Workplace discrimination is also referred to as employment discrimination. This kind of discrimination is observed during hiring, promotions, teaming, job assignments, compensations and terminations. This paper will cover different kinds of workplace discriminations observed at workplaces along with laws that prohibit them.
Introduction
Employment discrimination covers various kinds of harassments, psychological, verbal and physical. Many jurisdictions have designed certain laws against employment discrimination, specifically for protected categories, which encompass certain traits that shall be covered in coming sections. Laws are also designed that prohibit discriminations against certain kinds of groups that may include certain racial ethnicities.
Certain workplaces are known where discrimination is illegal, even then these places are known for subtler forms of discriminations, as wage discrimination and certain requirements with incongruent impacts on certain groups. On the other hand, employees retaliating against workplace discrimination face serious consequences in the form of punishments for violations of workplace rules set by higher authorities. Prejudice and ignorance is known to be the main cause of discrimination (Dealing with Discrimination in the Workplace, n.d).
Discriminations, if they can take place during hiring processes, can be an integral part during work in workplaces. If employer has hindered any kinds of discriminations during the process of hiring than there are equal chances for discriminations to take place after hiring based on colleagues prejudices. Following graph shows rates of discrimination globally in different countries.
Workplace discriminations on a global scale
Source HYPERLINK httpnitawriter.wordpress.com20080304job-discrimination-in-the-world httpnitawriter.wordpress.com20080304job-discrimination-in-the-world
In addition to this, research has been conducted that shows rakings of countries for discriminations face by people while applying for a job.
Discriminations While Applying For a Job, Globally
Source httpnitawriter.wordpress.com20080304job-discrimination-in-the-world
India as an Example
Many people feel more discriminated while applying for jobs as compared to after being hired. But in these cases there are differences that occur between countries. India is an example, where people feel lesser discriminated while applying for jobs as compared to after being hired.
Discriminations at different stages globally
Source httpnitawriter.wordpress.com20080304job-discrimination-in-the-world
Figure is representative of the fact that India rates fifth in discriminations faced by people while they apply for jobs and it ranks second in discrimination rates being faced at workplaces after being hired. Thereby these higher rates in India suggests that people are upset and frustrated by an ongoing policy of being discriminated, not being promoted or employed, based on certain reasons.
Statistics have suggested that more than 80 employees in Punjab, 70 from the state of Gujarat while 58 people from Karnataka have complained of being discriminated at work and while applying for jobs. It is known that lower and upper caste systems are strictly followed in India, based on which, at many workplaces, much lower salaries are offered to people belonging to lower castes. Thereby, there is a need to realize that such discrimination is illegal and in the presence of experienced and skilled persons belonging to lower castes, lesser experienced people belonging to upper castes should not be selected just because of the fact that they are from upper castes, as it would be just to give people from lower caste a chance to prove themselves.
Protected Categories of Employment Discrimination
Jurisdictions and laws have been designed that prohibit discriminations against sex and gender, pregnancy, race and ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, language abilities, cultural backgrounds, citizenships, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military veteran status and military discharge status. From these categories, only few and most important ones will be covered in the following sections.
Gender Discrimination
Gender discrimination has been a well-known fact in the modern global job market and it is not limited to any particular country. Moreover, contrary findings have been seen in case of women being on a receivers end. Being in an urban setting, men are also facing the same level of discrimination. John Douglas who has been in advertising industry since a decade adds that he has faced discrimination in terms of fair sex whenever there are opportunities of vertical movement. As a client service person, he holds enormous success loaded track, he still feels that newcomers having lesser experiences gain more advantages ahead of him, for some particular reasons which are more obvious. He has added that there is a general thought and ideology in particular fields, as marketing, advertising and most importantly public relations. These fields are known to hire females even in the presence of highly skilled and talented males. These views are also reflected in case of airlines, hospitalitylodging businesses and banking sectors. Numerous explanations for this gender gap have been given with one referring to gender discrimination in labor market. Additionally, these are also based on human capital differences in males and females, especially education. However, this is one perspective of employment based sex discrimination (Dealing with Discrimination in the Workplace, n.d).
