Discrimination

If people are treated differently from others in an unfair way, they are discriminated against.

If a woman is unfairly treated just because she is a woman, she is a victim of sex discrimination. In many organizations, women complain about the glass ceiling that allows them to get to a particular level but no further.

If someone is treated unfairly because of their race, they are a victim of racial discrimination or racism. Offensive remarks about someone’s race are racist and the person making them a racist.

In the US, affirmative action is when help is given in education and employment to groups who were previously discriminated against. In Britain, affirmative action is known as equal opportunities.

Some companies have a dignity at work policy covering all the issues described in B and C

1. Match the employees’ complaints (1-6) to the health and safety issues (a-f) in A opposite.

1. My doctor says there’s something wrong with my lungs, but I’ve never smoked ….

2. I do a lot of data entry, and I’ve started getting really bad pains in my wrists …

3. It’s either too cold and we freeze, or too hot and we all fall asleep ….

4. There’s all this waste paper but there are no fire extinguishers in the building. ….

5. The containers are leaking – one day someone is going to get acid burns. …

6. There are no safety guards on the machines: you could easily get your hand caught. …

Complete these headlines and articles with the correct form of words from B and c opposite. One expression is used twice.

1. OFFICE MANAGER ACCUSED OF ….

A court heard today how an office worker was almost driven to suicide by a bullying office manager. James Blenkinsop, 27, told how boss Nigel Kemp victimized him by shouting at him, criticizing his work in front of others, tearing up his work and telling him to do it again.

2. NATIONAL RESTAURANT CHAIN FACES ….. CLAIMS

Four waitress claim they were repeatedly ……. by male bosses in a branch of a well-known national restaurant chain. All four waitresses said they were subjected to sexist remarks at the restaurant

3. JAPANESE WOMEN BREAK THROUGH ………. …………….

Naomi Tanaka, 23, last year started working on the Tokyo stock Exchange as a trader. She complained about …… and said she did not want to be a ‘counter lady’ answering phones and serving tea at a Japanese bank. Instead she got a job as a trader at Paribas, a French firm …

4. SHOP MANAGERESS IN …… …... CASE

A clothing shop’s half-Burmese manageress, 24-year-old Marion Brown, claims her boss continually made ….. remarks, and sacked her from her 110$-a-week job when she objected. She claims that the company that owns the shop has racially …… against her.