SOCIOLOGY

Explore the ways in which Equal Opportunities policies can work towards eliminating discrimination and inequality in the workplace and wider society

Explore the ways in which Equal Opportunities policies can work towards eliminating discrimination and inequality in the workplace and wider society

Introduction

Equal opportunity is said to be a goal of the policies, laws as well as regulations attempting to ensure the fact that people working under one entity are said to be treated equally in all aspects of the organization, which not only includes job but also entails education, public accommodation, housing and so forth (Carr-Ruffino, 2010, pp. 67).

Discrimination

Equal opportunity policies or the law is said to be aimed to create a level playing field in order to ensure that the employees of the organization are employed based on the competency level in terms of knowledge skills and abilities as well as the attitude they possess and also how well do they perform their job.

Discrimination takes place when an employer is said to prioritize one employee over the other. For example, one employee is preferred over the others based on salary that is in terms of females being paid less than males for doing the same job. Discrimination can also exist based on ethnicity that is an employee who belongs to a caste or a background that is said to exist in minority at a micro level that is in terms of the organization or at macro level that is in terms of the geographic location of the organization (Kay, 2002, p. 34).

Discrimination generally exists based on:

•Age

•Nationality

•Ethnic Background

•Sexual Orientation

•Religion or Belief

•Color

•Disability

•Gender Reassignment

•Marriage or Civil Partnership

•Race

•Pregnancy and Maternity Leave

•Gender (Oscar, 2009, pp. 346)

Types of discrimination

Indirect discrimination

At a departmental level, indirect discrimination can occur on the basis of a working condition that is in terms of one group of people with a certain characteristic is prioritized over the other or is discriminated on the other. For example, all employees should not possess a beard and should be clean-shaven. This policy might offend those minorities who have a religious obligation to have beard. This form of discrimination is said to be unlawful regardless of the fact whether it is done intentionally or unintentionally. This form of policy can only be apt if it involves are business where hygiene is mandatory. Such as the profession that involves food or invovles laboratory handling if chemicals.

Direct discrimination

Direct discrimination is said to occur when an employer is said to treat an employee in a manner that is less favorable because of the reasons that involve Age, Nationality, Gender, Ethnic Background, Sexual Orientation, Religion or Belief, Color, Disability, Gender Reassignment, Marriage or Civil Partnership, Race, Pregnancy and Maternity Leave. An example of direct discrimination is that the profession of driving is only confined to male's applicant (Barnes, 1991, pp. 8).

There are circumstances based on which such policy can be termed as being non- discriminatory. For example, drivers of a Roman Catholic School where only males are present can have a male driver and not a female ...