Discrimination in the workplace

 

JOHN MICHAEL ARCA

Divine Word College of Laoag

ABSTRACT

              Even though you might be familiar with the term "discrimination," do you fully understand what it entails? And are you aware of how it relates to your line of work?

              Making unwarranted disparities between individuals based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they formally or implicitly belong is known as discrimination. People may be treated unfairly on account of their color, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, or any other category.

              Moreover. To treat someone differently or less favorably for some reason is to "discriminate" against them. Discrimination might happen at work, at school, or in a public setting like a mall or subway station. You may face discrimination from coworkers, supervisors, instructors, coaches, business owners, even pals from school.

              The major goal of this paper is to explain why our society is weaker due to a lack of variety that is perpetuated by discrimination. To do this, we must diversify higher education to produce better citizens and create a livelier, affluent society that benefits everyone.

Keywords: discrimination, gender, race, age

INTRODUCTION

              In today's world, discrimination is a fact of life. It can occur at any level, anytime, and anywhere. The office is no different. Employers must understand how to stop discrimination in their workplaces, though, as it seems to happen increasingly frequently.

              Workplace discrimination entails showing partiality for certain applicant and employee groups and treating them unfairly. It may result from erroneous perceptions that one is superior to the other due to differences in appearance, beliefs, or state of mind and body.

              Examining applicants' credentials as part of the hiring process will help you locate the best candidate for the position. However, are your selection criteria based on what they can actually offer and how they can perform the job?

              The need to fight prejudice is important for social, economic, and humanitarian grounds because labor is a clear necessity for survival. People's lives are significant because they depend on their jobs as their main source of money; otherwise, they would lose their feeling of self-worth (Collins, 2003).

              Stigma and discrimination are significant obstacles to employment reintegration in various nations and cultures (Brouwers, et al., 2016). Therefore, discriminating against someone entails depriving them of their full participation in the workforce, including by refusing to hire them, assigning them to particular occupational categories, lowering their salary, refusing to promote them, and so forth. All of these things are done because of traits or grounds that someone may have, such as gender, race, color, or age, which are typically unrelated to skills and job performance.

              In addition, discrimination is defined by the International Labor Organization [ILO] (2007) as "a differential and less favorable treatment of certain individuals" due to attributes including sex, color, and religion, "independent of their capacity to satisfy the criteria of the job." When describing discrimination, Willey (2012) questioned if a candidate was chosen based on legal or illegal criteria (such as experience, abilities, and qualifications) (like gender, pregnant women or disabled person). Whether or not an act of selection (treatment) is discriminatory relies on the criteria used to make the choice. When an employer chooses a candidate or makes a judgment based on a factor unrelated to the job, that behavior constitutes employment discrimination and is unfair treatment.

              When people are denied their equal rights—a privilege based on human rights—discrimination has the opposite effect. The majority of state constitutions now include the principle of equality, reflecting the decades-long unanimity of the international community to advance it.

Literature Review on Discrimination     

              Differentiating and treating certain persons more favorably than others is discrimination. It is connected to injustice and bias when making judgments or treating individuals based on their demographic characteristics. Disparate impact and disparate treatment are the two types of discrimination for which a business may be held liable (Riesch & Kleiner, 2005). Disparate impact occurs when a company's policies and procedures are discriminatory (Kapur & Kleiner, 2000). Disparate treatment occurs when an individual is subjected to discrimination because the employer dislikes his or her age, gender, color, etc.For instance, flight attendants are required to fall within a specified range of weight, height, and age. Researchers Ratsamy Phomphakdy and Brian H. Kleiner (199) looked into how to get rid of discrimination in the workplace. This study described workplace prejudice by employing criteria for hiring, firing, giving increases and bonuses, promoting, and delegating employees, such as race, age, gender, and cultural background. Similar findings have been made by other academics about the discriminatory nature of preferential treatment of employees based on their age, ethnicity, religion, and gender (Supateera & Kleiner, 1999).

