1 Lec7 Diversity

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Lecture Structure

1. What is Equal Opportunities?

2. What discrimination legislation exists?

3. What is Managing Diversity?

4. Reasons for shift to MD Demographic and

business case5. Opposition to Managing Diversity

6. Gender discrimination in the UK


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What is Equal Opportunities?

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

2. It is about legal compliance

3. It is the preserve of HR sections

4. It involves collating statistics

5. It has some negative connotations


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Examples of discrimination legislation

Sex Discrimination Act 1975

Race Relations Act 1976, R R [Amendment] Act 2000

Disability Discrimination Act 1995

Sexual Orientation Regulations 2003

Religion or Belief Regulations 2003 Bullying in the workplace

Human Rights in the Workplace

Age discrimination legislation 2006


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OTHER RELEVANT LEGISLATION

EMPLOYMENT LAW

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

The Employment Rights Act 1996

CRIMINAL LAW Criminal Justice Act and Public Order Act 1994

Protection From Harassment Act 1997


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EQUALITY LEGISLATION

All equality legislation prohibits discrimination:

Direct discrimination Indirect discrimination

Harassment

Victimisation

- Compensation awards are unlimited and can be madeagainst companies and individuals

- Legislation can apply before, during and afteremployment


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Sex

Marital status

Pregnancy

Gender reassignment

Race

Colour Nationality

Ethnic origin

Age

Disability

Religion and politicalopinion (in NI only)

Religion(UK)

Trade union membershipand non-membership

Carrying out a role as arecognised trade unionrepresentative

Legal protection from discrimination


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What is Managing Diversity?

1. It is about everyone

2. It is about recognising, valuing and harnessing thedifferences that exist in ourselves and our customers

3. It is about promoting processes, practices, decisionmaking and behaviours that oppose inequality,

prejudice and unethical behaviour

4. Not just about numbers and protection form the law it gives real benefits to the organisation -

proactive


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Managing diversity - definition

...the basic concept of managing diversity accepts

that the workforce consists of a diverse population ofpeople. The diversity consists of visible and non-visible differences that will include factors such assex, age, background, race, disability, personality andwork style. It is founded on the premise thatharnessing these differences will create aproductive environment in which everybody feelsvalued, where their talents are being fully utilised andin which organisational goals are met.

EOR No 86 July/August 1999


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POTENTIAL DIVERSITY GROUPS

SOCIAL CATEGORY

GenderRaceDisabilityReligion or beliefSexual orientationAge

Marital statusCaring responsibilitiesWorking patternCriminal record

CultureNationalityColourLanguageAccentWeightHeightAppearanceSocial classHealth


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Equal Opportunities vs. Managing Diversity

Externally initiated

Legally driven

Quantitative focus

Problem focused

Reactive

Race, gender,

disability

Internally initiated

Business-needsdriven

Qualitative focus

Opportunity focused Proactive

All differences


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Different Approaches in UK and USA

UK US

Legislation founded upon equal

treatment for race and sex.

Legislation for Civil Rights initially for

Racial EqualityCodes of Practice Issued in 1984

promoting good employment practice

Federal contract compliance-statistical

returns and targets for workforce profiles.

Focus on fairness and equity at point of

selection.

Focus on parity in representation of women

and minority groups in recruitment.

Positive action in training and

advertising to offer a more diverse pool

of talent from which to select. Selection

decisions based on sex, race ordisability illegal.

Positive selection of women and people

from minority groups when candidates of

equal calibre, if targets not fulfilled, when

race or sex taken into account..

Focus on the individual and legislation.

Eg Individuals have to apply to

Industrial tribunals or Civil Court..

Legislation allows group action for

litigation (eg class action).

Equality of treatment. Equality of outcomes.

Source: Adapted from Ford (1996) Partnership is the Secret to Success People

Management, February 8 February, p34-36.


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A shift away from Equal Opportunities

There has been an increasing disillusionment. 30 year historyand is not seen as achieving the desired outcomes.

Employers have resisted Equal Opportunities legislationprecisely 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 theirrecognition and celebration of the characteristics of diversegroups.


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Demographic changes and the

case for Managing Diversity

A wider pool of recruits is required labour shortage

16% of organisations have hard to fill vacancies

By 2010 only 20% of the workforce will be white,

able bodied men under 45

Women now make up nearly half the workforceand numbers are increasing

More ethnic minority workers will be entering the

labour market (50% of London workers are BME)


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Demographic changes and the case for

managing diversity

Encompassing many of these themes Patricia Hewitt addressedthe annual CBI conference in 2005 and stated:

In less than ten years time, only one in three of the Britishworkforce will be a white man under the age of 45. We will havemore women workers now almost half of the workforce and setto rise further. We will have more older workers, more workersfrom different ethnic and faith groups. More people working partof the week or part of the year. I know that this growing

diversity of our workforce can make life tough for managers[But] its an opportunity to create organisations that are moresuccessful and business that is more profitable [and] equipped to meet the challenges of a global economy.

