1. Ethics of Job discrimination

2. Discrimination – the wrongful act of distinguishing illicitly among people not on the basis of individual merit, but on the basis of prejudice or some other invidious or morally reprehensible attitude.
E.g. – employment discrimination in US-
religious groups – Jews & Catholics
ethnic groups – Italians, Poles & Irish
racial groups – Blacks & Asians

3. Forms of discrimination
Isolated behavior (intentional)- male interviewer preferring women candidates
Routine behavior
Isolated behavior (unintentional)- individual unthinkingly adopts traditional practices & stereotypes
Systematic routine of org to discriminate against women or minorities

4. Affirmative action program –
A program designed to ensure the proportion of minorities within an org matches their proportion in the available workforce

5. Discrimination & Law
Civil rights Act of 1964 – made it illegal to make it hiring, firing, or compensation decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
Executive order – required co’s doing business with the federal govt. to to take steps to redress racial imbalance in workforce
Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 – gave EEOC increased power to combat “underutilization” & to require affirmative action programs

6. Extent of discrimination
Average benefits
Placing discriminated groups at lowest levels of institutions
More advantageous positions to preferred ones

7. Discrimination in US –
The income gap b/w Whites & minorities has not decreased
Large Y inequalities based on sex exist
Black unemployment is more than twice as high as Whites
Minority poverty rate is 2-3 times of Whites
Poverty rate of families headed by women is 3 times that of male headed ones
Most higher-paying jobs go to white males

8. Glass ceiling – an invisible, but impenetrable barrier to further promotion sometimes encountered by women or minorities
Increasing problems for women & minorities –
Women & minorities make up most new workers
Women are steered into low-paying jobs & face a glass ceiling & sexual harassment

9. Utilitarian arguments which claims that discrimination leads to an inefficient use of human resources
Rights arguments violates basic human rights
Justice arguments which claims that discrimination results in an unjust distribution of society’s benefits & burdens

10. Utility
Discriminating job applicants on the basis of race, sex, or other characteristics unrelated to job performance is necessarily inefficient & contrary to utilitarian principles
Objections encountered:
The jobs shud be assigned on the basis of job related qualifications only so long as such assignments will advance the public welfare
Society as a whole may benefit from some forms of sexual discrimination

11. Rights Discriminatory practices violate the principle in two ways :
Racial & sexual discrimination is based on stereotypes that see minorities as “lazy” or “shiftless” & women as “emotional” & “weak”.
Placing members at lower positions, lower salaries & lower job opportunities

12. Justice
Principle of equal opportunity – social & economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are attached to offices & positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity

13. Discriminating practices
Recruitment practices – word of mouth referrals, only White males, for MEN only
Screening practices – disqualifying minority class who are unfamiliar with the language, concepts & social situations in the aptitude & intelligence tests
Promotion practices
Conditions of employment – less wages & salaries to women & minorities, providing secretarial or clerical positions only, less benefits

14. Sexual harassment