Gregory, (2003) argued that although there are certain rules in workplaces to prevent sexual discrimination but still it is rampant. Many differences are seen in men and women when it comes to incomes, employment rates and wide ranges of occupations. As compared to men, salary of women is 70 to 88 lesser even if variables as job position, tenure levels, educational levels and age are considered. A report by Catalyst released in 2005 mentioned that only one in eight women were CEOs as mentioned in Fortune 500, while only nine women were having high paid positions in Fortune 500-1000. Thereby as compared to men, women are stuck in low paid jobs.
On the other hand, it has been observed at various workplaces that many employees receive unwelcomed sexual attention from other employees. This kind of discrimination is referred to as sexual harassment and many laws address this kind of discrimination including rude remarks, and unwanted physical contact. Here, men can be the victims in addition to women (Understanding Workplace Discrimination, n.d).
Finland as an Example
Job sectors differ mostly in case of threats and physical violence along with bullying being faced by employees. Particular attention is required by workplaces that are more dominated by females and are known to have higher ratios of bullying, physical violence and incidents of violence. These incidents have been especially reported in countries as Finland. In the year of 2005, it was reported that one in five women faced threat of physical violence or violence itself in a direct manner since the past 12 months. These conditions are seen to be worse in government sectors and it has been reported that as compared to men, women have faced twice as much of violence. Figure below is an evidence of the fact that every third employee within the government sector faces violence.
Reports of threats and physical violence in Finnish government sector in 2005
Source httpwww.eurofound.europa.euewcosurveysFI0603SR01FI0603SR01_6.htm
Age Discrimination
Gregory, (2001) argues that job seekers in an increasing number are now frustrated with age discrimination starting from early thirties. It has been observed that some industries in the global market do not consider hiring people aging over forty. Thereby this issue has been addressed by certain laws that prohibit this kind of discrimination in workplaces. There are obvious reasons given by certain industries for not hiring older employees. It is a well know fact that older and aged employees are more skilled and experienced as compared to younger graduates, being hired preferably. Industries argue that older and experienced the applicants, higher are the demands for pays, salary and facilities as compared to younger graduates. Secondly, knowledge skills that aged applicants have are outdated and not in accordance to modern gadget based age (Is It Legal to Specifically Request a Male or Female, or Younger or Older Temp, n.d).
Statistics show that more than 16 million Americans aged over 50 are looking for employment. Only 4 of older people are finding jobs on an annual basis. Older Americans make up 10 of American workforce and account for 20 of job output only.
Laws that prohibit age-based discrimination include Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). This law protect s applicants aging 40 or above from being discriminated in hiring, promotion, discharging, compensations, facilities and privileges of employment (Avoid Age Discrimination in the Workplace, n.d).
Discrimination Based On Medical Condition
Among many medical conditions, most common medical conditions seen in working employees is cancer. Many employees are seen working during and after their treatments as cancer is not a contagious disease. Knowing this globally understood fact, discrimination is faced by people suffering from cancer, at work. These people return to work even in unhealthy conditions for reasons as additional financial burdens as costs of treatments along with financial resources needed for living and daily life necessities.
As in case of other kinds of discriminations, this kind of discrimination is encompassed under Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993. If an employee informs his or her employer regarding particular medical condition, this law comes into action in case of any discrimination. People at workplace face subtle discriminations during or after cancer treatments. Employers point out decrease in performance and outputs because of lack of concentration and stress. In addition, discriminations are also faced in case of promotions and transfers. Moreover, colleagues at work might think of it as an added responsibility on them, as performance level has to be maintained. In addition to this, refusal to job openings and demotion is also faced commonly. In some cases, it has been observed that if requested, these employees do not get quicker responses from higher authorities for taking some time off from work till treatment concludes.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC). These laws are against discriminations in case of any disability, which may be perceived, historical or recent. This law requires that employers make reasonable accommodations in workplaces for qualified people with disabilities.
