Say no to discrimination at workplace

Just close your eyes or sit in a noiseless place with a cup of coffee or tea and spend some time to think: If you are not selected for a position; getting promotion; your salary is not increasing and so on so forth because of your race, colour, religion, sex, political opinion, national extraction, social origin or any other attribute, how you will feel? These are all part of discrimination. Employment discrimination is illegal according to the labour law of Bangladesh. Discriminatory practices can be direct or indirect. A job advertisement for "Male/Female only" would constitute direct discrimination according to ILO (International Labour Organisation) but this job advertisement might be valid for some conditions, person and positions. For example; hiring males for lifting heavy stuffs and hiring a female to take care at a baby care centre or related task is not discriminatory.
What does discrimination stand for? According to ILO "Discrimination in employment and occupation" refers to practices that have the effect of placing certain individuals in a position of subordination or disadvantage in the labour market or at the workplace because of their race, colour, religion, sex, political opinion, national extraction, social origin or any other attribute which bears no relation to the job to be performed." Let's talk about a practical life example about discrimination; a male employee and a female employee at a particular project have the same job responsibilities, though the workload is different from person to person. However, when it comes to performance appraisal, both of them should not be treated equally. It is better to take a proper investigation without considering a good set of connections between top level management and individual employees. Rather, it should be treated according to performance. Everyone should be treated in the same way.
This is a crucial job for Human Resources (HR) people to manage or balance it, though the practices of HR are still new for some organisations in Bangladesh. I worked with some organisations where the Human Resources Division is still in a black shade. People from some other departments are managing HR related staffs. There is a saying "You can't cultivate your land by a beast which is not for it".
HR inhabits the process by establishing good recruitment, remuneration and succession planning. Proper succession planning helps an organisation to create better culture. When we talk about better culture, there shouldn't be any discrimination at workplaces in terms of sex, creed, colour, opinion etc. It should not be in recruitment, performance appraisal, promotion and so on and so forth.
Currently, some legal reforms and practices create some positive changes in the organisations of Bangladesh. As such, we can see women are given priority at every place. This positive discrimination will bring good equality between male and female in the job place. But, we need to be careful/aware about the fact that this positive attitude should not cross the limit. Otherwise it will bring inequality between male and female.
According to Bangladesh labour law 29(1), there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in respect of employment or office in the service of the Republic and (2) no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment or office in the service of the Republic.
So, after spending time with some couple of HR professionals they define that, organisations should develop a consistent, applicable, understandable and reasonable policy which can protect and create an ethical sense of attitude among employer and employees.
Employee happiness is the most important concern for top level management as well as for the organisation. If any organisation or top level management fails to make the employees happy, then that department or organisation has to face massive destruction. Nowadays, discrimination is a major concern for an organisation and Human Resource people can play a vital role to resist the imbalance. By implementing proper policies and norms one might defy discrimination and all forms of harassment. On the other hand, proper training and awareness can play a vital role to create a better workplace in an organisation.
Email: reyad.tanvir@aiesec.net