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Equal opportunities and discrimination

The areas that this subject covers includes:

Diversity and Equal opportunities

Equal opportunities Equal pay Discrimination on the basis of gender, color, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion and age

Discrimination can be:

Direct Indirect Victimization Harassment

Direct discrimination
Occurs when one interested group is treated less favorably than another (except for exempted cases). It is unlikely that a prospective employer will practice direct discrimination unawares Sex, race, religion, disability etc E.g. a woman might be dismissed when she gets married: discrimination on the basis of marital status, An individual might be over looked for promotion because he has speech impediment: discrimination on the basis of disability

Indirect discrimination
When certain requirements are imposed with which certain interested groups could not comply Occurs when a policy or practice is fair in form, but discriminatory in operation: for example, if requirements or conditions are imposed, with which a substantial proportion of the interested group cannot comply, to their detriment For example an organization expects all its managers to work long hours and at weekends is probably discriminating against woman because many women than men have family responsibilities that prevents them from working longer hours consistently

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Victimization
Occurs when a person is penalized for giving information or taking action in pursuit of a claim of discrimination (giving evidence on discrimination cases) The individual is therefore ignored for training and promotion opportunities because of his/her act of betrayal or whistle-blowing

Harassment
The use of threatening, intimidatory, offensive or abusive language or behavior

Equal opportunities
Equal opportunities means ensure individuals are treated fairly in the employment process. In other words everyone has the right to be treated fairly at work. Equal chances for everyone Equal opportunities employment exists when there is no unfair discrimination (against gender, color, ethnic origin, disability, orientation, religion and age) in relation to:
access to jobs; employment terms and conditions; promotion prospects; training opportunities; remuneration; or termination of employment

The idea of equal opportunity is also that employers should discriminate between employees and applicants for jobs only on the basis of:
Ability Experience Potential

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Discrimination of certain types is illegal in the UK on grounds of:

Sex and marital status Color, race, nationality and ethnic or national origin Disability Sexual orientation and religious beliefs Age

Law
In many countries, this is enforced by legislation. For example in the UK there are:
Equal Pay Act Disability Discrimination Act Race Relations Act.

Employment Discrimination Laws

Equal Pay Act of 1963
The act requiring equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex.

Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act of 1974

An act requiring that employees with government contracts take affirmative action to hire disabled veterans.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)

The act prohibiting arbitrary age discrimination and specifically protecting individuals over 40 years old.

Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978

A Title VII amendment that prohibits sex discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
If an employer offers its employees disability coverage, then it must treat pregnancy and childbirth like any other disability, and include it in the plan as a covered condition.

Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973

The act requiring certain federal contractors to take affirmative action for disabled persons.

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Equal pay
Under such legislation any person is entitled to the same remuneration and conditions of service as another who:
is doing similar work; or work which is of a similar value as judged under a job evaluation exercise.

Sex discrimination
Basically it is illegal to discriminate within the workplace on the basis of sex (gender) in the areas of recruitment, job selection, terms and conditions of employment, training, promotion and pay (including the form of fringe benefits and redundancy pay and pensions).

Sexual harassment
Asking or forcing an employee to perform sexual favors in exchange for some reward or to avoid negative consequences Covers:
unwelcome sexual advances requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature

Sexual orientation/religious beliefs

Employers cannot discriminate on the basis of an individuals sexual orientation or religion. Employers can be held responsible for conduct(including harassment) deem offensive in regard to an individuals sexual orientation or religion.

Can be:
Verbal Non-verbal Physical

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Disability
A disabled person is defined as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has substantial and long-term (more than 12 months) adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

There are three areas (within UK legislation) that make it illegal for an employer to discriminate against disabled individuals:
in deciding who to interview, who to employ or in terms of an employment offer; in the terms of employment and the opportunities for promotion, transfer, training or other benefits, or by refusing the same; by dismissal or other disadvantages.

Age discrimination
Occurs when a person is treated less favorably because of their age, and this is used as a basis for prejudice against, and unfair treatment of, that person. Can:
Impact regardless of age reduce employment prospects for older people, younger people and parents returning to work favor people in the age group 25 to 35 prevent the full consideration of abilities, potential and experience of employees

A country's age discrimination regulations may suggest that employers should:

Refrain from using age limits while recruiting and focus on ability and skills (such as newly-qualified or recent graduate) in job advertisements; refrain from asking for medical references only from older applicants Use mixed age panel of interviewers Promote on the basis of ability Train and develop all employees Base redundancy on job related criteria

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Managing equal opportunities

Management should consider:
Support from the top of the organisation for the formulation of a practical policy Monitor and review (application, leaving, transfers, promotions, training) Policy made by a working party drawn from management, unions, minority groups, the HR function and staff representatives Stance and positive action: taking active steps to encourage people from disadvantaged groups to apply for jobs and training, and to compete for vacancies. E.g. using ethnic languages in job advertisements, or implementing training for women in management skills

There are a number of reasons why a company might wish to do more than they are legally obliged to. These include:
Feeling they have a moral duty To keep customers happy.

Obviously this is important for recruitment and selection but also includes:
Equal opportunities for training Equal opportunities for promotion Equal treatment in times of redundancies.

Other initiatives
Putting equal opportunities higher on the agenda by appointing Equal Opportunities Managers Flexible hours Career-break or return-to-work schemes for women. Fast-tracking school-leavers Training for women-returners Awareness training for managers, to encourage them to think about equal opportunity Counseling and disciplinary policies

Diversity
The idea of diversity means the organisation recognizes that people are different in terms of personality, working style, work/life balance needs, training requirements and career expectations and looks for ways to use the different viewpoints this brings for its own benefit The organisation may try to have a workforce with a variety of
Religious Races Marital status Gender Sexual orientation

The organisation might try to achieve this through numerical targets.

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Diversity Management
Diversity management means actively encouraging a diverse workforce.
Tolerance of individual differences Workplace behavior Communicating effectively with (and motivating) ethnically diverse work forces Managing the adjustments to be made by an increasingly aged work force Training Dealing with differences in literacy, numeracy and qualifications in an international work force Managing co-operative working in ethnically diverse teams

Diversity Policy, Ingham (2003)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Analyze your business environment Define diversity and its business benefits Introduce diversity policy into corporate strategy Embed diversity into core HR processes and system (hiring, promotion, training etc) Ensure leaders implement policy Involve staff at all levels (education through awareness training) Communicate, communicate, communicate Understand your company's needs Evaluate

Benefits
More creative ideas More viewpoints considered when making decisions Better understanding of customers Increased chance of being successful in new markets. Increased competitive advantage