Racial Discrimination
Any conscious or unconscious action or an attitude that tries to subordinate an individual based on his or her race is defined as racial discrimination. It has been added by the United States Civil Rights Commission that this kind of discrimination can be seen in an organizational, individual or an institutional level. It is considered as quiet an unfortunate event that in 2007, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received almost 31,000 complaints against racial discrimination. Just because of supposed taxonomic differences, governments and higher authorities clearly rule against discriminations. These kinds of discriminations are based on certain ideologies that races differ in intelligence, intellect, morality as well as sexuality.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964has provided lawful protection against any racial discrimination observed in workplaces. This law promises to fight against any denials to equal opportunities to work, promotion, termination, facilities and employment based privileges, based on race and ethnicities. This law also prohibits any stereotypic discrimination. Any rules and regulations being followed within the organizations that deny equal opportunity rights to people and couples married or engaged with people belonging to different ethnicities are considered illegal under this law. All races and ethnicities have been protected under this law.
It has been argued by Crosby, Stockdale, and Ropp, (2007) that this law has highlighted certain employment situations under which racial discrimination is not allowed. These situations include recruitment, advancements and progress, work environments, rules and regulation in the workplace, classification in accordance to designations of employees and retaliation by employees. Recruitments and advancements require that all requirements of a job must be applicable on all employees uniformly. For affirmative action compliance, some employers may inquire about racial information but it is required that this information is kept private and use of such information for any future discrimination is not allowed. Racial information is not to be used in making biased decisions during hiring. If hired, prohibition has been marked on all kinds of derogatory comments, slurs, physical and verbal abuse based on race and ethnicity. This law also suggests that employees, because of their ethnicities and race, cannot be forced to work in a specific department without their will and consent, neither can they be hidden from customer contacts.
Gay And Lesbian Discrimination
It has been argued by Newton, (2009) that heated arguments have highlighted that gay and lesbians are facing employment discrimination at workplaces. Thereby laws are needed that address gays and lesbian rights. Facts speak for themselves and it has been seen that in 34 American states, gays and lesbians are simply fired after higher authorities learn about their sexual orientation. 85 of Americans believe that job discrimination based on sexual orientation is unjust while 60 of Americans want to see this case being fought at federal level. Since 1996, on jurisdiction level, Employment Non-Discrimination Act has been proposed several times ending up in ruins. Research has been conducted on over 500 Americans concluding that disclosing sexual orientation in workplaces always has negative impacts on career and workplace experiences. In this case, research has highlighted associated levels of fear of sexual orientation being disclosed. It is argued that people fearing negative consequences of their sexual orientation on work, received lesser job promotions and faced more stress as compared to people who feared less. Thereby this fear is associated with psychological outputs. Thereby there is a link of psychological strain with work output and work linked depression and irritation.
Contrarily, there are healthier environments that accept all sexual rights and people belonging to different orientations and these environments have lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees. Research shows that 25 to 66 of gay and lesbian workers are discriminated at work while a 37 of workers were only discriminated because they were thought to be of gay or lesbian orientation. Physical harassment was faced by a 10 of workers, 22 of these workers were verbally harassed and 31 were terminated from their jobs. Additional facts have shown that gay men because of being harassed and discriminated at work earn 23 lesser than married counterparts.
In 2004, a survey was conducted by University of New Hampshire (UNH) Whittemore School of Business and Economics, including 91000 heterosexuals and homosexual couples. It was found out that gay men, even being in management and blue collar jobs make less money as compared to married men in the same designations. This research has studied and included 10 jobs populated with gay and homosexual men, it has been seen that in heterosexual men dominated jobs, gays, and lesbians face the most discrimination. Along with blue collar and management jobs, these include construction, building, grounds cleaning, and maintenance.
Another important finding is that gays face lesser discrimination as compared to heterosexual women. The reason is a perception that gays are much more career focused as compared to heterosexual women. It is highlighted by arguing that 49 heterosexual women bear children as compared to 18 of gays and lesbians. Thereby it is perceived that lesbians and gays have a stronger attachment with workforce as compared to heterosexual women.
