Human Resources: The Equality at Work (Essay Sample)

TOPIC: Human Resources, Equality at work
Summary:
Number of pages:24Academic level:University, Bachelor'sReferencing style:HarvardClient country:United Kingdom (UK English)
Assignment extract:
The sources of actual and potential inequality at work are many and since the 1960s we have seen the government becoming more involved in combating inequality in the workplace by passing legislation in various areas: sex, marital status and sexual orientation; national origin ethnicity and race; disability; age; union membership or non-union membership; part-time and fixed term work; ex-offenders whose convictions are spent …. A literature review covering this topic has to be selective and focus on only few (three-four) areas of potential inequality and discrimination. The form and nature of the inequality/discrimination would be discussed and the legislation passed to rectify it critically evaluated; has it been successful and managed to eliminate inequality and/or discrimination in the respective area?
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ABSTRACT
The following review presents a detailed evaluation of the various literatures dealing with workplace discrimination internationally, with a specific focus on the US and UK. The purpose of this review is to highlight the different types of workplace discrimination that remains as a major challenge to workplace equality. The paper first analyzes the historical background of employment discrimination law. The discussion then provides a comprehensive coverage of the three major forms of discrimination- sex, age and sexual orientation- based discrimination in relation to the various forms in which these forms are manifested gains that have been made in reducing them over the years. The effectiveness or lack thereof of the legislation that have been passed in attempting to curb these forms of legislation is then analyzed with suggestions of areas that require improvement provided. The discussion summarily closes with a conclusion of the lessons accrued from the comparative analysis of the literature.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract……………………………………………………………………2Contents…………………………………………………………………..3Proposal................................................................................................
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Introduction 6A Historical Background…………………………………………...6US Employment Discrimination Legislation…………………………...7UK Employment Discrimination Legislation ……………….................8Sex Discrimination in the Workplace ……………………............................9Age discrimination in the workplace…………………....................................10Sexual Orientation (SO) Based Workplace Discrimination..............................13The Challenges and Success of Anti- Discrimination Legislation……………
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Conclusion………………………………………………………………... 20References 21
PROPOSAL
The topic for this literature review was with regards to workplace inequality as a major challenge in the field of human resources. Specifically, the research dwells on the main forms of workplace discrimination- sex, age and sexual orientation (SO) based discrimination. To conduct this research, my main sources of information were googlescholar.com and the university library. Of particular use to me was googlescholar.com, as it contains a vast array of literature, many of which are current and updated. Obtaining proper resources is always a major challenging during any research study but I overcame this challenge by focusing on literature that was relevant to the topic at hand as well as by ensuring all the literature I sought was current and by credible scholars.
Gleaning the necessary material from the chosen materials was the next challenge, and I accomplished this by perusing through the previews of each chosen literature to ensure the information therein was applicable to the subject area. After ascertaining the appropriateness of each source, my next source was to take down notes o the relevant areas in each source and comparing the information in each with other sources to avoid any overlapping or duplication of information.
My objective is to cover the area of workplace inequality but in third world and emerging economies. This is due to the fact that very literature has been conducted on this are with most scholars focusing on Western cases. Workplace discrimination is a global phenomenon and further study into this area will be highly beneficial to the area of Human Resources.
APPROACH
Research Methods & Sampling:
The qualitative research will be based on grounded theory and the methods used shall be in depth interviews and questionnaires. In depth interviews are the preferred method for collecting data from the human resources managers due to the fact that it is the one method that is best suited when trying to uncover the expert thoughts of each respondent without the hitches of group dynamics; a greater amount of information is obtained as opposed to other methods such as focus group discussions; they are more in depth; and they cover all the important research areas.
Questionnaires shall be used for the collection of data from employees. This is due to the fact that it encourages employees and this is very important in this case since the employees may fear victimization from their managers. In addition, a questionnaire is a simple tool and has several questions.
For the quantitative data, statistics, tables and graphs shall be used in the analysis. A sample of about 150 human resources will be used for this research and 1000 employees in each organization.
Research Themes:
The research themes that shall be evaluated include areas such as structural constraints, social context market situation, dual labour market, reserve army of labour; the concept of primary and secondary employment sectors; the "dual role" or "double shift"; the relationship between family life and work roles and how all these themes and concepts are related and contribute to workplace discrimination.
INTRODUCTION
There exists a vast body of literature relating to equality at work and more specifically, workplace discrimination and the various pieces of legislation that have been passed to curb this type of discrimination. As a very controversial and touchy topic, several authors have dedicated time and energy into its research thereby contributing immensely to the topic. Nonetheless, one of the key missing elements in the literature is a comprehensive and all- encompassing analysis of the topic in its entirety- from a historical overview of the strides made in eliminating workplace discrimination and inequality to the challenges that are still experienced. Most literature focuses merely on one form of workplace discrimination such as racial discrimination or only in workplace discrimination in one country. The following literature review shall thus attempt to fill in these knowledge gaps.
A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
US Employment Discrimination Legislation:
The works of Jasper (2008), Hogler (2004) and Ford (2000) provide a historical overview of how workplace inequality has been tackled in the United States over the years through their employment discrimination law. Jasper (2008) dates this employment discrimination law back to the Unemployment Relief Act 1993 that held that during employment American citizens would not be subject to discrimination on account of their colour, race, or creed. Blanpain, et.al (2008), Cihon and Castaganera (2008), Jasper (2008) and Lindemann and Grossman (2007) in their works provide further illumination into the historical perspective of US employment law by analyzing the significance of Title VII which has been at the heart of creating the discrimination theory that has been used as a template for later anti- discrimination laws. In 1964, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was signed into law by President Johnson. Title VII made it unlawful to discriminate in employment based on a person’s race, colour, sex, religion or national origin (Blanpain, et.al, 2008, p. 27). It has since been followed by various pieces of legislation such as Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Fai...