Discrimination can be defined as treating an individual on the basis of membership in certain groups. Discrimination involves the initial reaction of the group, influencing the actual behavior of the individual towards the group, restricting the members of the group from opportunities which are available for that particular group. Discrimination is extremely deadly to profit margins. The unfairness in jobs wastes a lot of money.
Billions of money is wasted every year because of discrimination in jobs, where otherwise qualified individuals are forced out of the work, restraining overall job performance, and closing off businesses to rewarding consumer market (Craig, R 2007). Discrimination is incredibly costly to businesses, and it can be seen in the work place in all levels of employment, and in various forms. Discrimination in the form of employment can occur based on some characteristics which are very different from the performance of the employee on the job.
The characteristics of employment discrimination include race, gender, disability, sex, age, religion, national origin, color, pregnancy status, and veteran status (Craig, R 2007). In today’s world, it is especially possible for employment discrimination to occur because of the genetic information of the employees like not hiring an employee because of their family having a history of breast cancer (Rycroff, R 2009). In the American workforce, no one is immune from discrimination. This is very true especially to the transgender and gay employees.
According to statistics forty two percent of gay workers claim to have experienced employment discrimination in their lives. 92% of transgender workers face different forms of harassments, discrimination, or mistreatment on the job or they even take actions of hiding who they really are so as to avoid it. They face higher rate of harassment and discrimination in the work place than gay (Craig, R 2007).
47% of these individuals reported to having experienced adverse job outcomes like denied employment, being fired, or not being promoted just because of their gender identity. Transgender and gay people are the largest demographic people in America who do not have legal protection that protect them from being discriminated while in the workplace. Because of lack of legal protection, transgender and gay people continue to be discriminated and this has been a big problem which has forced them to be unemployed thus contributing to the socio economic discrepancy that is facing this community. Discrimination has a great impact on the people who have a close relation with the victim. It exacts financial pain on the families of the victims, and it starts from the bottom line of the business (Burns, C 2012).
While the businesses are placing a premium on recruitment of the brightest and best talents, those organizations that are discriminating employees based on gender identity and sexual orientation are making inefficient firing and hiring decisions which result to substandard work force. Discrimination and work environments that are hostile force transgender, and gay people out of the work place. This introduces a host of expenses that are related to turnover which would be directed to the primary business expenses.
Discrimination holds back the performance and productivity of job the organization is exposed to costly litigations, and it also closes the organization off from profitable and new consumer market. Businesses that are discriminative place themselves at a competitive disadvantage location as compared to those businesses which value addition of equal opportunities in the work place.
The reason as to why businesses which are discriminative, are in a competitive disadvantages is because discrimination exclude employees who are qualified who are capable of contributing to their bottom line (Craig, R 2007). In the recovering economy, some businesses are experiencing labor shortages, and they are trying very hard to recruit and higher employees of high competence. This is evident in traditionally blue collar jobs like mining, farming, and shale drilling, and also in traditional while collar jobs like accounting, technology, marketing, and engineering. Organizations should strive for excellence. In order to achieve this, company should have the best employees and these employees are drawn from the large pool of applicants (Burns, C 2012). Businesses in the economic spectrum are supposed to compete for skilled and qualified labor so that they can strengthen their competitiveness.
In order for organizations to attract optimal work force, employers should make sure that they are hiring employees from the broadest pool of labor of qualified people in their industries. Discriminations restrict the pool of possible candidates for employment. This is made possible because it discriminates people based on issues that are not significant to job like gender identity and sexual orientation (Rycroff, R 2009). Discrimination in the workplace results to higher rates of turnover by forcing employees out of the workplace, because of characteristics unrelated to work or creating a work climate that is hostile which force employees to leave the organization.
Economic theory
Statistical discrimination is a discrimination economic theory of gender or racial inequality that is based on stereotypes. Inequality in this theory can persist and exist between demographic groups. This form of inequality exist even when the economic agents that is workers, consumers, employers, etc are non prejudice and rational. This form of treatment is referred to as statistical because the stereotypes are based on the average behavior of the discriminated group (Foote, W & Delahunty, J 2011). Statistical discrimination is based on lack of information whereby discrimination in the labor market can exist because the employers do not know the ability of the workers, thus resorting to base the decision to employment on the visible features of the workers like group identity.
Another form of discrimination is taste discrimination (Rycroff, R 2009). Taste discrimination was modeled by Gary which he modeled discrimination to be a personal injustice, or taste against being associated with a certain group. According to this theory, people mentally increase the transaction cost if it is done with a minority who they are discriminating. Taste discrimination states that employees should ensure that they prevent workplace discrimination to prevent profit loss, and they should also takes steps in promoting a positive work environment for all employees despite their cultural, physical, spiritual or social background (Foote, W & Delahunty, J 2011). This theory is of the idea that competition tend to decrease discrimination.