Coming to the fact, employers and higher authorities in organizations disapprove of gays and lesbian attitudes thereby their hiring is lesser as it is perceived that customers do not wish to interact with homosexuals. An ideology of lesser productivity is also associated with the same as it is a well known fact that gays and lesbians contract HIVAIDS that can affect work productivity of the worker thereby effecting work output. Thereby within these workplaces, if one group is perceived to be lesser productive than individuals belonging to this groups will be discriminated by receiving lesser wage offers, employment benefits and privileges and promotion.
Religious Discrimination
It is mentioned by Vickers, (2008) that employment decisions are not to be made based on an employees religion. Religions of certain or all employees can be taken into account when workplace decisions are to be made. This is because of the fact that religious is not just a characteristic it encompasses a specific set of beliefs and ideologies. Thereby law states that no person is to be discriminated based on his or her religion. Additional religious allowances should be provided to employees that include religious special occasions which in some cases require an off.
Protection from these kinds of discrimination is provided by The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulationspassed in 2003. These laws not only provide protection to employees but to students as well. Any kind of verbal and physical abuse and harassments are covered in these laws. Within workplaces, no employee is to be promoted or demoted based on his religion or religious beliefs. Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) requirement, however in this case, is an exception. Some jobs require people belonging to certain specific religions as priests of church, only in these cases, religion is an important part of the hiring criteria.
Within workplaces, employees are to be given freedom to express their religious views but this should not exceed its limits within reasons. For instance, employees should not be given freedom to such an extent that they start wearing religious dresses in office other than the dress code assigned.
Employers and higher authorities in workplaces are thereby in a need to be aware of laws and jurisdictions that prohibit discriminations based on race, gender, medical conditions, religion and sexual orientation.
Conclusion
Sex, sexual orientation, religion and race are not chosen by a person thereby employers have no rights or authority to choose and give more privileges to a person based on his race or religion. In the same way, diseases and medical conditions are not called upon thereby discriminations based on these factors is considered unjust by laws.
Introduction
Employment discrimination covers various kinds of harassments, psychological, verbal and physical. Many jurisdictions have designed certain laws against employment discrimination, specifically for protected categories, which encompass certain traits that shall be covered in coming sections. Laws are also designed that prohibit discriminations against certain kinds of groups that may include certain racial ethnicities.
Certain workplaces are known where discrimination is illegal, even then these places are known for subtler forms of discriminations, as wage discrimination and certain requirements with incongruent impacts on certain groups. On the other hand, employees retaliating against workplace discrimination face serious consequences in the form of punishments for violations of workplace rules set by higher authorities. Prejudice and ignorance is known to be the main cause of discrimination (Dealing with Discrimination in the Workplace, n.d).
Discriminations, if they can take place during hiring processes, can be an integral part during work in workplaces. If employer has hindered any kinds of discriminations during the process of hiring than there are equal chances for discriminations to take place after hiring based on colleagues prejudices. Following graph shows rates of discrimination globally in different countries.
Workplace discriminations on a global scale
Source HYPERLINK httpnitawriter.wordpress.com20080304job-discrimination-in-the-world httpnitawriter.wordpress.com20080304job-discrimination-in-the-world
In addition to this, research has been conducted that shows rakings of countries for discriminations face by people while applying for a job.
Discriminations While Applying For a Job, Globally
Source httpnitawriter.wordpress.com20080304job-discrimination-in-the-world
India as an Example
Many people feel more discriminated while applying for jobs as compared to after being hired. But in these cases there are differences that occur between countries. India is an example, where people feel lesser discriminated while applying for jobs as compared to after being hired.
Discriminations at different stages globally
Source httpnitawriter.wordpress.com20080304job-discrimination-in-the-world
Figure is representative of the fact that India rates fifth in discriminations faced by people while they apply for jobs and it ranks second in discrimination rates being faced at workplaces after being hired. Thereby these higher rates in India suggests that people are upset and frustrated by an ongoing policy of being discriminated, not being promoted or employed, based on certain reasons.
