Workplace Discrimination

Discrimination is a positive or negative attitude toward an individual based on his or her membership in a religious, racial, ethnic, political, or other groups (Webster’s New Word Dictionary). Discrimination is still an enormous issue among our nation and the rest of the world. Many people would be in denial of this accusation claiming that discrimination is in the past, but if it's in the past, why is it still a key issue today in our laws? Discrimination is not just about racism or ethnic groups, it involves a lot more than that. Different kinds of discrimination include age, disability, religion, sex( HYPERLINK "http://www.eeoc.gov" www.eeoc.gov). People argue about discrimination all the time. Why is it among us and what can we do about it? These are key questions society talks about. However, none of these questions can fully be answered. Truthfully, the only way it could change is if society itself changes. Society has put discrimination into stereotyping and many other different forms, but discrimination will always be here in some way or another. Affirmative action was established in 1965 by President Johnson in order to redress the discrimination that was evident in employment, education and business despite the civil rights laws which made such discrimination illegal. The purpose of affirmative action is to provide opportunities for minorities and women; it is not meant to create quotas. ( HYPERLINK "http://www.naacp.org" www.naacp.org). Affirmative action is used for diversity in the workplace or within universities so that discrimination can not be a part of the work environment or admission process. However, the process of affirmative action proves discrimination still exists in today's society. If discrimination didn't exist, this wouldn't be necessary. As stated, there is still a great amount of workplace discrimination. In the workplace there is a good deal of evidence that shows racial and gender discrimination still are a part of the American workplace. Studies have shown that when hiring people, a black man versus a white man or a white woman versus a white man, the white man will get the position 45% of the time ( HYPERLINK "http://www.eliinc.com" www.eliinc.com). Studies have also shown that if a white woman were to go head to head with a white male in sales, the white man would sell more than a female. This does not mean that the white man is a better sales rep than the white female. It just clearly means that the typical business man prefers and feels more comfortable buying from a white male. These statistics clearly shows that affirmative action is not doing its purpose. Though I still think it was made for a good reason and should still be around, I feel like that it should be more aggressive and crack down more companies who disobey the rules and punish them rightfully. However, Racial Discrimination is certainly the worst discrimination we face as a nation and as a whole. Racial discrimination is very easy to spot, especially in more affluent neighborhoods. In these areas, you will see minorities being treated differently in a negative way. However, racial discrimination is not just among the whites and blacks, it’s among all of the races. Racial discrimination has been around us for a very long time, and at times it looks like it will never leave. Some popular racial hate groups include the KKK, Nazis, and Taliban. Some types of discrimination is light, and all that will happen is a few choice words. Other times the words go into fists, and the fists are thrown, and somebody gets hurt or killed. Racial discrimination is one of the worst kinds of discrimination, but if people look at the color of a human beings skin instead of the person that they really are, then we are all in for a long period of hatred. Another part of discrimination that has been around for a long time and is still around is sexual discrimination. Women have been subjected to legal discrimination through history because of their gender. Some of this discrimination has been based on cultural stereotypes that cast women in the roles of wives and mothers. In a patriarchal society, the weaker sex has always been viewed as females who need protection from the harsh outside world. These type of beliefs were used as reasons to prevent women from holding positions in office, voting and working outside the home. However, a lot of the time, companies do not mean to discriminate today, it’s just that the other sex, is better qualified for the job. This introduces the directness or indirectness of sexual discrimination. Indirect discrimination applies to policies and practices which, in reality, disadvantage one gender considerably more than another. However, in the forefront they seem to apply to both sexes equally. Direct discrimination is when a company knowingly discriminates against a person due to their gender not their qualities. ( HYPERLINK "http://www.thompsonstradeunionlaw.co.uk/" www.thompsonstradeunionlaw.co.uk) This causes many problems and is strictly enforced around the country. All in all, I feel like as a society in this generation, discrimination should not be an issue. However, I realize that it will indeed always be an issue because of the way society is now. If we have adults who are discriminatory in any way, it's likely that when they have children, the new generation will be too. Even doing little things when raising a child makes a difference. For example, let the child pick their toys and clothes instead of buying all pink clothes, dollhouses and tea sets for girls and blue clothes, tool sets and racing cars for boys. By doing this, I believe that all kids will have a mutual understanding of others interests, and they can be who they truly want to be without worrying what society thinks. I think that the only way we can fight discrimination--since we can't really beat it--is to enforce the equal rights laws more and to be more open minded with newer generations.