So what is the BUSINESS CASE of managing diversity?


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The business case for managing diversity

1. Workforce representation of the local community

2. Attract ethnic investors

3. New business ideas from a diverse workforce

4. Fully utlilise skills and harnessing the talents and of the population

5. Reducing recruitment and training costs can be attained throughaccommodation of workers request for flexible working

6. Better decision making, improved teamwork, greater creativity,better customer service skills and improved quality of output

7. Building effective global relationships


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Opposition to Managing Diversity

1. To what extent do they actually impact on the bottom line

2. EO and diversity policies expensive and hard to quantify benefits

3. Under-resourced and criticised as limiting management decisions

4. White males can feel vilified

5. Male masculinity and womens work and pay

6. What happens when demographic trends alter the other

7. Could the business case actually encourage discrimination

8. Managing diversity has little or no benefit at lower levels


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Direct and Indirect discrimination

1975 Sex Discrimination Act

A person discriminates against a woman if

1. On the ground of her sex he treats her less favourably than hetreats or would treat a man (Direct), or

2. He applies to her a requirement or condition which he applies orwould apply equally to a man but (Indirect)

(i) which is such that the proportion of women who cancomply with it is considerably smaller than the proportion ofmen who can comply with it, and

(ii) which he cannot show to be justifiable irrespective ofthe sex of the person to whom it is applied, and

(iii) which is to her detriment because she cannot complywith it.


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The development of societal norms

1. Historically: a womans place is in the home. Theman as the breadwinner.

2. Self perpetuating, now women expected to takemenial, lower paid work. Women may even expectto be paid less!

3. Massive shift of women into employment. Growthof womens rights movements change in theclimate of discrimination.

4. The gap between mens pay and womens pay hasshrunk considerably but here is still along way to go.


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The gender pay gap and extent of

inequality - WWC2006

1. Considerable growth but vertical and horizontalsegregation

2. Female salaries low particularly full time

3. UK 1 of largest gender pay gaps in Europe

4.

Examples of good practice not universal5. Gender pay gap 18%

6. Women must decide between domestic or labourmarket career lack of childcare


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Why do employers discriminate?

1. Human capital theory

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

2. Crowding theory

3. Patriarchal and family wage theorySocial system ruled by men generallyaccording to their seniority.

4. Labour market segregation theory


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The development UK legislation

on gender discrimination

1. Article 1191957 Treaty of Rome

2. 1970 Equal Pay Act came into force in 1975

Problems with the 1970 legislation Criticised for:

Similar work Too narrowly defined

Legislation did not makejob evaluation

compulsory

The European Court ruled that the UK had failed toproperly implement the directive in 1982 and so the1983 Equal Pay [Amendment] Act was introduced and

came into effect in 1984.


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The Equal Pay [Amendment]

Regulations 1983

1. Women were entitled to the same pay asmen where work is ofequal value, no

longer subject to being in the samekind ofemployment

2. This can be donewithout requiring a job

evaluationby the employer

3. Case claims can be made acrossemployers within an umbrella organisation


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The Kingsmill Report Recommendations (2001)

1.Set up Inquiry to advise on implementation of Operating and Financial Review(OFR) in Company Reports.

2.Public sector organisations must include OFR in Annual Reports.3. Private sector employers encouraged to conduct employment and pay reviews

(EPR)

4.All public bodies must conduct EPRs.

5.Govt monitor progress with view to introduce EPR as legal requirement.

6.Public sector contractors must also conform by setting up EPRs.

7.Govt. set up Centre of Excellence researching on career and labour marketprospects of women.

8.Identifiable element of Board Executive appraisal and remuneration to stateddiversity objectives and pay equality.

9.Investors in People standards to include womens employment and issues

10.Consider introduction of employee right to if he/she receives remuneration equal

to a named colleague.


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The Kingsmill Report on Pay Equality ( 2001) cont

11. Govt. introduce tax credits for training individuals to move tohigher paid jobs.

12.Govt. fund tax credits to fund training of women who would beunemployed or on low pay.

13.Convene group of experts (Task Force) to to investigate labourmarket causes of organisation of pay differential between partand full time pay.

14.Govt. monitor tax, national insurance and rules of pensions andreview implications in trms of gender and pay differences.


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Managing Diversity in HRM

Dr Robert [email protected]

Lecture 7 9th November 2009
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

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