If organization starts by employing mostly the minority and providing good services and products, this type of organization will be able to evade wage discrepancies between equally productive whites and blacks or male and female (Burns, C 2012). According to Gary he found out that when the percentage of the minority is small, the discrimination cost fall on the minority, and when the minority percentage is high in the society, the discrimination cost falls on both the majority and the minority. The reason as to why sometimes employers, employees and customers do not work with the minority is because this people have a preference against the groups that are disadvantaged. According to this economic theory, discrimination usually increased the cost of the organization.
This is because when an employer is discriminating against a particular, the employer will have to pay a high cost so that the work can be completed even without them (Foote, W & Delahunty, J 2011). When minorities are employed, more people can be employed, but low wages will be provided, and this will increase productivity. According to the economic theory on taste discrimination, discrimination on transgender and gay employees does not only limit the ability of the organization to appeal to new consumers on this group, but it also pushes away the consumers who they already have (Rycroff, R 2009).
Discrimination and taste discrimination theory
Discrimination against transgender and gay employees contribute greatly to decrease in productivity of an organization. Transgender and gay workers get high turnovers rates when they are working in a discriminatory environment. When organization does not retain transgender and gay employees, they are bound to have a high cost of retention for the business (Burns, C 2012). Those organizations which do not retain their employees, they lose the investments which they have already made with the employees who are living. Discrimination on the bases of transgender and gay employees align with taste discrimination theory in that according to taste discrimination theory, discrimination increases the cost of the organization which is evident in the research about transgender and gay evident.
Research shows that those organizations which discriminate employees, on the basis of transgender, and gay have low productivity because discrimination exclude employees who are qualified who are capable of contributing to their bottom line. When employers discriminate the employees who they are working with, this causes them to be unable to focus their energy on performing their responsibilities in the work (Rycroff, R 2009). Those organizations which discriminate transgender, and gay workers with no good reason close themselves away from an economic thrust of consumers in the market place.
Also, when employers fire and hire employees because they are transgender tends to hurt the ability of the business to appeal to transgender and gay consumers. Firms should make sure that they hire workers from a pool of diverse applicants where there is diversity of workforce so that they can be able to penetrate through and tap the consumer market.
In order to be able to penetrate through the transgender and the gay consumer market, organizations are supposed to make sure that they have transgender and gay employees. This is because these employees understand best the preferences and needs of transgender and gay buyers. According to the economic theory on taste discrimination, discrimination on transgender and gay employees does not only limit the ability of the organization to appeal to new consumers on this group, but it also pushes away the consumers who they already have (Burns, C 2012). These groups of individuals who are discriminated have now decided to make decisions about purchasing according to the way businesses are treating transgender and gay people.
Taste discrimination theory explains those groups which are discriminated, try very hard to make sure that they avoid those organizations which tend to discriminate people based on age, sex, race, color etc. statistics show that transgender and gay consumers are also avoiding companies and brands which are discriminating transgender and gay employees.
They are also avoiding those organizations which do not put these employees on the same level with the non transgender and the straight counterparts (Burns, C 2012). When companies discriminate against transgender and gay employees, it results to inefficiency in hiring, and unnecessary costs are introduced to the business which reverberates all through the economy. Any form of employment discrimination is costly, inefficient, and wasteful. This results to substandard retention, recruitment, consumer marketing, and workplace productivity, which put the potential profit of the company in a harsh limitation.
Conclusion
In order for the economy to recover fully, small and large businesses should be aware that employment discrimination is a serious threat to competitiveness and financial strength. For those organizations which are seeking to gain a crucial advantage over completion and financial standing should make sure that there is no one level in their workforce that has discrimination. When organizations minimize discrimination against transgender and gay workers, they will be able to realize abundant saving which will be, as a result of this change.
Taste discrimination states that employees should ensure that they prevent workplace discrimination to prevent profit loss, and they should also takes steps in promoting a positive work environment for all employees despite their cultural, physical, spiritual or social background. Firms should make sure that they hire workers from a pool of diverse applicants where there is diversity of workforce so that they can be able to penetrate through and tap the consumer market.
Reference
Burns, C (2012). The costly business of discrimination Center for American progress
Craig, R (2007). Systematic discrimination in employment and the promotion of ethnic diversity Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
Foote, W & Delahunty, J (2011). Evaluation for work place discrimination and harassmentOxford University Press
Rycroff, R (2009). The economics of inequality, discrimination, poverty, and mobility M.E Sharpe, Inc
