HUMAN RESOURCE AND EQUALITY AT WORK (Essay Sample)

Topic: HUMAN RESOURCE AND EQUALITY AT WORK TITLE OF THE REVIEW: MODULE NAME: SUPERVISOR NAME: WORD COUNT: STUDENT NAME: STUDENT NUMBER: DATE: 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................................................................................................ 4 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…………… 15 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 Fair Labour Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. UK Employment Discrimination Legislation: With regards to the employment law in the United Kingdom Holland and Burnett (2007) as well as Suff (1999) have authored a comprehensive body of work on employment law in the country and on the European continent at large. In the UK, several statutes and regulations have been enacted that tackle discrimination in the workplace with one of the firs being the Race Relations Act 1976. Racial discrimination was the first class of discrimination to be prohibited in the UK. In addition to it was the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 which prohibits discrimination based on sex or marital status. It was passed in 1975 in order for it to be brought into effect within the same period as the last stage of the implementation of the Equal Pay Act (EPA) 1970 (Holland and Bennet, 2007, p. 119). The two statutes were harmonizing whereby EPA 1970 tackles discrimination in pay and SDA 1975 focuses on other issues particularly non- contractual ones. The Equal Pay Act 1970 requires that both men and women get paid the same amount if they are doing equivalent or similar work though it has since been amended into the Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983. In addition, other regulations such as the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation towards the same sex, either sexes or the opposite sex. Further to that, the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, religious or philosophical belief; the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 outlaws discrimination on account of an individuals disability; the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 prohibits discrimination on the basis of age. (Holland and Bennet, 2007, p. 119). Evidently, major strides have been made over the years to enhance equality at the workplace through the passing of crucial pieces of legislation though there are still forms of discrimination that need to be dealt with more seriously. Various studies have been published focusing on the various forms of employment discrimination, including Appleby (2008), Eastman and Beckett (1996), Chiplin and Sloane (1982), England (2009), Pfadenhauer (2009), Athey (2007) and Cairncross and Chanda (19...