 

              A study was done on the issue of religious discrimination in the workplace, especially for Muslim women who choose to wear headscarves in the USA. The study revealed that although though Islam is the second-largest religion in the world, unfriendly discrimination against women who wear headscarves has occurred in the job. In addition, Muslim Americans allegedly experienced the greatest levels of discrimination as a result of the connection between their religion and the extreme terrorism that the nation had to endure. Bullying also encompasses forms of prejudice, such as name-calling, avoiding eye contact, declining to serve, engaging in acts of intimidation, and staring. (Reeves, McKinney, & Azam, 2012). These attitudes have a psychological impact on the victims, which can lead to job dissatisfaction and eventually have an impact on the victims' self-esteem. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there was a significant increase in bigotry towards Muslims. According to the research, the majority of businesses refused to hire any Muslims, and those who were hired experienced bullying and mental torture (Schulze & Kleiner, 1999).

 

              Another study on gender discrimination in Greece revealed that while men are more likely to be promoted, women are employed in greater numbers but are often kept in contingent roles like lower managerial levels. Men with higher promotions than women are equally qualified. The research found that employees' perceptions regarding their own gender were a major factor in gender discrimination. This demonstrates how supervisors discriminate against women when assigning work (Mihail, 2006). Due to their gender, male employees have a larger likelihood of promotion than female employees. (Quak & Kleiner, 2001)

              According to Booysen & Nkomo (2010), the political and historical context of South Africa is largely to blame for the prevalence of racial and gender inequality in the nation. While a majority of black men and white men concur that men should hold managerial positions, black women strongly disagree. This demonstrates that managers' tendency to discriminate when assigning work is a result of two major societal constructs: race and gender.

              A study on age discrimination revealed that it is typical to link older workers or aged employees with technical illiteracy, a lack of aptitude for learning and understanding new skills, the difficulty of breaking old habits, and a lack of the energy and adaptability needed for the workplace. Age discrimination takes many different forms (Osborn & Kleiner, 2005). For instance, a clear illustration would be when a young, inexperienced employee is given low-profile chores like photocopying documents and running other errands while the senior employee receives a higher position. (Ozcan, Ozkara, & Kizildag, 2011) Discrimination against younger employees can also be seen when older workers receive promotions over the younger ones due to their seniority (Xia & Kleiner, 2001). This discrimination can also be seen in a more subtle way when a senior employee who is close to retirement is moved into a smaller office space. Younger workers argue that they are underpaid despite having comparable qualifications. There have been instances where workers have accused businesses of age discrimination after not receiving company benefits owing to their age (Shah & Kleiner, 2005).

              According to data from earlier studies, there are many negative effects of discrimination at work, but it is unclear what causes these effects or how much of it is the fault of the managers in charge. This study examines the managers' demographic traits, which define them and may have an impact on how they behave while assigning duties to staff members.

Different Forms of Discrimination

Race

              Previous studies have found that race is one human difference that has consistently been found to be the root of the majority of cases of discrimination. (Tisserant, Wagner, & Barth, 2012).  In the study of South Africa, it was found that black and white men and women have been treated unequally over the years due to the history of the country. Managers who have employees that share the same race as them tend to get better treatment than the rest. This shows partiality (Dhesi, 1998). A study conducted in USA shows that Hispanic ethnicity is discriminated against on the average of one out of every five times they apply for a job. The same research shows that Hispanics face barrier to promotions as well. In the same way, Asian companies were sued by workers for favoring white men over Asian during downsizing (Dong & Kleiner, 1999), the case showed that promotion for middle and upper level management positions was given to whites who had less experience and qualifications than the Hispanics. Mexican-Americans are another race which has been in America for some time yet they still experience discrimination. They received some assistance in this area from the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s, but employment discrimination is still a problem today.  (Nguyen & Kleiner, 2000)

Gender

              In most nations, gender discrimination is widespread. It is one of the reasons that equality is still a problem in places like Saudi Arabia and Yemen (Marshall, 2007). Stereotypes and gender prejudice often go hand in hand. According to previous research studies, this type of prejudice was present in the majority of workplaces from South Africa to Greece and the United States (Huang & Kleiner, 2000). The battle for equality and the ego-centric conflict between men and women have not yet been resolved.(Chan & Kleiner, 2000) Given that women are the ones who become pregnant, pregnancy discrimination falls under the category of gender discrimination (Chester & Kleiner, 2001). It can be claimed that in most nations this constitutes discrimination based on a person's marital status because it is anticipated that a married woman will be able to conceive. This is viewed as gender discrimination in western and European nations where it is common for unmarried women to become pregnant. (Middlemiss & Downie, 2009) Several research on workplace discrimination have found that gender discrimination is one of the most prevalent types of inequality (Kuta & Kleiner, 2001)

