Workplace Discrimination: HRM Unit 8 Task 2 Report

This report, focusing on workplace discrimination, explores its impact on organizational performance through secondary research and a primary data collection process involving questionnaires. The findings highlight disparities in recruitment, remuneration, appraisal, and training. The study reveals that both men and women experience unequal treatment in these areas. The report also includes a review of literature on the models of equality, including individual justice, social justice, and parity in diversity. The report further discusses the principle of non-discrimination, referencing international conventions and previous research to provide a comprehensive overview of workplace discrimination, its causes, and potential solutions to foster a more equitable environment.

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Workplace Discrimination
Unit 8 – Task 2

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1.0 Term of Reference
Human Resource Management plays play a leading role in organizations because it enables the
acquisition, retention and / or employee development to contribute to organizational
performance. Among all these functions, elimination of workplace discrimination and creating
an environment based on equality is very important as it directly affects the overall performance
of the organization. Due to the importance of workplace environment based on equality, this
report imparts some knowledge to the management of the organization about the importance of
non-discriminative environment and how it affects the performance of the company.
This report discusses direct impact of discrimination on organization’s performance so the
management will also be aware regarding the importance of this issue. This evaluation is done by
exploring literature on this particular topic and so this report presents its views based on
secondary / desk research.
2.0 procedures and methods
I will carry out this research on the basis of my skills and knowledge. Other than this, I
will be carrying out both primary and secondary research to collect relevant and more accurate
information with regards to the topic under investigation
3.0 Findings
3.1 Research techniques
In the present research, deductive approach will be used in order to accomplish the aim
and objectives of this study. I have developed appropriate research questions in order to carry
out this research in best possible manner. The use of deductive approach will support me to
move information from general to specific. Along with this, both the sources of data collection
will be used. Primary research will be carried out with the help of a well structured questionnaire

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in which the respondents will provide their views and opinions regrading discrimination. Further
at the time of developing questions the researcher will make sure that all they reflect the aim and
objectives of the study. Other than this, secondary study will be carried out to find out relevant
information linked with discrimination at workplace. Both quantitative and quantitative data will
be present in this research. All the respondents were selected with the help of random sampling
method. This has provided equal chances and opportunities to all the respondents.
3.2 Proposed researcher
the primary data has been collected by respondents with the help of questionnaire. On the
other hand, various books, journals and online sources are taken into consideration in order to
gather information about the discrimination at workplace.
3.3.1 Primary data
1. What is your gender?
In the present report, primary information has been collected from 5 males and the same
number of females. This has helped the scholar to get more clear set of ideas and views about the
workplace discrimination. The respondents have presented their opinions which has helped in
addressing all research questions in best possible manner.
2. Which age group do you belong to?

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This chart shows the number of ages, groups of student and staff that filled the
questionnaire. Majority of the respondents were in age group of 16 to 25 years. Out of that 10
respondents, 3 belong to age group of 16-20 years and other 3 belongs to age group of 21-25
years. This means that majority of respondents were young and are the one who has started or
about to start their professional carrier. Out of the total 10 respondents, 2 belongs to age group
of 36-40 years and they have provided their opinions on the basis of their experiences. All these
respondents have helped scholar to get the best possible information on topic of this study.
3. Which of the following influenced your career choice?

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From the data collected it can be stated that there are various factors who has influenced
the people regarding their career choice. Some of the respondents have argued that salary level is
the one of the major factor which has encouraged people to choose a particular profession. On
the other side, some of the respondents have stated that it is the passion for career that have
encouraged them to choose a particular profession. On the other side of this, some respondents
have argued that their choice of career is because of the influence from their peer groups,
parent’s family members and society. Peer groups of these respondents have encouraged them to
choose a particular profession. The remaining respondents have stated that one of them have
selected their career because there was a perfect match between his skills with the requirement of
job.
4. Do you consider your career choice to be a more female oriented profession?

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This question was mainly aimed at female if they consider their career oriented profession most
of them said no only out of 2 out 5 said yes.
5. Based on your experience do you feel that men and women at your workplace are
treated equally in the following areas?
Men & Women
treated equally
Men treated less
favorably
Women treated less
favorably
Recruitment &
Selection
0% 10% 20%
Remuneration
(Wages)
20% 0 0%
Appraisal/
Performance
Management
10% 0 0%
Training and
Development
10% 10% 20%
From the data collected with 10 respondents, it has been analysed that there are four main
areas in which discrimination at workplace occurs. The areas includes recruitment and selection,
remuneration, appraisal/performance management, training and development. Further it can be
stated that, at the time of recruitment and selection men and women are not treated equally. 10%
of the total respondents argued that men are treated less favourably whereas 20% explained that
women are treated less favourably. This means that while selection the vacant position, men are
provided with much more preference as compared to women. At the time of providing
remuneration or wages the 20% feels that men and women both are treated equally. On the other

