Discuss five groups who face discrimination in an organisation

(a) Sex and gender
This is aimed at equalising the treatment of women and men. The main benefit has been to women who have been subject to assumptions such as:
-Women should not work; their place is in the home They do not want much responsibility at work
-Their home commitments (children) will impinge on their working life
-Women are less mobile as they have to stay in the part of the country where their husband has a job.
-Legislation also encompasses equal pay, although this appears to have had limited effect in bringing the pay of women in line with that of men. (In 2007 UK women who worked full time were paid on average between 83 and 86% of men's hourly earnings - source UK Government's Women and Equality Unit).
(b) Race and ethnicity
This is aimed at removing race and ethnicity as a reason for disadvantageous treatment. The main benefit has been to ethnic minorities who have been subject to views such as:
-They require time-off for religious holidays that do not mesh with the needs of the employer
-Qualifications gained abroad are not as good as those to be found in the UK
-Workers will not want to work for a black supervisor
-The ability to fill out an application form in good English is a requirement for someone
who is being employed in low-level manual work.
(c) Disability
This covers both physical and mental disability; the latter also including learning disability. Assumptions countered by the legislation include:
-An employee with facial disfigurement will be an embarrassment to the workers or customers.
-A visual handicap cannot be overcome.
-A physical impairment affects mental faculties.
-Someone who has suffered mental illness will automatically not be able to take any kind
of pressure that the working environment could provide.
-Employers and service providers are required to make reasonable adjustments to premises and practices to compensate for someone's disability. What is reasonable will vary from organisation to organisation.
(d) Age
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 came into force in October 2006 and counters assumptions such as:
-Older people are less adaptable and are not interested in new technology
-They will work much more slowly than younger employees
-They have become less interested their career development Younger workers are immature or lack skill.
(e) Religion and belief
Although much of the discrimination directed at members of religious groups was
covered by the legislation dealing with race and ethnicity, in the United Kingdom the
law, irrespective of their race or ethnicity, covers discrimination against someone
because of their religion or similar belief system.

(f) Sexual orientation
Likewise discrimination on the grounds of someone's sexual orientation is unlawful.
This includes less favourable treatment arising from a belief (without any evidence)
that someone might be gay, lesbian or transgender.
How is discrimination relevant to employment?
The need for fair treatment is particularly acute in the area of employment in general
and of management in particular, where decisions are constantly being made which
affect the lives and opportunities of individuals. As a result, partly driven by
legislation and partly by good practice, most organisations have adopted policies and
practices designed to ensure the fair and equal treatment of those with whom they
have dealings (and note that this does not just cover their own employees).
There is, though, a continuing concern to ensure the effectiveness of such policies and
practices in the face of the widespread existence of, particularly, unconscious
prejudices and preconceptions in society at large, which invariably, will be reflected to
a greater or lesser extent within the organisation's own workforce. The adoption of
policies, of itself, does not eradicate the problem and control over practice has
become more difficult with responsibility for more and more employee issues being
devolved to line management.

---

Titany answered the question on November 9, 2021 at 06:42