Statistics have suggested that more than 80 employees in Punjab, 70 from the state of Gujarat while 58 people from Karnataka have complained of being discriminated at work and while applying for jobs. It is known that lower and upper caste systems are strictly followed in India, based on which, at many workplaces, much lower salaries are offered to people belonging to lower castes. Thereby, there is a need to realize that such discrimination is illegal and in the presence of experienced and skilled persons belonging to lower castes, lesser experienced people belonging to upper castes should not be selected just because of the fact that they are from upper castes, as it would be just to give people from lower caste a chance to prove themselves.
Protected Categories of Employment Discrimination
Jurisdictions and laws have been designed that prohibit discriminations against sex and gender, pregnancy, race and ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, language abilities, cultural backgrounds, citizenships, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military veteran status and military discharge status. From these categories, only few and most important ones will be covered in the following sections.
Gender Discrimination
Gender discrimination has been a well-known fact in the modern global job market and it is not limited to any particular country. Moreover, contrary findings have been seen in case of women being on a receivers end. Being in an urban setting, men are also facing the same level of discrimination. John Douglas who has been in advertising industry since a decade adds that he has faced discrimination in terms of fair sex whenever there are opportunities of vertical movement. As a client service person, he holds enormous success loaded track, he still feels that newcomers having lesser experiences gain more advantages ahead of him, for some particular reasons which are more obvious. He has added that there is a general thought and ideology in particular fields, as marketing, advertising and most importantly public relations. These fields are known to hire females even in the presence of highly skilled and talented males. These views are also reflected in case of airlines, hospitalitylodging businesses and banking sectors. Numerous explanations for this gender gap have been given with one referring to gender discrimination in labor market. Additionally, these are also based on human capital differences in males and females, especially education. However, this is one perspective of employment based sex discrimination (Dealing with Discrimination in the Workplace, n.d).
Gregory, (2003) argued that although there are certain rules in workplaces to prevent sexual discrimination but still it is rampant. Many differences are seen in men and women when it comes to incomes, employment rates and wide ranges of occupations. As compared to men, salary of women is 70 to 88 lesser even if variables as job position, tenure levels, educational levels and age are considered. A report by Catalyst released in 2005 mentioned that only one in eight women were CEOs as mentioned in Fortune 500, while only nine women were having high paid positions in Fortune 500-1000. Thereby as compared to men, women are stuck in low paid jobs.
On the other hand, it has been observed at various workplaces that many employees receive unwelcomed sexual attention from other employees. This kind of discrimination is referred to as sexual harassment and many laws address this kind of discrimination including rude remarks, and unwanted physical contact. Here, men can be the victims in addition to women (Understanding Workplace Discrimination, n.d).
Finland as an Example
Job sectors differ mostly in case of threats and physical violence along with bullying being faced by employees. Particular attention is required by workplaces that are more dominated by females and are known to have higher ratios of bullying, physical violence and incidents of violence. These incidents have been especially reported in countries as Finland. In the year of 2005, it was reported that one in five women faced threat of physical violence or violence itself in a direct manner since the past 12 months. These conditions are seen to be worse in government sectors and it has been reported that as compared to men, women have faced twice as much of violence. Figure below is an evidence of the fact that every third employee within the government sector faces violence.
Reports of threats and physical violence in Finnish government sector in 2005
Source httpwww.eurofound.europa.euewcosurveysFI0603SR01FI0603SR01_6.htm
Age Discrimination
Gregory, (2001) argues that job seekers in an increasing number are now frustrated with age discrimination starting from early thirties. It has been observed that some industries in the global market do not consider hiring people aging over forty. Thereby this issue has been addressed by certain laws that prohibit this kind of discrimination in workplaces. There are obvious reasons given by certain industries for not hiring older employees. It is a well know fact that older and aged employees are more skilled and experienced as compared to younger graduates, being hired preferably. Industries argue that older and experienced the applicants, higher are the demands for pays, salary and facilities as compared to younger graduates. Secondly, knowledge skills that aged applicants have are outdated and not in accordance to modern gadget based age (Is It Legal to Specifically Request a Male or Female, or Younger or Older Temp, n.d).
