it is one of the most discussed topics nowadays and throughout history. There are many different types of discrimination and there is at least one type of discrimination in every country that affects different groups or people. Many people believe that discrimination has made big steps forward. We must ask ourselves has it really? And if it has then why do people still get turned down, or get ridiculed simply because they differ from each other. Even sometimes, we discriminate without realising by calling somebody names, looked at them differently or judged them without even knowing them (Cornelius, 2002). Literature Review Is it possible to achieve equality and diversity in the work place? To be an effective and productive organisation it is essential that all staff members are being treated equally. Through the introduction of equalities legislation there has been much progress as it has resulted in the removal of many inequalities within the workplace. However still in today’s society preferences are being made in the workplace and this is the reason why discrimination is caused. Discrimination can be caused directly and indirectly. Discrimination is done directly when organisation treat an individual or group less favourably on the grounds of disability, religion , age, gender etc. Direct discrimination is more obvious to indirect discrimination because of its explicit nature. (Corbridge and Pilbeam, 1998). Using different criteria for promotion or payment between male and female is an example of direct discrimination. Also indirect discrimination is a less obvious type of discrimination as this may take the form of applying certain conditions or requirements that are more easily satisfied by one group than another (Corbridge and Pilbeam 1998). The concept of Equality of Opportunity and its Justification is that equality is defined as: creating a fairer society where everyone can participate and has the same opportunity to fulfil their potential regardless of race, age, gender, religion, appearance, etc. Everyone should have the same rights and should be treated the same. “The equal opportunity principle probably does excite a great many men to dream about glory far beyond their real capabilities” (Crespigny, 1971). As McKenna (1994, p.260) states: Equality of opportunity is an objective worth striving for. It can be addressed at all levels: governments have a role to play through legislation to prevent discrimination: organizations need to focus on the management of diversity making the most of a wide pool of talent: strategies should consider equal opportunity policies, targeting and positive development of under-represented groups: people managers can monitor their activates and increase awareness to minimize discrimination. Anthony Jay is reputed to have said that “Success is when preparation meets opportunity” preparation depends on personal effort but opportunity is linked to social factors such as economic conditions, education and other people. Effectively , society determines who is given opportunity and who is not through the process of discrimination. Marti, Bobier and Baron (2000) found that some forms of discrimination, specially gender and race are more easily observed and recognised than others, such as age and weight. Three areas of workplace discrimination: race, gender and age. It has been observed that all societies appear to favour certain groups more than others and that most developed societies have attempted to combat prejudice, favouritism and discrimination by introducing relevant laws. Each of the forms of discrimination that have been covered has complex causes which are not easily countered by legislation. The first type of discrimination focused on in this report is: Gender differences: All human societies divide themselves into two social categories called “female” and “male”. Each one of these categories is defined on the basis of varying cultural assumptions about the attributes, beliefs and behaviours expected from males and females. Traditionally, sexual differences have been used to justify male-dominated societies in which women have been given inferior and secondary roles in the working lives (Avis, Fisher &Thompson, 2009). "Britain is a country which is more tolerant than at any time in living memory, more intolerant of discrimination - but which has yet to live up to its own aspirations. In short, we are a more fair-minded people than previous generations - but we are not yet a fair society." (Trevor Phillips, chair of the EHRC said) An example of an incident that happened in Britain due to sex differences was in 2002 when “Julie Bower” was awarded £1.4 million compensation for sex discrimination after a tribunal found that she was forced out of her job at “Schroder securities”. The case was supported by equal opportunities commission (EOC). Her manager stated that “she did not reflect a genuine valuation of her performance and that her work was undervalued because she was a woman”. Another incident that took place in Britain was that a woman truck driver won compensation for sex discrimination. “£5600 was awarded to a women truck driver from Scotland in compensation for injury to feelings and loss of earnings in a sex discrimination case brought against a former employer”. “Sourjourner Truth” said “ If the first ever woman that god made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able turn it back, and get it right side up again !” (Avis, Fisher &Thompson, 2009) Many organisations are aiming to make equalities central to their employment practice. This is to ensure a diverse workforce that reflects the communities they serve. However the above examples indicate that although actions have been taken in place against gender differences but there are still organizations in existence that feel the need woman are not as hard working as men and need to be forced out of their jobs. Diversity can be achieved in the workplace if organisations recognise that everyone is different in a variety of ways. They vary in gender, culture, race, social and physiological characteristics. But attitude towards these differences can be negative or positive depending upon individual perspectives and prejudices. Another popular type of discrimination in the work place is RACE: There are many types of discrimination but two main types that hurt the most are Race and Gender. In general discrimination is an unfair difference in treatment of people based on their race and gender. Being discriminated against is very hurtful. According to research it states that even in today’s society unemployment is three times higher among black and Asian workers than it is among white workers in some parts of the U.K. Eleven percent for Black and Asian workers in comparison with five percent for the white counterparts (Avis, Fisher &Thompson, 2009). Even once the Asian and black workers are recruited they are being treated differently in their workplace when compared to the white counterparts as Asian and black workers suffer wage discrimination. They earn £97 per week less than the white counterparts. Also the minister responsible for equality coordination across the U.K government: “Barbara Roche” states that: “a black man is still 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed than a white man”. Lastly the Age discrimination shall be covered within this report. Everybody wants to be treated equally and equal opportunities are something that everyone wants. Age discrimination is a factor of equal opportunities where older people are not allowed to work in certain jobs because they are too old. What is age discrimination in employment? This is an act that deliberately discriminates against a person based solely on their age. It includes refusing to hire or promote older workers, coursing them to retire, targeting the when layoffs occur, cutting back, or restricting their employee benefits. This deliberate discrimination maybe blatant or subtle, but in their case, it is against the law (Groschl, 2011). Older employees are seen as being less capable of performing their duties, and even if they can perform their duties, the cost of retaining them becomes a “burden to the organization”. The examples below are examples of age discrimination from research: Former BBC presenter Miriam OReilly has won her case for age discrimination against the corporation after she was dropped from BBC1s rural affairs show, Countryfile for a younger model. OReilly, 53, took the BBC to an employment tribunal claiming age and sex discrimination after she was one of four female presenters, all in their 40s or 50s, who were dropped from the 23-year-old show. The tribunal upheld her claim for age discrimination. The BBC apologised for their unfairness and said that they would improve their training in that department so that kind of embarrassment wouldn’t happen to them again. It would be in any organisations best interest to tackle discrimination so that they can motivate and retain staff and enhances their reputation as an employer. Eliminating discrimination helps everyone to have an equal opportunity to work and to develop their skills better. Conclusion In conclusion, for organisations to be fair so that they can avoid the discrimination route they need to follow “The Equality Act 2010”. The Equality Act became law in October 2010. It replaces previous legislation (such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) and ensures consistency in what needs to be done in order to make everyone’s workplace a fair environment and to comply with the law (Seyla, 2002). This act enables changes to be made to the followings: Indirect discrimination, Associative discrimination, Perceptive discrimination ,Harassment ,Harassment by a third party ,Victimisation ,Positive action ,Pre-employment health related checks ,Extension of employment tribunal powers ,Equal pay direct discrimination , and Pay secrecy. Diversity management is concept that is not new in its scope, has historical root dating to nineteen century, with particular importance place on it during the renowned and revolution civil right movement that blossom during the 1960s. As a concept of equal opportunity and diversity management have been deeply intertwined and embedded in the social and political construction of developed countries over the past century, the result today includes legislation that continue to be active in the literature base, and somewhat controversial in the practice. However, there are tangible benefits to having not only legislation but also voluntary diversity management programmes implemented; in fact, current, research has shown that having diverse work force has led to increase in such job performance outcomes as sales revenue, customers, market share and profit (Sharkhray, 2009). While there is debate over this value-in-diversity hypothesis, which promote a business case for inclusion and diversity in a workplace, business can and does benefit from diversity management and related programmes. However, with misidentification and often misuse of the terms affirmative action, equal employment opportunity and diversity management programmes, public opinion can often challenge and/or support their primary goals. Diversity management programme remain in most develop countries. It is hope that the continued enforcement of and compliance federal discrimination (Alan, 2004). Over and above an effective equal opportunities policy and anti-harassment policy, it will be important to have accompanying complaints procedure, designed specifically to provide a route to workers who are the victims of discrimination or harassment to report the problem and received support from the employer. The employer’s normal grievances procedure will not normally be adequate for this purpose, simply because it often happens that the perpetrator of discrimination or harassment is the work’s supervisor, who will also be the person to whom grievances must be taken under the grievances procedure. It is the best to have separated complain procedure that is design specifically and harassment (Sharkhray, 2009). Where proper preventive measures are introduced, they will place the employer in a relative strong position to defend any claim of unlawful discrimination or harassment against them. This is because all the anti-discrimination laws include the statement that employer facing a claim for unlawful discrimination will have defence if they can they took such steps as were reasonably practice to prevent the discrimination in question. This means that, if the employer can provide evidence to a tribunal that they did everything would reasonably could to prevent discrimination in the work place. They may be held not liable for any discrimination conduct that occurs despite the measure taken. The burden of proving this defence is, however, a high one, and tribunals will not only scrutinise the employers and procedures, but will examine the extent to which they were actually put into practice (Alan, 2004). As we have already noted, the employer is responsible for acts of discrimination carried out in the course of work by its employees. Although the person for responsible for equal opportunities cannot listen to every conversation and monitor every event, it is essential that they do everything possible to promote a culture when discrimination is not allowed. It is also important to note that this responsibility extend to act of discrimination carried out by a third party (Sharkhray, 2009). References Alan P. 2004, Human Resource Management In a business context, New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Avis J., Fisher R., Thompson R. 2009, Teaching in Lifelong Learning, New York: McGraw-Hill International. Cornelius, N. 2002, Building workplace equality: ethics, diversity and inclusion, London:Cengage Learning EMEA. Groschl, S. 2011, Diversity in the Workplace: multi-disciplinary and International Perspectives. New York: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Klarsfeld, A. 2010, International handbook on diversity management at work: country perspectives on diversity and equal treatment, New York: Edward Elgar Publishing. Seyla B. 2002, The claims of culture: equality and diversity in the global era London: Princeton University Press. Sharkhray I. 2009, Managing Diversity in the Workplace, London: GRIN Verlag. Read More