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side 10% stated that there is no discrimination between employees at the time of performance
appraisals. In case of training and development 10% respondent stated that men and women both
are treated equally, 10% explained that women are provided with more chances regarding
training and development. 20% respondents stated that women are treated less preferably and
men are provided by better chances at the time of training.
3.3.2 Secondary data
The debate on workplace discrimination centres on whether certain relevant features differ from
one race to another and if one of the features included, reflect systematic differences between
individuals or otherwise is an indirect indicator of race (Fugazza, 2003). Thus these researchers
for some differences are product and other discriminatory practices, are simply the consequence
of differences in human capital between different groups.
Equality is a higher value of the legal, consubstantial with the definition system of social and
democratic state of law. This form of government is not only affirm freedom and political
pluralism, but also justice through equality, it understood not only in the formal sense, but also as
material equality, for progressive levelling of citizens and social classes. Equality mandate
covers the time prior to employment and during development of the same, limited by the power
of free management of the company.
There are three models of equality (Stainback et al., 2011): (i) individual justice model, which
seeks to eliminate discrimination outlawing considerations based on personal characteristics of
the worker; (Ii) The model of equality as social justice, aims to level the inequalities between
dominant groups and subordinate groups, by guaranteeing fair access to education and jobs and
its fair share of the benefit sharing training. This may require special measures, including those

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of affirmative or positive action. (Iii) The model as parity in diversity is based on the recognition
of the equal value of different identities of those trained by gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.
In practice, the road to equality, often settle on a set of measures consistent with these different
models, which highlights the multifaceted and dynamic the concept of equality and we need the
three models to grasp its many facets.
The principle of non-discrimination in employment and occupation includes the principle of
equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and the elimination of
discrimination in employment and occupation. It is the common responsibility of the State and
the social partners, and the state must promote compliance with this principle even in the areas
where the determination of rates of remuneration does not matter for him. The International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of the United Nations
(1965) notes that all men are entitled to equal protection of the law against any discrimination
and against any incitement to discrimination (Dipboye & Colella, 2013).
Workplace discrimination manifests itself in the limiting access opportunities of discriminated
groups to jobs of highest quality, thus limiting their ability to generate revenue. The wage
discrimination makes workers receive similar productivity to present different characteristics that
are discriminated against remuneration. Meanwhile De Ferranti et al (2003) note that
discrimination can be divided into two categories: (i) pure Discrimination, in which an individual
has features that distanced discriminator, for example; if an employer does not feel comfortable
with Afro employee, it penalized the worker with a rate that is equal to the value of the cost of
his displeasure. This is done by not hiring African descent, hiring them at low wages or giving
fewer opportunities than their white counterparts; (Ii) statistical Discrimination, in which
differentiated between individual treatments are based on observable characteristics that are

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correlated with certain undesired behaviours (McMahon, 2012). For example, women are more
likely that men have to leave the labour market for the care of children, then the employers
provide less training to women because they have more chance to spend less time in the
company (Okechukwu et al., 2014).
4.0 Conclusion
There is not enough empirical evidence to enable the country to measure the problem of
employment discrimination by ethnicity. However, studies have addressed the issue, reported
that a part of the existing wage gap between different genders and races are unexplained or put
another way, only observable characteristics explain part of the difference. The systematic
collection of statistics on discrimination is crucial for it is visible and effective measures are
developed cost for treatment. This measurement should cover at least the dimensions of the
principle of non- discrimination, namely access to employment and occupation, promotion and
professional training, recruitment and working conditions and membership of certain
organizations.

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References
De Ferranti, D., Perry, G. & Walton, M. (2004). Group- Based Inequalities: The roles of races,
ethnicity and gender, Inequality in America: Breaking with history. World Bank.
Dipboye, R. L. & Colella, A. (Eds.). (2013). Discrimination at work: The psychological and
organizational bases. Psychology Press.
Fugazza, M. (2003). Racial discrimination: Theories, facts and policy. International Labour
Review, Vol. 142 (4), pp 507-541.
McMahon, B. (2012). An overview of workplace discrimination and disability. Journal of
Vocational Rehabilitation, 36(3), 135-140.
Okechukwu, C. A., Souza, K., Davis, K. D. & de Castro, A. B. (2014). 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.
Stainback, K., Ratliff, T. N. & Roscigno, V. J. (2011). The context of workplace sex
discrimination: Sex composition, workplace culture and relative power. Social
Forces, 89(4), 1165-1188.