Resolution for 2015: Avoid job discrimination

Job discrimination in the workplace is a fact despite laws in place to protect workers from unfair practices. Prejudice based on religion, ethnicity, sex, age or physical handicaps often result in unfair practices directed at otherwise competent, capable employees who otherwise could become productive members of an organization. Hiring decisions based on discriminatory practices have a harmful and negative impact on employee morale and productivity resulting in lost promotions or better pay for the employee. Even when minorities are recruited and hired under equal rights laws, they are often prevented from advancing to higher management levels because of bigotry and intolerance directed at specific groups.

US vs. Philippines situation

Many laws have been enacted in the US against job discrimination, in terms of age, gender and religion. This has influenced other countries especially now that the world is welcoming globalization as one of the keys to progress. Because of this, they can actually hire people who are already in their 70s, as long as they are healthy enough to do their job, like my friend who has an aunt in New York at age 74 who works as a medical writer for a hospital.

Here in the Philippines, factoring in the unemployment rate of many, it is common for senior citizens to feel discriminated against because of their age. Companies and institutions will often prefer the younger generation to avoid medical costs since the older generation may be more prone to sickness, even if the older applicant can actually perform better because of better experience and maturity.

Gender inequality

Another good example is the scarcity of women at top management levels. Various studies provide evidence that women managers are not being promoted from middle management jobs into top level senior management positions despite the fact that there are many highly qualified women in the workforce. As far as gender is concerned, it’s also common in the Philippines to find women as CEOs and presidents of companies as they have been empowered in this generation. There are also several policewomen, lady guards and women soldiers too, showing gender equality.

But, when we fill up our forms, we maintain having only two choices of gender, in male or female, unlike other countries that have 3 to 8 types. The discrimination may set in, when the applicant is to be placed as a front-liner in a company. Many companies, especially business corporations still prefer their front-liners to act like real men and real women according to their gender, which is understandable.

Discrimination on several fronts

Considering we are a third world country with a high unemployment rate, there is a wide range of choices for potential employees. Thus, the tendency to discriminate even with what school these applicants graduate from, can cause difficult challenges in the workplace. Just to cite an example, a logistics company manager in Eastwood, Quezon City used to hire only graduates from top universities. But later on, he realized that since there is a tendency for them to have many other job offers, they do not strive harder than the others who graduate from other universities because they keep looking around for better job offers.

There is a lot to improve on in our country’s maturity with regards to our openness to what is uncommon, like hiring persons with disabilities and senior citizens. Many times because of the time element given for the company to search for a hiree, the discrimination actually happens in the first line of selection, the Human Resources Department.

Success stories

But just to prove a point against job discrimination with persons with disabilities, there is one restaurant on Roces St. in Quezon City that hires people who are autistic but were taught how to focus on their identified intelligence. Some of them are cooks, some of them are waiters and some are working in the office as assistants. They have worked well as a team and the employer actually never wants their being autistic used as a marketing factor to bring in more customers. Her simple objective is to allow them to work in the real world, using their own talents and skills they have developed.

I admire the greatness of Lamoiyan Corp. president Dr. Cecilio Pedro when my classmate’s presented the case about his company. As another broadsheet says in a news article, Dr. Pedro is “a Christian entrepreneur who passionately believes in private business with a social conscience, Cecilio K. Pedro has supported the international non-governmental organization Operation Smile Philippines to care for children afflicted with oral cleft. His factory is unique and noted for employing a lot of hearing-impaired people.”

Equal opportunity for all

I pray that God will raise up more men and women who have a heart for people and do not discriminate. In a democratic society practicing free enterprise, all individuals should be given an equal opportunity to obtain employment based on their individual qualifications without consideration of their race, age, sex, handicaps or any other irrelevant factor. Hiring decisions in both public and private sectors should be based on morally justifiable qualifications and nothing more. In the final analysis, productivity, society and the economy will be improved if employment is based on competency and not prejudice. –Maureen Ramos, Manila Standard Today