People Management: Equality and Diversity Policies - Essay Example

Running Head: EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY Equality and Diversity – Women in the Workplace Submitted by: XXXXXXX Number: XXXXXX XXXXXXX University of XXXXXXX Equality and diversity policies create more opportunities for women in the workplace. Critically evaluate this statement using examples from academic literature. Introduction: In the current times where globalization has hit the world to such a great extent, one of the most common scenarios is that of a diverse workforce. Unlike older times when offices would comprise people from the same location alone, now work environments are open all across the world. However there are still a number of aspects where people face different levels of discrimination, like racial, gender, age and disabilities. Diversity, as explained by Kofi Annan, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, has been recognized to be the face of the globalization and this to a great extent provides the dynamics and the promise to humanity (United Nations, 2000). Although the differences among human beings can prove to be a major strength for the overall organization, there is still a lot of discrimination that persists within organizations. One of several forms which will be discussed here is the discrimination against women (Claydon, Beardwell, & Boddy, 2009). This paper aims at discussing in detail the meaning of equality and diversity and their importance. The paper also includes a brief overview of the equality and diversity laws and discusses a few examples of such policies. An overview of the effectiveness of these policies is included and reference made to examples of both positive as well as negative examples of the use of these policies. Before moving into the various elements, however it is important to firstly discuss equality and diversity and their meaning. Equality and Diversity: The terms equality and diversity are in many cases used interchangeably although they are not the same. Equality is focused on development of a fair society where the main aim is to develop a place where everyone has opportunities to meet their fullest potential. This allows for a fairer and more equal work environment/ society. An excellent example here is that of the NHS (UK), which focuses on equality. The organization comprises of 75% women, and provides women with equal opportunities to be a part of the organization (London Deanery, 2011). Equality in short focuses on the several different identities like gender, race, religion, age, disabilities, social class, and also sexualities and their impacts on everyday life. Diversity, on the other hand, refers to the differences. It is used to recognize the differences between as well as the different ways of treating individuals and also development of a positive value in the workplace as well as society (Ozbilgin & Tatli, 2008). The focus is to develop flexibility in the workplace practices and to assist people in creating better and more flexible working environments (The NewCastle College, n.d.). This approach helps in building work environments which are equal to all and also helps in better response to different individuals and groups. When companies claim to follow equality and diversity within the work environment, it simply implies that the company follows equality and in addition it recognizes the diversity and helps different people be treated equally (The NewCastle College, n.d.). Importance of Equality and Diversity: Having understood the meaning of equality and diversity, it is crucial to understand their importance. The importance of equality and diversity is evident from the fact that governments across the world have developed laws and regulations to ensure that companies employ an equal and diverse workforce, including ensuring that discrimination against women is reduced as far as possible (Stephen Linstead, 2009). The main reasons that diversity, equality and removal of discrimination have increased in the present time is due to the fact that societies are becoming more and more diverse and people tend to move and work in different locations due to globalization. Globalization has opened up boundaries and has allowed for more effective participation of people with talent and skills across the world (London Deanery, 2011). This has left society more sensitive to diversity and has also opened up avenues to ensure that workplaces include diversity in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality and also social class. Here the focus is not on any of the above mentioned elements but more on the skills of the individuals. In a diverse world, where the work environment is an open ground for several talents and effective individuals, here equality and diversity allow equal opportunities for all (Ozbilgin, 2009). Considering the main topic of discussion here, i.e. the importance of equality and diversity in terms of the women in the workforce, it is crucial to understand that with the changing roles of individuals and genders, and the high skills and abilities of women in the current times, the practice of diversity and equality helps the organizations identify the coherent ways to establish and identify related matters and issues (Ozbilgin, 2009). This helps in bringing in different approaches, ideas and viewpoints of both genders to identify, analyse and also work towards goal and objectives in an effective manner (Cornelius, 2002). Hence the use of equality and diversity in an organization helps ensure that the individuals, irrespective of their gender, race, caste etc. are given equal treatment and in the case of the workplace, the focus is more on the performance and substance of the individual, rather than any other form of discrimination. Equality and Diversity – The Law: Over the years, with the intensity of growth of diversity, governments across the world have developed several laws relating to equality and diversity policies. Here, various laws pertaining to equality and discrimination will be discussed. The Race Relations Act 