Statistics show that more than 16 million Americans aged over 50 are looking for employment. Only 4 of older people are finding jobs on an annual basis. Older Americans make up 10 of American workforce and account for 20 of job output only.
Laws that prohibit age-based discrimination include Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). This law protect s applicants aging 40 or above from being discriminated in hiring, promotion, discharging, compensations, facilities and privileges of employment (Avoid Age Discrimination in the Workplace, n.d).
Discrimination Based On Medical Condition
Among many medical conditions, most common medical conditions seen in working employees is cancer. Many employees are seen working during and after their treatments as cancer is not a contagious disease. Knowing this globally understood fact, discrimination is faced by people suffering from cancer, at work. These people return to work even in unhealthy conditions for reasons as additional financial burdens as costs of treatments along with financial resources needed for living and daily life necessities.
As in case of other kinds of discriminations, this kind of discrimination is encompassed under Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993. If an employee informs his or her employer regarding particular medical condition, this law comes into action in case of any discrimination. People at workplace face subtle discriminations during or after cancer treatments. Employers point out decrease in performance and outputs because of lack of concentration and stress. In addition, discriminations are also faced in case of promotions and transfers. Moreover, colleagues at work might think of it as an added responsibility on them, as performance level has to be maintained. In addition to this, refusal to job openings and demotion is also faced commonly. In some cases, it has been observed that if requested, these employees do not get quicker responses from higher authorities for taking some time off from work till treatment concludes.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC). These laws are against discriminations in case of any disability, which may be perceived, historical or recent. This law requires that employers make reasonable accommodations in workplaces for qualified people with disabilities.
Racial Discrimination
Any conscious or unconscious action or an attitude that tries to subordinate an individual based on his or her race is defined as racial discrimination. It has been added by the United States Civil Rights Commission that this kind of discrimination can be seen in an organizational, individual or an institutional level. It is considered as quiet an unfortunate event that in 2007, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received almost 31,000 complaints against racial discrimination. Just because of supposed taxonomic differences, governments and higher authorities clearly rule against discriminations. These kinds of discriminations are based on certain ideologies that races differ in intelligence, intellect, morality as well as sexuality.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964has provided lawful protection against any racial discrimination observed in workplaces. This law promises to fight against any denials to equal opportunities to work, promotion, termination, facilities and employment based privileges, based on race and ethnicities. This law also prohibits any stereotypic discrimination. Any rules and regulations being followed within the organizations that deny equal opportunity rights to people and couples married or engaged with people belonging to different ethnicities are considered illegal under this law. All races and ethnicities have been protected under this law.
It has been argued by Crosby, Stockdale, and Ropp, (2007) that this law has highlighted certain employment situations under which racial discrimination is not allowed. These situations include recruitment, advancements and progress, work environments, rules and regulation in the workplace, classification in accordance to designations of employees and retaliation by employees. Recruitments and advancements require that all requirements of a job must be applicable on all employees uniformly. For affirmative action compliance, some employers may inquire about racial information but it is required that this information is kept private and use of such information for any future discrimination is not allowed. Racial information is not to be used in making biased decisions during hiring. If hired, prohibition has been marked on all kinds of derogatory comments, slurs, physical and verbal abuse based on race and ethnicity. This law also suggests that employees, because of their ethnicities and race, cannot be forced to work in a specific department without their will and consent, neither can they be hidden from customer contacts.
