Sexual Discrimination in the Workplace - Research Paper Example

SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE At the workplace, fairness and good performance are complementary. One of the common ways that these two are discouraged is by work discrimination. Dealing with discrimination is crucial to attracting, motivating and retaining the staff. Therefore, enhancing an organization’s reputation as an employer. By doing away with discrimination in the workplace, the workers have equal opportunity promoting work and development of skills. Sex orientation based discrimination is a representative of such forms of discrimination. In many workplaces, people are denied or mistreated work on the basis of their sexual orientation. A lot has been done to curb this. Since the employers are the primary stakeholder, they have been encouraged to consider policies and procedures that respect the sensitivity and respect of every individual sexual orientation. Besides, the government has enacted laws to protect the workers in this context. It is paramount to understand that people of all sexual orientations should experience a welcome and be safe in the places where they work and enjoy a dignity treatment. Sexual orientation discrimination refers to, how employers treat employees unfavorably or harass them on the basis whether they are gay, lesbian bisexual or heterosexual (Joslin, 2004). Since any discrimination is discouraged at the workplace, this is not an exception. It is undesirable. Therefore, the government has tried to pass laws to discourage this type of discrimination. Unfortunately, the attempts to come up with straight laws to protect these individuals have been unsuccessful in the federal government although there are more bills being prepared (Badgett, Lau, Sears, & Ho, 2007). Despite this, the law does not encourage discrimination based. There is an Act that protects individuals from this type of discrimination. It is enshrined in the title VII of the civil rights act of 1963. This law prohibits workplace discrimination that is based on among other factors, sex of the individual. This includes the sex orientation of an individual. These laws aim to bring relief against discrimination in accommodation to public and private institutions (Malos, 2007). They persuade the employers to employ to promote equal employment opportunities in the workplace. On company practices, this law restricts the employers from, first failing or refusing to engage any individual on the basis of the sexual orientation (Badgett et al., 2007). This means that any qualified person whether male or female has equal chances to enter into the employment. Either regardless of the sex orientation, this law restricts the employers from discharging the based on sex and sex orientation (Elmslie & Tebaldi, 2007). This means that all the individuals have a right to enjoy the compensation, terms and conditions with all the privileges of employment without considering the sex orientation of the individual. In the employment, this promotes the equal chance for the straight and the bisexual gays and lesbians to work and effectively get to enjoy workplace without fear of termination of the job. Either nobody will fear that they will fail to secure employment since they profess a different sex orientation (Joslin, 2004). Besides this Act restricts on the policies that limit or restrict the hiring of married women and not men. Secondly, the employees and applicants are protected from any limitation, segregation or classification of any way that might deprive them of employment opportunities or adversely affect their status as applicants or employees because of sex orientation (Joslin, 2004). Through this provision, the candidates become competent that this segregation of workers in that a particular gender will be likely to work better is eliminated. Previously, it was alleged that some work could be done better if done by a specific people with specific sex orientation. However, as ages have evolved people have learned to accommodate others on this basis as all people with relevant qualification can work in these areas In the work set up, the trade unions and other employment agencies play an important role in the facilitation of the work environment and facilitation of job seeking. This act terms it unlawful for these companies to refuse or fail to refer any worker for employment or any other form of discrimination based on sex orientation (Joslin, 2004). In this, people regardless of their sexual orientation enjoy the same status. Therefore, their possibility of getting employment is increased. Besides, the agencies risk breaking the law if they classify or refer a person for employment based on of their sex orientation (Joslin, 2004). This classification is demeaning because it causes people lack work in the workplace. Similarly, this law prohibits the classification of a job on the basis of sex orientation when it comes to promotion of the employees to senior positions (Hirsh & Kornrich, 2008). Line progression based on sex orientation is also prohibited especially where this will affect an employee unless in a case where sex is a qualification for that particular job (Joslin, 2004). In addition, advertising of jobs as male or female is unlawful with an exception where such position sex is a crucial requirement. Line progression based on sex orientation is also prohibited especially where this will affect an employee unless in a case where sex is a skill for that particular job. In addition, this act provides for treatment at the job place. This includes the way job allocation is done, distribution of the employment and any other treatment on the job. The act names this action as illegal and unlawful to treat a person differently because of the virtue their sexual orientation. This is important because it prohibits people from getting extra leaves based on their sex and leaving the job earlier because of their sex orientation. It also prevents the employers from exploiting the workers because of their sex orientation including discrimination in the fringe benefits between men and women (Hirsh & Kornrich, 2008). These benefits may include medical benefits insurance, leaves, and retirement. This law pronounces that a firm that gives these services to males or females for the virtue of their sex are unlawful acts. Similarly, those benefits that people on the fact that they are the head of the family or a breadwinner are a prohibition of this law. This is because these titles have no relationship to the job. It constitutes fraud for the employer to avail some benefits for the wives and families of male employees and not husbands and families of female employees (Elmslie & Tebaldi, 2007). Similarly, it is against this law to provide some benefits to the married women and not to the unmarried (Malos, 2007). Organizations