Program :

PGDM - 01

Faculty :

Prof. Merlin Mythili S

Course :

PGDM

Trimester :

II

Session/s :

3& 4

Week :

1& 2
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Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity

Management
Topics to be covered in this session:

Diversity Management
Equal Opportunities and
Affirmative action
The business case for diversity
and inclusion initiatives in
organizations

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Session Learning Objectives

At the end of this session you should be able to :

Understand Equal Opportunities

Provide an overview of the various discrimination
legislation that exists
Understand and define Managing Diversity
Explain the reasons for shift to Managing Diversity
demographic and business case
Explain the existing opposition to Managing Diversity
Discuss why diversity management is important and
how to institutionalise a diversity management
program
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The Constitution of India and Labour

Legislation
Fundamental Rights
Article 14 Equality before law
Article 15 Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion,
race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
Article 16 Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment
Article 17 Abolition of untouchability
Right to freedom Article 19
Right against exploitation
Article 21 Right to life
Article 23 Prohibition of traffic of human beings and forced labour
Article 24 Prohibition of employment of children in factories etc.

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Legislation in India

Laws related to Industrial Relationships

Laws related to Wages

The Trade Unions Act, 1926

The Industrial Employment ( Standing Orders) act 1946
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
The Payment of Wages Act, 1936
The Minimum Wages Act, 1948
The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965

Laws related to working hours, conditions of services and

Employment

The Factories Act, 1948

The Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961
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Legislation in India contd..

Laws related to Equality and Empowerment of Women

The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

Laws related to Deprived and Disadvantaged Sections of

the Society

The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976

The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986

The Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933

The protection of civil rights act 1955

Guidelines for handling Sexual Harassment Complaints

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What is meant by Equal Opportunities?

It is about protecting groups of staff (e.g.
gender, race, disability, sexual orientation,
religion or belief)

It is about legal compliance

It is the preserve of HR sections

It involves collating statistic

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What is discrimination?

Sex
Marital status
Pregnancy
Gender reassignment
Race
Colour
Nationality
Ethnic origin
Age

Disability
Religion and political
opinion
Religion
Trade union membership
and non-membership
Carrying out a role as a
recognized trade union
representative

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Protection against Discrimination

All equality legislation prohibits discrimination:

Direct discrimination

Indirect discrimination

Harassment

Victimisation

Compensation awards are unlimited and can be made against

companies and individuals
- Legislation can apply before, during and after employment

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The Context
Sex more women in workforce

Ethnic minorites -changing demographic

trends

Age ageing of working population

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Business Reasons for equality:

Better Utilization of talent

Increased marketplace understanding
Enhanced creativity
Increased quality of team problem solving
Breadth of understanding in leadership positions
Flexible workforce for restructuring
Workforce representative of local community
Improved brand image with potential employees and
customers
Attracting ethical investors
Integrate equality into corporate objectives
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Cost of Inequality

Inefficiency in use of human resources

High staff turnover

Low productivity

Restricted pool of talent

Inflexible workforce limiting organisational change
Poor corporate image with prospective employees
and customers
Management time spent on grievances
Losing an industrial tribunal case
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A shift from equal opportunities

There has been an increasing disillusionment. Equal
opportunities legislation is not seen as achieving the
desired outcomes.

Employers have resisted equal opportunities legislation

precisely because it has been imposed upon them.

Equal opportunities is seen as a negative attempt to

address issues of inequality.

Diversity policy on the other hand is more positive to their

recognition and celebration of the characteristics of diverse
groups.

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What is managing diversity?

It is about everyone
It is about recognising, valuing and harnessing the differences
that exist in ourselves and our customers
It is about promoting processes, practices, decision making
and behaviours that oppose inequality, prejudice and
unethical behaviour
Not just about numbers and protection from the law it gives
real benefits to the organisation proactive
It is about maximisung diversitys potential benefits while
minimizing the potential barriers

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Definition
...the basic concept of managing diversity accepts that the
workforce consists of a diverse population of people. The
diversity consists of visible and non-visible differences that will
include factors such as sex, age, background, race, disability,
personality and work style. It is founded on the premise that
harnessing these differences will create a productive
environment in which everybody feels valued, where their
talents are being fully utilised and in which organisational
goals are met.

EOR No 86 July/August 1999

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Equal Opportunities vs. Managing Diversity

1.Externally initiated
2.Legally driven
3.Quantitative focus
4.Problem focused
5.Reactive
6.Race, gender,
disability

1. Internally initiated
2. Business-needs
driven
3. Qualitative focus
4. Opportunity focused
5. Proactive
6. All differences

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Six challenges in Integrating Diversity

in HR Practices

The changed power dynamics

Diversity of opinions
Perceived lack of empathy
Tokenism, real and perceived
Participation
Overcoming inertia

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Opposition to Managing Diversity

To what extent do they actually impact on the bottom line

EO and diversity policies expensive and hard to quantify
benefits
Under-resourced and criticised as limiting management
decisions
Male masculinity and womens work and pay
What happens when demographic trends alter the other
Could the business case actually encourage
discrimination
Managing diversity has little or no benefit at lower levels

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Diversity Management Program

Provide strong Leadership

Assess the situation
Provide diversity training and education
Change culture and management systems
Evaluate the diversity management
program

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Gender Discrimination

Historically: a womans place is in the home. The man as the

breadwinner.
Self perpetuating, now women expected to take menial, lower
paid work. Women may even expect to be paid less!
Massive shift of women into employment. Growth of
womens rights movements change in the climate of
discrimination.
The gap between mens pay and womens pay has shrunk
considerably but here is still along way to go.

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Gender pay gap and extent of

inequality

Considerable growth but vertical and horizontal segregation

Female salaries low particularly full time
UK 1 of largest gender pay gaps in Europe
Examples of good practice not universal
Gender pay gap 18%
Women must decide between domestic or labour market
career lack of childcare

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Why do employers
discriminate?

Human capital theory

Women are less skilled, they have a lack of
Human Capital because of discrimination

Crowding theory

Patriarchal and family wage theory

Social system ruled by men generally
according to their seniority.

Labour market segregation theory

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Before Concluding...
Summing up what we have learned and are now able to do:

Understand Equal Opportunities

Provide an overview of the various discrimination
legislation that exists
Understand and define Managing Diversity
Explain the reasons for shift to Managing Diversity
demographic and business case
Explain the existing opposition to Managing Diversity
Discuss why diversity management is important and
how to institutionalise a diversity management
program
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THANK YOU

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