It is very important that the work environment is safe and welcoming. If discrimination in the workplace is not addressed, it can have a negative impact on people’s health, professional and personal lives, as well as on organizational culture and productivity.
What is discrimination?
Discrimination is the prejudice and mistreatment of a person because of some protected characteristic. Discrimination in the workplace does not always manifest itself in the actions of management. It can manifest in inaction and lack of response to harassment from coworkers. To create a truly inclusive team and build mechanisms to prevent discrimination, you need to understand exactly what it is.
What are protected characteristics?
“Protected characteristics” are defining features of a person and inseparable from their identity. They include: sex, gender, age, marital status, HIV status, religious belief, color, race, financial status, language, health status, IDP status, citizenship, sexual orientation, occupation, disability, political opinion, ethnicity or nationality, place of residence, and the like.
What types of prohibited behavior are there?
The anti-discrimination law identifies five forms of prohibited behavior: direct discrimination (a person is treated worse because of his/her protected characteristic), indirect discrimination (an employer treats everyone equally and adapts to the needs of a particular person because of his/her protected characteristic), infringement (humiliation of dignity), incitement to discrimination (a manager does not discriminate himself/herself but delegates to subordinates), aiding and abetting discrimination (deliberate assistance in discriminatory actions).
How to avoid discrimination in hiring?
The job vacancy should specify requirements directly related to the nature of the job: experience, knowledge of foreign languages, driving license, certain level of education, knowledge of the state language. Gender can be labeled if the employer is willing to prove a connection between the job and gender. For example, the phrase “we are looking for women under 35 for the position” is unacceptable, because age and gender are often irrelevant to the job.
How to prevent discrimination in the workplace?
The best way is to make the promotion process transparent and accessible. Announcements of promotion opportunities should be public for all, with clear criteria for applicants. When designing the pay scale, it should be checked whether a protected attribute results in a person receiving a lower salary for similar work. Also, people have the right to know how their wages are calculated: what part is made up of the prime rate, additional payments, taxes and the like.
Caring for gender equality
There should be no difference in wages for similar job duties between men and women. Working conditions should also be equal regardless of people’s personal characteristics. If gender-segregated services are offered, they should be made equally available to any group, regardless of the number. For example, if a women’s changing room and women’s showers are provided, it is worth making men’s ones available as well: even if there are several of them in the enterprise, they should not have worse working conditions.
Why do I need a reasonable accommodation?
A reasonable accommodation must remove, reduce or prevent barriers for people with disabilities. An employer’s UR duty arises when an employee or employee with a disability asserts such a need. The law imposes a PSD duty, it is not a matter of “favor” or a “goodwill gesture.” Such accommodation must not go beyond what is reasonable, justifiable and possible. If an elevator was arranged for a person with a disability when the employer had sufficient resources – that doesn’t mean another employer with fewer resources is obligated to do the same.
What does reasonable accommodation depend on?
The balance of two real factors is important: the needs of the individual and the capabilities of the employer. There are many adjustments that do not require significant resources. This could be changing the hours of work, moving some of the work home, remodeling the employee’s office, moving to the first floor, and the like.