1976: This was developed as means to make it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees based on the nationality, ethnicity, and also race. This went on to be amended in April 2001. The law includes aspects like reducing and eliminating the unlawful discrimination, promotion of equal opportunity, and also the development of good relations between the racial groups (Cornelius, 2002). The amended act included elements like direct and indirect discrimination, victimization and also harassment. Sex Discrimination Act 1975: This act was developed to reduce and eliminate the unlawful discrimination in several different job positions based on sex. The act made it unlawful to discriminate against an individual on the grounds of their sex or marital status, and prohibited victimization of individuals for standing up for their rights, or also in cases where individuals have undergone any form of gender reassignment. Equal Employment Opportunities legislation was developed and set down as a means to ensure that all employees would have equal access to all the opportunities at work, and was enforce by a number of laws relating to the employee discrimination in the workplaces (The NewCastle College, n.d.). The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission introduced several laws like Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination Act, American with Disability Act and many others. With regard to gender, the law focused on ensuring that women in the workplaces receive their rights to the position in the company and their rights are not violated. Also, Affirmative Action was also started with the aim of ensuring that the employees were not being discriminated against. Since the development of Affirmative Action, the Government has developed a number of steps which increase the inclusion and representation of women and also help minority groups gain better options in the field of business and employment (The NewCastle College, n.d.). Equality and Diversity Policies: Like several other elements of business, companies need to develop equality and diversity policies. As discussed earlier, governments across the world have developed several different laws to ensure that employees do not in any manner face inequality or discrimination within the company. These laws need to be reflected in the company’s policies and practices. The policies instruct the employees regarding the various laws and also enlighten them regarding how they need to behave by law (Hero, 2007). In most cases the companies refer to gender discrimination within the word discrimination itself, rather than as a separate category. Most cases companies develop their policies based on all types of discrimination and aim at fighting against any discrimination, including age, sex, sexuality, disability and others. There have been numerous organisations that have been known for their equality and diversity attempts like NHS UK, while some have been known for the extremely high levels of discrimination that they still allow within the company (London Deanery, 2011). An example of such a company is Wal Mart. Wal Mart has been in the news over the years for issues of discrimination and unfair treatment of the employees (Cram, 2005 ). In most cases these include women. This example will be further discussed in the following section. Equality and Diversity Policies and Women: With the increasing numbers of laws that have been enacted for the inclusion of women in the workforce and businesses, equality and diversity policies have a major impact on the overall opportunities for women in the workplace. Over the years, men have dominated in all forms of organisations and women have always been discriminated against. With the introduction of Equal Employment Opportunities and Affirmative Action, this has been changed and now women are supposed to be given the same level of opportunities as men (The NewCastle College, n.d.). In the current time, all companies need to include an equality and diversity policy by which they need to ensure that there is no form of discrimination that might exist within the company. This includes several aspects like discrimination against women, sexual harassment or even unfair pay. Several companies have been able to execute their policies well and ensure that women are given the same opportunities and benefits as their male counterparts. Such companies have been able to effectively ensure that women are not in any manner discriminated or faced with issues like sexual harassment (Cornelius, 2002). On the other hand, as discussed earlier, companies like Wal Mart despite strong and well – written policies, in practice are known for ill treatment of women. This can take various forms, including the women employees work extra hours, overloading them with responsibilities, not paying women equal salaries as men and many other such examples. The company is a classic example of the policies not being followed and this company has been faced with several lawsuits due to this issue (Hero, 2007). It is important to note that if companies like Wal Mart were to follow the laws and managing change accordingly, then the company would be faced with for fewer Employment Tribunals. Statistics reported by the Equal Opportunities Commission in 2006 show that there were as many as a quarter of a million cases relating to cases of sex discrimination, as compared to only about 67,000 relating to issues like equal pay (The NewCastle College, n.d.). The laws have been set down to break the old tradition where men were the only ones at work and only single women had a career. Now the policies impact women and their career options to a great extent and provide women with opportunity to improve and expand their careers (Ozbilgin, 2009). Equality and diversity policies are focused on improving working conditions for women and providing women with their rightful position within the companies. This includes their position in the company based on performance as well as being employed for jobs without any form of discrimination (Benhabib, 2002). With the