Despite company policies and governmental laws put in place to protect individuals, companies occasionally let discriminatory behaviours slip through the cracks. There are legal steps you can take to challenge this treatment, and it is strongly recommended that you take this action to put an end to your suffering and the potential suffering of other employees going through the same thing.
Take Legal Action
Discrimination is completely unacceptable in any form. If you recognise that your treatment in your workplace aligns with any points discussed in this article, or consider your treatment unfair in any other regard, think about taking legal action. Legal firms such as the professionals over at HKM Employment Attorneys have many success stories from cases that they have taken on and can therefore offer you their knowledgeable advice based on a wealth of experience.
Racial Discrimination
Racial discrimination can include harassment, victimisation, and both direct or indirect discrimination. Racial discrimination can be more outward and obvious, or sneakier; for example, the way employees are selected for redundancy. While people may believe that racial discrimination in the workplace is a thing of the past, it is frequently reported to be a huge issue even in more recent years.
Gender Discrimination
Discrimination based on gender is historically prevalent and still remains to this day, especially for women. While statistics have improved somewhat over the years, workplaces are still dramatically disproportionate when hiring women to be leaders in managerial positions, for example. While gender discrimination is generally towards women in the workplace, men may also suffer at the hands of it. This is more common, for example, when there is only few men in a female dominated industry (and vice versa).
Age Discrimination
If a workplace has a longstanding history of hiring younger employees, this can be an example of workplace ageist discrimination. This is especially true if it is a position where individuals of any age are capable of doing this job to the same standard. An example of age discrimination that happens on a frequent enough basis is when bosses choose a less qualified, younger employee for a promotion rather than an older candidate who is much more qualified.
Religious Discrimination
Religious discrimination is when employees are put at a disadvantage due to their religious beliefs. An example of this is if, perhaps, your employer has an issue with a religious item of clothing that you wear, such as a hijab. Religious employees can leave feeling uncomfortable in the workplace, or perhaps ostracised or openly discriminated against due to their beliefs.
Consider a New Path
Certain minority groups may find themselves being discriminated against time and time again for being who they are. Your workplace should have protection against this in place, and there should be individuals within your company whose job role is to protect you from these issues. You also have the option of taking legal action to find some sort of justice to the situation.
However, if you find yourself beaten down from relentless discrimination, it may be in your best interest to consider a different pathway to protect your mental and physical health.