Discrimination in Human Resource Management Summer Munassar MGT: 360 Human Resource Management Siena Heights University December 05, 2016
Discrimination in Human Resource Management
Discrimination in the workplace has been very common in our history, yet it has begun to conceal itself. Although, it still exists, it is not as bad as it used to be. There is no exceptions though. Discrimination still exists and there should be no reason it should happen in the workplace. Stereotype is a huge factor on why people discriminate. They automatically assume everyone in a certain category are alike. When, in reality, everyone is different and unique in their own way. When you think about discrimination, most people automatically assume that it’s based on race. There are many different aspects like sex, color, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability age or sexual orientation. (Demuiknck 2009) According The United States Department of Justice site, in 1964, The Civil Rights Act (Title VII) enforced a law that enforced, “it unlawful to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity) or religion. The Act also makes it unlawful to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.” Any aspects of employment is included in this. Human resource management cannot discriminate in aspects such as hiring, firing, recruitment, compensation, training, testing, benefits, and so on. Sad thing is, it is still possible for this to happen if there is no proof against the HR team.
Living in the 21st century, a lot has changed in history. We are not only supposedly separated by age and race, but also things like sexual orientation and culture. This generation become public with things like these. Many have accepted this. Everyone has rights to be who they want to be. Gjakovski did some research on the selection process in human resources, and the outcome was that most companies, although they disagree with discrimination, they still have a hard time choosing the best candidates based on nationality, gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Beginning with gender, in history, men always had it easier when it comes to the hiring process or any employment in general. In the article, At Sam’s Club, no girls allowed: the lived experience of sex discrimination, Besen shares people perspective in the known organization, Wal-Mart. An employee of this organization named Donna Adair shared her experience. Even though she has been working nearly ten years at this organization, the regional vice-president states he could not make her a manager because she is a woman. Another woman, Cleo Page, shares her experience on how she applied for an opening as the manager of the sporting good department. When they turned her down, they stated they “needed a man in the job.” There are several cases against Wal-Mart just like this. There is a constant use of stereotype, according to Besen. Many women live with it because they are used to being treated this way. It is in our history.
Yan and Zhang share more information on gender discrimination. They talk about how female’s social statues is already an issue and difficult in this world. There are four forms of manifest of gender discrimination in human resource development, which include occupational gender segregation, employment gender discrimination, glass ceiling, and gender salary discrimination. Employment gender discrimination is one of the most common. It is when they focus on the female’s physiological and social gender characteristics. Even though they are qualified, they are still being judged and mistreated. The other common form is occupational gender segregation. They segregate the positions based on who can do the labor. That’s when they automatically assume the job can be done better by a male or female, depending on this position. If there is any proof, charges can be pressed against the organization.
Another form of discrimination in human resource management is religious discrimination. With all of the media and different forms of religion, there are so many problems. People are labeled in a certain category based on what they practice. There are extremists in each of these religions. Based on their actions, it causes people to seclude themselves from people who follow them. A group of people may do something wrong and look similar to you, so people begin to fear each other. Imagine a woman, coming to apply for a position, but her body is covered with a veil because of what she practices. They HR team may believe she’s a threat based on what media as fed them. People naturally stereotype a whole group. It is part of their nature. Religious discrimination is claimed on four grounds, according to Ghumman. These include disparate treatment, religious harassment, failure to reasonably accommodate religious beliefs, and retaliation against an applicant or employee who alleges religious discrimination. “Disparate treatment in employment refers to difference in treatment with respect to recruitment, hiring, promotion, discipline, discharge, compensation, and other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment due to an individual’s religion.” (Ghumman, 2013) A manager cannot be biased because they do not follow the same religion as an employee. They can easily do this without stating it is because of the religion, but sometimes it is obvious. “Religious harassment occurs when employees are coerced, or required, to participate (or not participate) in religious practices as a condition of employment.” If the employee is being pressured to do something against their beliefs, can is considered harassment. Ghumman shares a case based on a Muslim ‘experience at Apple. “In Zayed v. Apple Computers (Zayed 2006), an employee found other employees staring at her and asking her questions about suicide bombings. Apple placed red, white, and blue ribbons on many employees’ doors, but not hers. The Plaintiff felt marginalized. Her performance ratings declined and she was first demoted, and subsequently terminated.” She was categorized and treated poorly based on her image. Reasonable accommodation of religious practices focuses on the rights to dress a certain way. If females in an organization are expected to wear pants, but their religious disapproves, they can fight that. “Retaliation occurs when an employer takes negative action (e.g., firing, discriminating) against an employee for requesting religious accommodation, filing or threatening to file a charge, complaining of or alleging discrimination, assisting someone else in opposing discrimination, and testifying in Title VII proceedings or investigation.” (Ghumman 2013)
Age discrimination happens as well. People are judged based on how old they are. Someone who is young can be looked down upon because they are not “experience” or “capable” enough. Some older people are also looked down upon because they are considered “too old” for physical labor or technology use. All of these kinds of discrimination are unethical. This includes culture, sexual orientation, disabled, and so on. They are all pretty similar to religious, age, and gender discrimination. None of these should be acceptable. Diverse employment can only improve in organization. Each bring their own, unique, quality to the table. When diversity is increased, the organization succeeds more. Shen encourages continuing effective diversity management. In the article, Managing diversity through human resource management: An international perspective and conceptual framework, Shen states that diversity needs to be included in the strategic plans. When human resource teams practice effective diversity management, this leads to a positive outcome. It must become a priority for HRM practices. To allow HR to improve and appreciate diversity, the “top management is required to have a philosophy and foster organizational culture that recognizes diversity, and commits resources and leadership so as to implement diversity policies. At the tactical level, organizations should adopt a range of HRM policies incorporating EEO and AA and simultaneously making use of diversity. At the operational level, organizations should pay attention to educating employees, networking, communications and flexible employment. At all levels, line managers should be actively involved in HR diversity management.” (Shen 2009) This means they need to take part in the diversity and analyze every aspect of it in the organization. The more something is studied, the more it is appreciated. When the leader hires people from different cultures or backgrounds, they are respected more.
In Human Resource Management, Dias shares the diversity plan. There are three main steps to creating this. The first step is assessment of diversity, which includes employee satisfaction surveys, open forums that provide understanding of into the trials and difficulties of diversity. This needs to include input for all of the employees. The second step is developing a diversity plan. Based on the first step, they take all that information and use that to set goals regarding diversity. The last step is implementing the plan. They make sure everyone is following the plan. There is no exceptions. This improves the organization. Everyone has their own background. They all need to have respect towards others diverse perspectives because they would want the same for themselves. Bringing diversity allows organizations to bring individual with unique qualities. This allows more variety for workers to contribute towards the goals of the organization. This makes the goals for the organization powerful. Communication is also key. When you take the time to talk to someone from another background, you learn a lot. It allows you to open up to diversity. You gain respect towards everyone. Just like Morris states, “we may need to acknowledge having been favored or given the benefit of the doubt ourselves because of implicit evaluations, more than we’d like to admit. In the business world, inclusive leadership means venturing beyond one’s own perspective. It’s not just a matter of fighting blatant, intentional acts of discrimination.” He is explaining how people need to open up, and give people the benefit of the doubt. We pass judgement, before giving someone a chance. That is the most human resource management can do to improve the issue of discrimination.