Ethics of

Job
Discriminati
on
 Discrimination
Discrimination in its root meaning refers to
the act of distinguishing one object from
another.
In modern usage, the term refers to
"wrongful discrimination," or distinguishing
among people on the basis of prejudice
instead of individual merit.
E.g. employment discrimination among
religious groups
racial groups Blacks & Whites
 Job Discrimination
Job discrimination is when business
decisions, policies or procedures are least
partially based on illegitimate forms of
discrimination that benefit or harm
certain group of people.
Perfectly rational to discriminate between
applicants for a job to only those who are
most qualified based on merit
Contd
Discrimination in employment involves
three basic elements:
It must be a decision not based on
individual merit.
The decision must derive from racial or
sexual prejudice.
The decision must have a harmful
impact on the interest of employees
 Forms of discrimination
Intentional
Unintentional discrimination
Individual discrimination
Institutional discrimination
 Evidence of Job
Discrimination
American being stereotypes about women
regarding their careers
Stereotypes tends to bias people against
women taking leadership positions
Differences between men and women
 Affirmative action program
A program designed to ensure the
proportion of minorities within an
org matches their proportion in the
available workforce
 Discrimination & Law
Civil rights Act of 1964 made it illegal to
make it hiring, firing, or compensation
decisions on the basis of race, color, religion,
sex, or national origin
Executive order 11246 required cos
doing business with the federal govt. to take
steps to redress racial imbalance in workforce
Equal Employment Opportunity Act of
1972 gave EEOC increased power to
combat underutilization & to require
affirmative action programs
Contd

1963 equal pay act

1967 age discrimination in
employment
1990 Americans with disabilities
act.
 Affirmative action (Moral Context)
Arguments for affirmative actions.
Necessary to break the cycle that keeps
minorities & women locked into poor pays,
low prestige jobs.
Necessary to permit fairer competition
Its defenders argue that compensatory
justice demands affirmative action program
Moral issues surroundings affirmative
actions are controversial
 Affirmative action against

Injures white men & violates their rights

Itself violates the principle of equality
Non discrimination will achieve our social
goals, stronger alternative action is
necessary
 Comparable Worth
Idea that women & men should be paid on
the same scale for doing different jobs if
they involve equivalent skills, effort &
responsibility
Women have been shunted into low
paying jobs, that they suffer.
From discriminating labor market & that
justice requires that they receive equal
pay for doing job of equal worth.
Extent of discrimination

Average benefits
Placing discriminated groups at
lowest levels of institutions
More advantageous positions to
preferred ones
 Glass ceiling an invisible, but
impenetrable barrier to further
promotion sometimes encountered
by women or minorities
Increasing problems for women &
minorities
(i) Women & minorities make up most
new workers
(ii) Women are steered into low-paying
jobs & face a glass ceiling & sexual
harassment
 Utilitarian arguments which claims
that discrimination leads to an
inefficient use of human resources
Rights arguments violates basic
human rights
Justice arguments which claims that
discrimination results in an unjust
distribution of societys benefits &
burdens
 Utility
Discriminating job applicants on the basis of
race, sex, or other characteristics unrelated
to job performance is necessarily inefficient
& contrary to utilitarian principles
Objections encountered:
(i) The jobs shud be assigned on the basis of job
related qualifications only so long as such
assignments will advance the public welfare
(ii) Society as a whole may benefit from some
forms of sexual discrimination
 Rights
Discriminatory practices violate the
principle in two ways :
(i) Racial & sexual discrimination is
based on stereotypes that see
minorities as lazy or shiftless &
women as emotional & weak.
(ii) Placing members at lower positions,
lower salaries & lower job
opportunities
 Justice

Principle of equal opportunity

social & economic inequalities are to
be arranged so that they are
attached to offices & positions open
to all under conditions of fair
equality of opportunity
Discriminating practices
Recruitment practices word of mouth
referrals, only White males, for MEN only
Screening practices disqualifying minority
class who are unfamiliar with the language,
concepts & social situations in the aptitude
& intelligence tests
Promotion practices
Conditions of employment less wages &
salaries to women & minorities, providing
secretarial or clerical positions only, less
benefits
Dealing with sexual harassment
Incase of sexual threats or offers from
supervisors, they should immediately seek
legal advice
Employee encountering sexually
harassing behavior from coworkers should
make it clear that behavior is unwanted
Should document the behavior & report
it to the appropriate person or office in
organization.