Describing the Social Wrong

Labour Rights - Discrimination in Employment

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Which social injustice did you choose to highlight?

We chose to highlight the social injustice of discrimination in employment, which occurs
when someone is treated unfairly or unequally at work, leading to disparity in pay,
promotion, benefits, etc. based on their age, gender, sex, disability, religion, race, or other
characteristics.

Try to provide evidence (newspaper articles, brochures, personal talks,

blogs etc.) about social justice in your area. You have to clearly mention
your sources.
Some evidence of discrimination in employment in our area are:
1. A report by TeamLease, which found that 48% of Indians have faced some kind of
discrimination or the other at the workplace, mostly based on gender, age, and
caste/religion.
Source
2. A news article by India Law Offices, which explains the legal framework and the
challenges of preventing workplace discrimination in India.
Source
3. A blog post by a disabled activist, who shared his personal experience of facing
discrimination and harassment at his workplace, despite having the required
qualifications and skills.
Source

Explain how you first learned about this social injustice/abuse in your
area.
We learned about this problem when we started looking for a job that we might do after
completing our studies. We saw that there were not many women who had important or
powerful jobs, and they got paid less, had fewer chances, and faced more problems than
men.
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Why does this injustice/abuse demonstrate a violation of human rights?

This injustice demonstrates a violation of human rights because it denies equal dignity,
respect, and opportunity to people based on their gender. It also violates the right to work,
the right to equal pay, the right to non-discrimination, and the right to freedom from
violence and harassment, which are recognized by various international conventions and
declarations, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Why does this injustice/abuse demonstrate a violation of human rights?

The human rights that are violated by discrimination in employment are:
● Article 2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status.
● Article 7: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to
equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any
discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such
discrimination.
● Article 23:
○ (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and
favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
○ (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal
work.
○ (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration
ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity,
and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
○ (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection
of his interests.
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To what extent does this social wrong anger you and why?
This social wrong angers us to a great extent because it is unjust, unfair, and harmful to
society. It angers us that people are judged by their gender rather than their skills, abilities,
and achievements. It angers us that people have to face discrimination, harassment, or
violence because of their gender. It angers us that people are denied their basic human
rights and dignity because of their gender. It angers us that gender discrimination in the
workplace persists despite the legal and social efforts to eradicate it.