Discrimination

and
Diversity
Discrimination

 Is merely being in favor of or against a person based on

group, age, social class, gender orientation, race,
religion, or any category to which that person belongs
rather than on individual merit.
 In the Philippines, age discrimination is forcing Filipinos
to find work abroad. According to Susan Ople of the
Ople Policy Center, many companies are reluctant to hire
“older” job applicants. People above 30 years old are
considered “old” and are being discriminated against no
matter how good their work ethics are or how skilled they
are in their field.
Diversity
 Refers to the presence of differing culture, race,
religion, language, ethnicity, gender, ability, experience,
age, social class, and other categories in the workplace.
Workforce diversity is important in organizations
because it helps enhance competitiveness, expand
organizational capabilities, encourage sharing of
expertise and skills from past experiences, and enhance
access to markets (Shermerhorn, Osborn, Hunt, Uhl-
Bien 2012). Although workforce diversity is beneficial
to the company, conflicts may also arise due to the
differences of the employees.
 School organization is an example of a diverse
environment. Whether it is an academic organization
(marketing club) or an extracurricular organization
(music club), the members come from different
backgrounds with different skills, experiences, gender,
religion, and capabilities. During team activities or
projects, each person tries to learn from one other and
settle the differences if they arise. You learn to deal with
people with different backgrounds, work styles, or
capabilities, and you try to balance each person’s
characteristics in order for you to finish the task
assigned to you.