Age

              When an employee's talents and qualifications are disregarded because of their age or seniority, this is known as age discrimination. (Peng & Kleiner, 1999) This is typical in Malaysian businesses where an employee's remuneration is determined solely by seniority. (Topper, 2009) Young workers with good qualifications must nevertheless complete their terms of service before they can be promoted or paid more. According to a study of American workers, older workers are more frequently the targets of intentional age discrimination. As a result, older workers feel more excluded and unwelcome at work than younger workers. The group has the power to eradicate age discrimination. (James, McKechnie, Swanberg, & Besen, 2013). Age is simply a number, so it shouldn't be used against an employee, and supervisors should be educated and taught in this (G, Shen, & Kleiner, 2001). Age discrimination is also impacted by governmental policies and laws (Kleiner & Shah, 2005)

How You Can Stop Discrimination in the Workplace

              The initiation of the effective elimination of bias and discrimination at work can be achieved through ongoing education and training opportunities. Create a safe environment with planned learning routes for all employees and make sure everyone is aware of proper behavior in the workplace.

Here are some strategies for preventing discrimination at work

Create a written policy that outlines the steps and regulations

              The anti-discrimination rules of companies might differ greatly depending on their culture and nature, but it's necessary to emphasize that employees have a right to work in a setting where their knowledge, skills, and abilities are the most crucial components of their success.

Inform all of your employees about prejudice

              It's crucial to make sure that every employee is aware of potential workplace discrimination issues, is familiar with your policies and processes, and knows how to report an allegation. Supervisors and managers should receive specialized training because they are your first line of defense against workplace discrimination. Additionally, you ought to make an effort to let staff members know that discrimination may result in legal action.

Think about many possibilities for communication channels

              Providing efficient and open channels of contact is a crucial component of the complaint process. Having more than one way for staff members to report prejudice is ideal since it will prevent supervisors from hiding problems from HR and top management. For an employee to be able to file a complaint, formal channels of communication such an intranet, emails, letters, or face-to-face meetings are essential. Some organizations even let anonymous reports to be submitted in order to launch an investigation.

Implement a program to prevent retaliation

              Retaliation is the most prevalent claim of employment discrimination, and it's also the one that's hardest for a corporation to refute. One of the trends in human resources is this. It is typical for an initial allegation of discrimination (other than retaliation) to fall short of proving a legal violation, while an additional retaliation charge will usually lead to a discrimination finding.

Engage in team-building exercises

              To promote improved communication and understanding among your staff, perform team-building activities in addition to training sessions that take place in a meeting setting. This is a fantastic chance to promote inclusion and diversity because there are lots of activities that can do so, such a potluck where everyone is asked to bring a food from their culture.

Focus groups

              Employee focus groups, which are frequently used to raise employee engagement, involve participants in a facilitated conversation on a certain issue. They provide you an additional chance to express how much you respect employee input and are dedicated to making things better. These conversations can also assist managers in proactively identifying workplace pressures, conflict frequency, and employee morale issues.

Provide managers and supervisors with a soft skills training

              We need to remember that employees might experience discrimination from their coworkers. When discussing discrimination, one may quickly think of situations when a person was denied a job or a promotion for unfair grounds or treated unequally by their direct supervisor or manager. This frequently includes harassment and bullying. Your managerial staff should be adequately qualified to handle these concerns in a timely and efficient manner rather than instantly involving HR. Continuous soft skills training can greatly enhance their interactions with subordinates and prevent issues like this from developing into a complaint of discrimination.

CONCLUSION

              Discrimination in the workplace is wrong and hurts both the person and the business. Both the employee and the employer may experience mental and emotional stress as a result of the situation. Employer and employee might both enjoy a great working environment and experience without workplace discrimination.

              All accusations of discrimination should be addressed swiftly and effectively, as this serves the interests of both the employer and the employee. When prejudice is tolerated, it lowers employee morale, increases stress, harms professional reputations, increases absenteeism, and leaves customers and employees unhappy.

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