An Overview

I am going to talk about discrimination at workplace. What are the various types and how
management prevent these issues at workplace. First of all we have to understand about
discrimination. What is discrimination and when it happens? Discrimination happens
when you treat people differently because of their characteristics and at the result it
affactes them very negatively. Workplace is the place where discrimination occurs often.
There are too many types of discrimination we can count. Let’s check out them: Types of
Discrimination are : Age, Citizenship, Colour, Disability , Ethnic origin, Family status,
Gender expression, Gender identity, Gender Characteristics, Marital status, Place of
origin, Race, Religion, Pregnancy, Sexual orientation. Beside these, we still can add
more to the list, but I am going to talk which ones are the various types of discrimination
at workplace.

Various types of Discrimination

Age discrimination can occur anytime an employee is unfairly distinquished because of
his or her age. Age discrimination at workplace is illegal. Examples of age
discriminations at workplace are: - Not hiring an individual because an employer is
looking for a younger-lookig person for the role , - If a person gets a negative
performance review because they were too old or inflexible to taking on new projects, -
Firing a person because management wants to hire younger less expensive workers, -
Turning an individual down for promotion because they are too old for the position, -
When company announced layoffs, most of the people laid off are older, while younger
worker with less seniority and with less job experience are kept on. If any of these
issues happens employees may have a solid cases against the company for age
discrimination at workplace.

Gender discrimination is treating individuals differently in their employment specifically

because an individual is a woman or a man. If you have been rejected for employment,
fired, or otherwise harmed in employment because of your gender, then you may have
suffered gender discrimination. Gender discrimination may occur at workplace on hiring,
firing process or when employer promote someone, or when you get paid less or more
for the same position by your gender.

Pregnancy discrimination in the workplace occurs when an employer discriminates on

the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions. Pregnancy discrimination may
include denial of time off or reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees, firing
or demoting a pregnant employee, forced time off or restrictions on work, and any other
negative employment action taken because of an employee's pregnancy or related
medical condition. Pregnancy discrimination is prohibited underTitle VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC).

How management can address discrimination at

workplace
As a manager dealing effectively with discrimination at workplace is a double process :
becaome knowledgable with regard to antidiscrimination laws, and pat attention to
what’s happening in your company. Here are some general guidelines for managers to
follow when confronted by any type of discrimination:

Focus on Diversity. Create a diverse workplace. Ensure your workplace is ethnically and

racially diverse. Reflecting the diverse population of today’s society will help you to
better serve your customers, clients or patients. Ensure all employees are equally heard
and represented.

Formalize the policy and the consequence. Create and post an antidiscrimination policy
(or consider paying an expert to create one). Keep in mind that no antidiscrimination
policy will be taken seriously unless you take concrete action against any possible
wrongdoing. After you’ve assessed the situation and consulted a lawyer, determine how
you’re going to proceed. If you discover that some kind of discrimination has taken
place, decide if you will start with a warning, insist on counseling, or formally terminate
the accused.

Educate. Provide diversity and inclusion training for employees. It’s important that all
employees know what constitutes discrimination. It can be anything from a comment to
a missed promotion based on race. It’s also important to prevent discrimination by
cultivating respect and inclusion as organizational values.

Build Your Team. Hold regular team-building sessions that focus on employees getting
to know each other, creating a positive work environment.

Communicate. Encourage open communication by making sure employees feel

comfortable discussing concerns with supervisors, HR and/or a designated person in
the workplace. If someone feels discriminated against, it’s important they feel safe and
comfortable bringing it up.

Educate yourself and respond quickly to prevent discrimination at your workplace.

Conclusion
From this topic we learned about what is discrimination at workplace, what are the
various types of it, and how manager can deal with these issues. Regardless, how the
manager plays a big role to prevent discrimination, first of all each person has to be
careful what they say or to whom they say it. We have to think twice before we talk.
Also as a employee we do not have to hide any discrimination cases, we have to report
immediately to management team or to HR.

Reference
 www.wikipedia.com
 linkedin.com
 Pan Pacific Associate Welcome handbook
 From our knowledge and experience
 AHLEI