Fighting Workplace Discrimination: 5 Main Problems to Deal With

Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Employee Harassment Training Workshop (17-slide PowerPoint presentation). According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Harassment is a form of discrimination that violates many different laws, for example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of [read more]

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Workplace discrimination is one of the hot human resource topics for both small and big enterprises. Today, more entrepreneurs and managers are committed to preventing discrimination in the work environment. While there are specific laws that prevent workplace discrimination, most business leaders still have to answer several important questions when it comes to some of the things that constitute discrimination. Fortunately, most of the problems in the workplace surrounding discrimination can be solved using a few simple measures. In this post, we are going to share with you five main problems about discrimination that need to be dealt with effectively. Let’s get started!

Defining Workplace Discrimination

Before we start discussing some of the best measures that can be used to prevent workplace discrimination, we must know the right resources and reading examples to understand how to use race and ethnicity essay samples as a reference to discover new information. Discrimination revolves around treating an individual or group less favorably than another due to their characteristics or circumstances. It can either be direct in form of treating an individual with a particular attribute differently than the person without it. There are also indirect ways to discriminate against people in the workplace. As an employer or business owner, you must know where to read about the laws to protect all your employees against different forms of discrimination in the workplace.

Preventing Workplace Discrimination

Here are five factors that every business leader or manager should deal with to prevent discrimination in the workplace:

1. Know the common forms of workplace discrimination

Here are the most common types of discrimination in the workplace:

• Race discrimination: Failing to hire, promote or mentor a certain minority group
• Disability discrimination: Making assumptions about one’s ability to do the job or having unfair policies
• Pregnancy discrimination: Refusing to hire pregnant women or disciplining them
• Age discrimination: Failing to hire or having unfair policies on people of a specific age group
• Gender discrimination: Being treated unfairly because of gender (not being trained, promoted, or being sidelined.)
• Religious discrimination: Harassing people based on their beliefs or retaliation for taking religious observances and holidays.

2. Craft a written policy with clear rules and procedures

The first problem that most leaders and employees face when fighting discrimination is a lack of a written policy. This is why business leaders and managers need to take the time to develop an employee handbook. All handbooks should include policies on discrimination with the signature of the employer. The policy should cover a wide range of discriminatory acts and protocols that define the process of submitting complaints and handling to resolve them.

3. Establish consistent processes to resolve discriminatory issues

Employers and managers need to resolve discrimination issues fairly and quickly. Even if the company has not yet been sued, failure to resolve workplace discriminatory issues can lead to loss of trust and credibility among employees.

4. No one policy will solve every issue

You need to address these issues consistently to ensure that everyone is treated fairly by similar standards regarding discrimination. When there is no single procedure that will work for everyone all the time, it’s important to ensure that all processes fit the organization’s structure, size, and resources.

5. Educate employees on preventing discrimination in the workplace

For most enterprises, it’s not enough to address discrimination issues with an onboarding process and a handbook. Some laws require employers to conduct training programs on anti-discrimination. Whether you want to be proactive in avoiding discrimination or you are required by law, you need to ensure that all employees are aware of the procedures and policies and know the best ways to report such cases. You need to conduct an enhanced or separate program for managerial or supervisory employees as they are usually your first defense line in tackling workplace discrimination.

Responding to Discrimination

When an employee gets concerned about discrimination in the workplace, you need to act fast. Solving this issue in the shortest time possible is one of the best ways to improve the chances of business success in the future. After all, a business is not the computers, furniture or premises. It is the people. When the people are successful, the business will naturally thrive. Gather information about these cases as fast as you can. And ensure that all those who were involved face disciplinary action.

When other employees see how you deal with discrimination in the workplace, they’ll avoid engaging in it. And you’ll have a happy and productive workforce. As the laws change, it’s important to educate yourself regularly to avoid being left behind. Knowing the legal consequences of discrimination will help you guard your business against expensive law suits and damages. Remember, your employees see you as their role model. Therefore, you have to take action quickly and justly.

Conclusion

It’s everyone’s responsibility to tackle unfair discrimination. Business leaders and managers need to recognize how it happens in the workplace and take effective measures to avoid serious issues in the long run. As you have seen, there are different forms of discrimination in the workplace. Ensuring that employees understand the organization’s policies during the onboarding process is essential in tackling this issue. In most nations around the world, you are required to address unfair discrimination. Managers and employers have extra responsibilities when it comes to dealing with concerns and complaints effectively on discrimination in the workplace.

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