create rules and policies that may limit the female from the job site. For instance, jobs that require lifting and carrying weights that exceed certain weights, which are beyond the prescribed limits (Hirsh & Kornrich, 2008). Besides, work rules that promote the jobs to be done at a particular times of the day and for a particular time per week or to sometime before or after pregnancy are all against these discriminate against sex orientation (Elmslie & Tebaldi, 2007). The title VII act of the civil rights act of 1964 nullifies such laws in the event they are being utilized to discriminate on gender. According to this law, the rules and policies that are aimed at counteracting it by any measure are not applicable. In the enforcement of the provisions, the act creates the power of attorney to reinforce it. Besides, it powers a preventive committee against these practices (Elmslie & Tebaldi, 2007). This commission files allegations and gives notices to the employers or employees breaking this law it also collects information that will facilitate the hearing and building up of the case against the offender. The role of this Directorate is to ensure that sex oriented discrimination at the workplace has been eliminated by putting fines on the breakers of this law. The board should charge the offenders of this law by the written fines In an effort for the states to promote equality in the workplace, the state of Indiana has passed laws to prohibit sex orientation discrimination in the public places. According to this law, people earn a protection from the public place discrimination(Hirsh & Kornrich, 2008). Being popular this law seems something many follow suit in other states, with the number of the transgender increasing the states is pressured to pass laws to deal with these minorities. Even though these laws offer protection in the public place, they do not protect the individuals in the private sector (Badgett et al., 2007). The critics argue that they promote this type of discrimination in the private sector. However, there are other laws that protect these individuals from discrimination. Many local laws and state laws exist to protect individuals against orientation that is sex based. To start with, in 2006 the Washington parliament passed a law that prevented people against among sex orientation discrimination at the workplace (Malos, 2007). This law provides that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity constitute to crime. Currently, almost half of all the US states have laws that prohibit sex discrimination (Hirsh & Kornrich, 2008). Whereas most of these states prohibit discrimination in the workplace other states Where the state or the federal government does not protect individuals, the local laws protect them (Badgett et al., 2007). Most of the local governments have laws established against sexual orientation discrimination. These rules are specific. They discourage employer discrimination of the employee on this basis. These include laws that guide local practice in the cities and other stations. In addition, some companies have laws that prevent the individuals from any form of discrimination. Most of the companies have policies that discourage many forms of discrimination. Even though they are less potent than the state laws, they prevent to a point some of these descriptions (Joslin, 2004). These rules may include a description of disciplinary actions against the managers that discriminate people on sexual orientation. In some of the cases, these laws reverse these actions and even terminate the managers (Elmslie & Tebaldi, 2007). Currently in US there are a lot of sexual orientation activities. Many people are engaging and publicizing their sexual orientation. In job places, they have consistently received discrimination. In the workplace, people with sexual orientation considered problematic are discriminated in various ways (Hirsh & Kornrich, 2008). There is direct discrimination. In this, the applicants or workers are unfavorably treated because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. Besides, in some cases people can be ill-treated for association with people with particular sexual orientation. In America today about 3.4 % people, representing about 9 million people who are either gay lesbians or transgender (Hirsh & Kornrich, 2008). These are the most discriminated in the US. The majority of these are women. However, the majority of the literature suggest that these individuals experience a form of discrimination in the workplace. These people either receive harassments that seek to discourage them from the workplace (Badgett et al., 2007). However with adequate regulation these individuals can today work at the workplace. Besides there are many campaigns that seek to restore sense to people and thus remove sexual based discrimination. These are organized by various bisexual groups and those of human rights. These seek to dignify and promote ways to encourage acceptance of these people in the community (Malos, 2007). To sum up, discrimination remains one of those factors that cause workers discomfort. This is made worse when other factors like the lifestyle of the person, for instance, sexual orientation are employed as the basis of this discrimination. However, there are laws that have been instituted to fight this; there is a lot to be done to eliminate this situation. For adequate satisfaction in the workplace, all the employees should be respected. Besides in the recruitment, fairness should prevail. Treating all people as equals and the non-equals on the basis of their inequality is likely to foster good employee-employer relations thus eliminating this menace. References Badgett, M. V. L., Lau, H., Sears, B., & Ho, D. (2007). Bias in the Workplace : Consistent Evidence of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination. Seven, (June), 1–8. Retrieved from http://escholarship.org/uc/item/5h3731xr;jsessionid=8D8B7F2F93649A5C36B473C5051221EC Elmslie, B., & Tebaldi, E. (2007). Sexual orientation and labor market discrimination. Journal of Labor Research, 28(3), 436–453. doi:10.1007/s12122-007-9006-1 Hirsh, C. E., & Kornrich, S. (2008). The context of discrimination: workplace conditions, institutional environments, and sex and race discrimination charges. AJS; American Journal of Sociology, 113(5), 1394–1432. doi:10.1086/525510 Joslin, C. (2004). Protection for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Employees Under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Human Rights, 31(3), 14–15. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=14242817&site=ehost-live Malos, S. (2007). Appearance-based sex discrimination and stereotyping in the workplace: Whose conduct should we regulate? Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 19(2), 95–111. doi:10.1007/s10672-007-9037-z  Read More