changing roles of men and women across the world, the choices and careers adopted by women are very much different from, previous years. As very well explained by Lister (2003), women have been excluded from citizenship both in the past as well as in the current times. This has led to two main responses, i.e. firstly, for women either to be treated equally to men, i.e. gender neutral or secondly, to acknowledge the gender differences (Barrett & Phillips, 1992). Although several different discussions and arguments have been raised on the need of gender equality and abolition of discrimination against women, an excellent point made by Squires (2000) is that giving equal treatment does not in any manner protect women from the problems, oppressions, inequalities and differences that are present in society (Squires, 2000). Although the equality and diversity policies clearly have a major impact on women and the acceptance of women in the workplace on an equal level to men, there have been numerous criticisms by several feminists which focus on the fact that the ideal equality is formal and does not take into account the role of care and also fails to recognize the private sphere and challenges and sources of any gender inequalities. Feminist and experts bring out that if the sex is different it will be distinct and will also be equally challenged (Schniedewind & Davidson, 1997). It is clear from the above discussion that diversity has a number of dimensions and has a major impact on the overall position of women in the workplace. Promoting gender equality is a growing trend and the various equality and diversity policies adopted by companies clearly impact women and assist them in gaining better positions and also job profiles which fit their skills set. Here the principle of human rights is to provide basic equal treatment to individuals from different groups. The main aim of all human resources across different companies is to ensure that the inequalities within the groups are reduced and women as well as men are given the same treatment, without any form of bias or distinction. Conclusions: In conclusion, the equality and diversity policies that have been developed by companies, are focused on the women, their rights and also to ensure the rightful position in the company based on their skill sets. With the intensifying laws and also with the increasing levels of focus on the need for discrimination free and employee friendly work environments, companies now focus on developing the best options to reduce discrimination against age, sex, sexual preferences, disabilities and also other factors like race, class etc. Despite all the legislation, it is crucial to note that women are still not given the full rights and are discriminate against in a number of aspects. For example, in the UK, there is the highest gender discrimination in terms of pay and women are still paid 79% as much as their male counterparts (Allen, 2010). However one of the main areas of focus across the world has been on the need for reducing discrimination against women. Hence it can be concluded that the various equality and diversity policies that have been developed over the years clearly have a strong impact on women and in most cases this is a positive influence. Nevertheless a few companies, despite all the laws and regulations, have not been able to effectively ensure that women are given their rights and that job selection, recruitment and retention are based on the skills set and not gender (Sturgeon, 1997). Even so, the overall impact of the equality and diversity policies is clearly been extremely effective and has proven to be very successful across the world. References Allen, K. (2010, August 19). Equal pay for women not likely till 2067, says research. Retrieved March 22, 2011, from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/aug/19/equal-pay-women-2057 Barrett, M., & Phillips, A. (1992). Destabilizing Theory: Contemporary Feminist Debates. Stanford University Press. Benhabib, S. (2002). The Claims of Culture: Equality and Diversity in the Global Era. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Claydon, T., Beardwell, J., & Boddy, D. (2009). Human Resource Management. Essex: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Cornelius, N. (2002). Building Workplace Equality: Ethics, Diversity and Inclusion. London: Cengage Learning Business Press. Cram, J. (2005 , May 9). Ten Things Wal-Mart Doesn’t Want You To Know. Retrieved March 15, 2011, from Campus Progress: http://www.campusprogress.org/articles/ten_things_wal-mart_doesnt_want_you_to_know Hero, R. E. (2007). Racial Diversity and Social Capital: Equality and Community in America. New York: Cambridge University Press. London Deanery. (2011). What is equality and diversity? Retrieved March 9, 2011, from Faculty Development: http://www.faculty.londondeanery.ac.uk/e-learning/diversity-equal-opportunities-and-human-rights/what-is-equality-and-diversity Ozbilgin, M. F. (2009). Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Work: A Research Companion. Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing. Ozbilgin, M., & Tatli, A. (2008). Global Diversity Management: An Evidence Based Approach. London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Schniedewind, N., & Davidson, E. (1997). Open Minds to Equality: A Sourcebook of Learning Activities to Affirm Diversity and Promote Equality (2nd Edition). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Squires, J. (2000). Gender in Political Theory. Camobridge: Polity. Stephen Linstead, L. F. (2009). Management and Organisation. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Sturgeon, N. (1997). Ecofeminist Natures: Race, Gender, Feminist Theory and Political Action. London: Routledge. The NewCastle College. (n.d.). NCFE Level 3 Certificate in Managing Diversity. Unit 1 Raising Diversity Awareness . United Nations. (2000, June 9). Kofi Annan Calls for Shared Values of Freedom, Tolerance and Non Violence. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from UN: http://www.un.org/documents/sgsm7439r1.htm Read More