The United States has come a long way since the days when innuendo was common at the places of work. Currently, society is far much fairer compared to the days when marginalization was openly done and legal in the U.S. Regardless of the strides, however, workplace discrimination is a continually pervasive problem in the United States. Cheung et al., (2016) reveals that despite of more than five decades since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed to prohibit discrimination of workers based on their sex, color, national origin, age, and religion, workplace discrimination has persisted in the labor sector. This research paper provides a comprehensive understanding of workplace discrimination including definitions, prevalence, types, impacts, and ways of reducing the problem.
Definition
The definitions of discrimination at the workplace vary across disciplines. Fekedulegn et al., (2019) reveals the umbrella definition to be the unfair terms, conditions or unfair treatment of individuals based on characteristics sch as age, sex, race, and religion among other factors. Often, organizations set unfair conditions for people that result to their impairment at the place of work. Usually workplace discrimination is fueled by beliefs that certain groups of people are inferior compared to the dominant members in the organization. Research reveals that age-based discrimination is very common, often stemming from stereotypes whereby the older people are labelled as unwilling to accept changes, particularly in an era of technological innovations and advancements (Jensen, De Tavernier, & Nielsen, 2019). Such discrimination manifests in the form of the organizations’ reluctance to engage the elderly in the organization’s hiring, promotion, training, and even offer job opportunities if any.
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Prevalence in the U.S.
In his recent study, Fekedulegn (2016) reveals that a survey conducted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission indicates that on an annual bases, there are approximately over 70,000 filed in regards to workplace discrimination. Of these 22% as a result of age. Discrimination on the basis of age has been on the rise between 2010 and 2018. In some organizations, the young people are less hired or interviewed for positions based on the stereotype of lack of experience. This has contributed to the growing population of an older workforce in the U.S. Another study reveals that over one thirds of American adults have experienced workplace discrimination on the basis of their appearance, gender, and age at one point in their careers.
Forms of Workplace Discrimination
Research reveals that there are two types of discrimination; interpersonal and formal or rather organization (O’Brien et al., 2016). At its core, formal workplace discrimination arises in the process of hiring, promotion, access and distribution of resources. Formal workplace discrimination is overt based and is based on the superiority of one group and inferiority of the other. A study on Oregon farm workers who were of Latin decency reveals that their Spanish supervisors, (Okechukwu et al.,2016) unevenly distributed working resources and conditions including absence of educational materials in a language that could be understood.
On the other hand, interpersonal discrimination is often characterized by verbal and on-verbal behaviors when workers are socially interacting amongst themselves. Although there is no legislation on interpersonal workplace discrimination, it often presents in the form of behaviors directed to members of stigmatized groups in society. One such group that has been on the receiving end of interpersonal discrimination is the LGBT community. Members of LGBT have been discriminated against by fellow employees and even bosses because of their sexuality. Often, they are insulted and harassed, and even omitted from trainings and workshops for their queer behaviors.
Impacts of Workplace Discrimination
Needless to say, one of the major consequences of workplace discrimination is financial burden on organizations. Cheung et al., (2016) reveals that in 2017, over $40000 was paid by firms, both in the private and public sector in regards to workplace discrimination. Furthermore, the EEOCC enforces Title IV of the 1964 Act which prohibits discrimination and lists the consequences, among them financial compensation to victims. Another impact of discrimination at the workplace is mental illness. The implications of discrimination on stress also impacts work outcome which sequentially affects the productivity at the organization. () reveals women who have been discriminated against because of their sexuality of their pregnant status result in lower job satisfaction, commitment, and productivity. As such, organizations should seek ways to curb workplace discrimination.
Curbing Workplace Discrimination
The very first of ensuring workplace discrimination reduces is through compliance. As stated earlier, the United States Constitution, under Title IV Act of 1964 provides protection against discrimination which is then enforced by EEOCC. Organizations should ensure they comply to this law to avoid the huge financial penalties among other consequences. One of the ways compliance can be ensured is through the creation of a policy for equal opportunities for all staff regardless of their age, gender, race, or nationality (O’Brien et al.,2016). Employees should also be educated on the issue to avoid cases of interpersonal discrimination amongst themselves. This could include a variety of topics on the importance of diversity and respecting each other’s differences.
In conclusion, workplace discrimination has remained a pervasive problem in the United States regardless of Title IV Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination of individuals based on gender, race, sex, ability, and nationality. As illustrated by previous studies the prevalence of discrimination is still high with over 80,000 cases on an annual basis. Implications include financial burden on firms, and reduced productivity arising from interpersonal discrimination. Organizations can help reduces the high rate of workplace discrimination by putting in place policies that ensure compliance with the law. In addition, training and education of employees is critical for reducing the persistent problem of workplace discrimination.
References
Cheung, H. K., King, E., Lindsey, A., Membere, A., Markell, H. M., & Kilcullen, M. (2016). Understanding and reducing workplace discrimination. In Research in personnel and human resources management . Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Fekedulegn, D., Alterman, T., Charles, L. E., Kershaw, K. N., Safford, M. M., Howard, V. J., & MacDonald, L. A. (2019). Prevalence of workplace discrimination and mistreatment in a national sample of older US workers: The REGARDS cohort study. SSM-Population Health , 8 , 100444.
Jensen, P. H., De Tavernier, W., & Nielsen, P. (2019). To what extent are ageist attitudes among employers translated into discriminatory practices. International Journal of Manpower .
O’Brien, K. R., McAbee, S. T., Hebl , M. R., & Rodgers, J. R. (2016). The impact of interpersonal discrimination and stress on health and performance for early career STEM academicians. Frontiers in psychology , 7 , 615.
Okechukwu, C. A., Souza, K., Davis, K. D., & De Castro, A. B. (2016). Discrimination, harassment, abuse, and bullying in the workplace: Contribution of workplace injustice to occupational health disparities. American journal of industrial medicine , 57 (5), 573-586.
