Clara did not get her due promotion to be the Associate VP because she was expecting her first child. Mike was not allowed to put up his rosary bead on his computer. Gloria was not allowed to welcome her client because she was of ‘differential’ color. Sabrina was not given employment because she requested two 5 minutes break each day for her prayers. Satarupa was denied to be a part of the upcoming ‘big-client project’ because she was getting married in a month. Rahul never hangs out at the coffee spot, fearing his colleagues might ask him about his ‘personal’ life. Taylor was asked to resign because of a brawl with his ‘white‘ colleague.
Direct Discrimination. Religious Discrimination. Colorism. Religious Discrimination. Gender discrimination. Sexual Orientation Discrimination. Racial Discrimination.
Almost everyday, we read about discrimination and how it is affecting lives worldwide. We read about it and for a few days, we feel very infuriated with it and then, like any other news, we just forget and move on. Then again a headlines come up and then the cycle continues. So did we actually manage to make any progress in that area. I believe we have, just momentarily.
Let me narrate a personal incident. It was about 3 years back. I recently joined a premium service-based organization after my graduation. After a month, my boss announced that our client is throwing a project success party. I was excited since that was going to be my first ‘corporate’ party. I got dressed up into, what people usually call as ‘one-piece’. It was pretty normal for me to be dressed like that. But the moment I stepped into the cubicle to leave with my colleagues for the party, one of my male colleagues looked at me directly and said:
“You are looking different. In fact, to tell you the truth, you are looking great in that short dress.”
I felt uneasy. The word ‘short’ made me uncomfortable. I did not say anything, I just smiled and went to the party.
At the party, I sat at the bar and ordered beer. My manager, who came with her family, appeared out of nowhere and gave a look at my bottle and said:
“How can a girl drink beer or any other hard drinks.”
I was astonished. I did not say anything and simply stood up and left. I was afraid to say anything because I thought that it might ruin my career in that company.
But few years later, I ended up leaving the place because of multiple social reasons but that is not the point. The point is how on earth, even in this 21st century, are we dealing with such petty issues.
DISCRIMINATION.
Long word. Even have longer implications on the people who face it. Discriminatory remark, in its simplest form is very subtle and people usually fail to realize it. Like in my instance, I found those two comments to be quite derogatory but I was not sure whether to label it as discrimination.
Recently, CISCO was sued by the State of California because of it racial discriminatory actions against a ‘Dalit Indian-American’ employee as well as allowing him to be harassed by a couple of managers. Infosys is also facing a lawsuit due to racial discrimination which was filed by the diversity head of Infosys. Long back, Walmart faced a lawsuit due to gender as well as racial discrimination where they paid a black woman very less as well as denied her rightful promotion for years. Abercrombie &Fitch faced racial discrimination because of allowing the Latino and the Asians to work in the stock room and the ‘classically American’ on the shop floor. Nike faced lawsuit due to gender discrimination for violating Equal Pay Act and treating the women employees inferior to the male employees.
These are just few of the reported cases in the new. What goes unnoticed are the hundreds of such cases where the victims usually do not have the support to report it. It’s quite imperative that it’s high time for the Human Resource Manager to come into the play. They should take measures to curb such forms of discrimination at the workplace. Even though corporate and industries are embracing diversity and inclusion, HR Managers should promote this ‘diversity and inclusion‘ as a practice rather than an activity. A workplace is like a second home where we spend one-third of our day. We feel safe with our family, because they embrace us despite our flaws. AT the same time, HR should also make sure that the work environment should be inclusive enough to accept our diverse profiles. Such discrimination only creates differences and headlines which is like a blooming path for our competitors. Rather it is important that being an HR, we should promote this diversity, and use it to our own competitive advantage.
Be different. Be unique.
Source:
https://www.vox.com/2018/8/15/17683484/nike-women-gender-pay-discrimination-lawsuit
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