Discrimination Issues

Discrimination is something that happens all over the world. It is happening today for many reasons. Of the many reasons, one of the biggest problems is that parents have taught their children what to believe and to think the way they do. One of the best contributions that we as a society can give to help lessen the discrimination issues is to raise our children not to discriminate against other people.

Today, there are many forms of discrimination that are understood throughout the world. Some forms of discrimination are obvious and others more subtle. Whether it is subtle or obvious, it is still discrimination regardless of the way you look at it. Discrimination in the workplace is one of those forms that can be both obvious and not so obvious. Everyone knows that discrimination in any form is wrong. It contradicts the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution states, "All men are created equal." "Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) in the workplace has moved on from targeting particular groups identified as disadvantaged to recognizing and valuing the qualities different people bring to their work" (Kerr, 2003). Although the Constitution states that "All men are created equal," today, it is interpreted to mean that we are all equal regardless of race, color, gender or ethnic background. One big contributor to discrimination is ignorance, and that eventually leads to tension and future problems, especially in the workplace. Today, learning to manage a diverse group of people with different skills and different needs is a challenge that every work center must deal with on a daily basis. The workforce is much more integrated, and new demands are coming from various groups that make up that workforce, such as people with family responsibilities, staff with disabilities, people from different cultures, etc. This, plus economic and technological changes and altered demographic patterns, all require managers and staff to be flexible, and to provide safe, supportive and receptive workplaces. All of these factors combined have made life very difficult for managers. Many employees are not educated enough in cultural and other issues, and as a result, discrimination issues arise, and become a burden to the workplace environment. Why does discrimination occur? It is happening today for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that as children learn just about everything from our parents. This includes prejudices and discrimination. If parents discriminate against someone based on race, gender, age, or disability, the children will notice this and will likely become prejudiced themselves. It is important to remember that education starts in the home. As one can see, individuals that are raised in a home that contains discrimination and prejudices, will be sure to carry this forward, and it will eventually spill into the workplace. This is sure to cause many problems, and this is something that our society does not need.

Definition of Discrimination

Discrimination in employment occurs when a person is unfairly treated at work on the basis of some characteristic, such as race, gender, religion, age, sex, hair color, height and so on. "Discrimination is defined in civil rights law as unfavorable or unfair treatment of a person or class of persons in comparison to others who are not members of the protected class because of race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, physical/mental handicap, sexual harassment, sexual orientation" (National Institute of Health, 1996-97). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals against employment discrimination on the basis of race and color, as well, as national origin, sex, or religion. This group believes that discrimination is to make a choice, a distinction. We all make choices every day. Discrimination becomes illegal when choices, based on prohibited grounds, limit possibilities of some groups or some individuals. This research paper will highlight some of those prohibited grounds as they relate to the workplace.

Types of Discrimination

There are two types of discrimination:

Direct discrimination - "is where someone is treated unfairly or unequally simply because they belong to a particular group or category of people" (Koroush, 2000). For example, an employer who refuses to employ someone because they are of color, or not of a protected race, religion, or sex is directly discriminating against that person.

Indirect discrimination - "is where there is a requirement that is the same for everyone but which has an unequal or disproportionate effect on different groups of people according to their sex, race etc. and is unreasonable taking all the circumstances into account" (Koroush, 2000). For example, a company who says that they need a person over 6 ft. tall to do a job is likely to be discriminating against women and some ethnic groups. This is because women and people from some ethnic groups are less likely to be this height than men or people from other ethnic groups.

Forms of Discrimination

There are many forms of discrimination. Typically when one thinks of discrimination, it is thought of in its most noticeable forms. For instance, a woman is not hired for a management position strictly because of the fact that she is a woman. Or a black man receives no promotion in a company because of the color of his skin. In fact, there are many types of discrimination: age discrimination, racial discrimination, religious discrimination, gender discrimination, and discrimination because of certain disabilities.

"It is not illegal to discriminate against someone for being 'too young.' In fact, the anti-age discrimination laws do not protect anyone under 40. The purpose of these laws, and the way they are written, are to protect workers from discrimination on the basis of being 'too old'" (Greenberg & Pasternak, 1998). Why do we discriminate based on age? A quote from Greenberg and Pasternak says it best: "They have experience, wisdom, and a breadth of knowledge that younger workers very rarely have. They may also be the institutional memory of the company. They know what has worked in the past and what hasn't" (1998).

Racial discrimination is something that has a long history. There are organizations that are dedicated solely to racial discrimination. Here is an excerpt from the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. "We believe that the concepts of private property, free enterprise, representative government, parental rights, freedom of speech,