Discrimination
Although diversity does present many opportunities for organizations. effective
diversity management also means working to eliminate unfair discrimination
To discriminate is to note a difference between thing. which in itself isn't
necessarily bad. Noticing one employee is more qualified is necessary for making
hiring decisions; noticing another is taking on leadership responsibilities
exceptionally well is necessary for making promotion decisions. Usually when we
talk about discrimination, though, we mean allowing our behavior to be influenced
by stereotypes about groups of people. Rather than looking at individual
characteristics, unfair discrimination assumes everyone in a group is the same.
This discrimination is often very harmful to organizations and employees.
Exhibit 2-1 provides definitions and examples of some forms of discrimination
in organizations. Although many of these actions are prohibited by law,
and therefore aren't part of almost any organization's official policies, thousands
of cases of employment discrimination are documented every year, and
many more go unreported. As discrimination has increasingly come under both