Gay And Lesbian Discrimination
It has been argued by Newton, (2009) that heated arguments have highlighted that gay and lesbians are facing employment discrimination at workplaces. Thereby laws are needed that address gays and lesbian rights. Facts speak for themselves and it has been seen that in 34 American states, gays and lesbians are simply fired after higher authorities learn about their sexual orientation. 85 of Americans believe that job discrimination based on sexual orientation is unjust while 60 of Americans want to see this case being fought at federal level. Since 1996, on jurisdiction level, Employment Non-Discrimination Act has been proposed several times ending up in ruins. Research has been conducted on over 500 Americans concluding that disclosing sexual orientation in workplaces always has negative impacts on career and workplace experiences. In this case, research has highlighted associated levels of fear of sexual orientation being disclosed. It is argued that people fearing negative consequences of their sexual orientation on work, received lesser job promotions and faced more stress as compared to people who feared less. Thereby this fear is associated with psychological outputs. Thereby there is a link of psychological strain with work output and work linked depression and irritation.
Contrarily, there are healthier environments that accept all sexual rights and people belonging to different orientations and these environments have lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees. Research shows that 25 to 66 of gay and lesbian workers are discriminated at work while a 37 of workers were only discriminated because they were thought to be of gay or lesbian orientation. Physical harassment was faced by a 10 of workers, 22 of these workers were verbally harassed and 31 were terminated from their jobs. Additional facts have shown that gay men because of being harassed and discriminated at work earn 23 lesser than married counterparts.
In 2004, a survey was conducted by University of New Hampshire (UNH) Whittemore School of Business and Economics, including 91000 heterosexuals and homosexual couples. It was found out that gay men, even being in management and blue collar jobs make less money as compared to married men in the same designations. This research has studied and included 10 jobs populated with gay and homosexual men, it has been seen that in heterosexual men dominated jobs, gays, and lesbians face the most discrimination. Along with blue collar and management jobs, these include construction, building, grounds cleaning, and maintenance.
Another important finding is that gays face lesser discrimination as compared to heterosexual women. The reason is a perception that gays are much more career focused as compared to heterosexual women. It is highlighted by arguing that 49 heterosexual women bear children as compared to 18 of gays and lesbians. Thereby it is perceived that lesbians and gays have a stronger attachment with workforce as compared to heterosexual women.
Coming to the fact, employers and higher authorities in organizations disapprove of gays and lesbian attitudes thereby their hiring is lesser as it is perceived that customers do not wish to interact with homosexuals. An ideology of lesser productivity is also associated with the same as it is a well known fact that gays and lesbians contract HIVAIDS that can affect work productivity of the worker thereby effecting work output. Thereby within these workplaces, if one group is perceived to be lesser productive than individuals belonging to this groups will be discriminated by receiving lesser wage offers, employment benefits and privileges and promotion.
Religious Discrimination
It is mentioned by Vickers, (2008) that employment decisions are not to be made based on an employees religion. Religions of certain or all employees can be taken into account when workplace decisions are to be made. This is because of the fact that religious is not just a characteristic it encompasses a specific set of beliefs and ideologies. Thereby law states that no person is to be discriminated based on his or her religion. Additional religious allowances should be provided to employees that include religious special occasions which in some cases require an off.
Protection from these kinds of discrimination is provided by The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulationspassed in 2003. These laws not only provide protection to employees but to students as well. Any kind of verbal and physical abuse and harassments are covered in these laws. Within workplaces, no employee is to be promoted or demoted based on his religion or religious beliefs. Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) requirement, however in this case, is an exception. Some jobs require people belonging to certain specific religions as priests of church, only in these cases, religion is an important part of the hiring criteria.
Within workplaces, employees are to be given freedom to express their religious views but this should not exceed its limits within reasons. For instance, employees should not be given freedom to such an extent that they start wearing religious dresses in office other than the dress code assigned.
Employers and higher authorities in workplaces are thereby in a need to be aware of laws and jurisdictions that prohibit discriminations based on race, gender, medical conditions, religion and sexual orientation.
Conclusion
Sex, sexual orientation, religion and race are not chosen by a person thereby employers have no rights or authority to choose and give more privileges to a person based on his race or religion. In the same way, diseases and medical conditions are not called upon thereby discriminations based on these factors is considered unjust by laws.
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