Discrimination and Harassment in the Work Place/Education System

Sexual and racial harassment refers to the action of repeated, annoying sexual comments, gazes, threats due to race, and physical contact at the workplace and in schools. The 1964 civil rights federal act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees or potential employees on the basis of religion, national origin, sex, color, or race. Now, companies and education entities around the world face the task to ensure decent working conditions for their employees and students in an environment free from discrimination and harassment. In cross-cultural companies, it's rather difficult because of the peculiarities of the mentality and the differences in cultural practices, but it is necessary to solve the problem of discrimination and harassment. Sexual and racial harassment is a common problem for both women and men; it not only leads to discrimination in labor, loss in wages, low productivity and stress, but also influences the general atmosphere of lawlessness and violence. There are many forms of discrimination, especially in the workplace. Before we get into the different types of discrimination, we need to define the word discriminate, which means to make a “distinction in favor of or against a person or thing on the basis of the group” or class, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.

Discrimination around us

First, let’s talk about discrimination; could you imagine being limited by something that has nothing to do with your skill or ability? A greater percentage of women in our society than men are being discriminated against every day at school and in the workplace. The term “glass ceiling” was coined by the Wall Street Journal to describe “the apparent barriers that prevent women from reaching the top of the corporate hierarchy.” If you look at the leadership positions of many of the world’s top companies, you will find few women occupying them. Today, “glass ceiling” is applied to all instances of discrimination preventing advancement in a career. This concept can also be related to the role of African Americans in companies. It is very apparent when one contemplates the number of Black CEOs versus White leaders. Something is preventing them from reaching the top. Although many people believe racial discrimination is mostly a thing of the past, it still presents an invisible barrier in some of the most prominent areas of life in the workplace and in schools. Speaking of schools, in recent news, Oklahoma University Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity (SAE) members had a “racist chant on a chartered bus on the way to the chapter’s annual Founder’s Day event in Oklahoma City”; they shouted out racial words thinking that everyone was on their side, saying, “there will never be a nigger SAE you can hang them from a tree, but it will never [inaudible] with me.” This is a prime example of racial discrimination amongst blacks in the education system, but because of the discrimination policy, the university took swift action. Some students were expelled and some suspended, and the incident caused them to shut down the fraternity.

Sexual Harassment: What is it?

Let’s not forget that discrimination can turn into harassment and both state and federal laws protect employees and students from sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) defines workplace sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances or conduct of a sexual nature which unreasonably interferes with the performance of a person's job or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. For students, sexual harassment is also a form of discrimination and it is addressed under Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972. Sexual harassment can range from persistent, offensive sexual jokes to inappropriate touching to posting offensive material on a bulletin board at school. Workplace relationships refer to a close relationship involving romantic or sexual feelings between colleagues. Both males and females can sexually harass another individual of the same gender or different gender. As statistics show, most women face sexual harassment by men. This is displayed by the numerous reports filed by women. Sexual harassment occurs when sexual contact is the only way the employee can get his or her benefits. This includes salary, promotion and continuation of employment in the company. But don’t forget, sexual harassment not only occurs in the workplace, but also in the education system.

When I saw this assignment, my first thought was this should be easy since discrimination and harassment is a common thing that has been happening for centuries and is much discussed. I proceeded to open the online Discrimination Harassment Training Program and was surprised; I never knew that Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) had a policy in writing. I also learned that all employees had to take the test before employment, which was good, because I never had a job where they had any training or discussed such a policy with me. I think the training was helpful to me, and I also learned a few things, because everyone should know their rights and should be aware of the policy for work and school. So after I read and educated myself about how to prevent discrimination or harassment, there was some pre and post-testing and a mastery test in which I answered all the questions correctly and scored 100% on all three. After the mastery test, I received a certificate that I successfully completed the CCP preventing harassment reading and tests.

There are many concepts which were presented in the training that I learned about. In this discussion, I will explain and define some of them. Retaliation at work is defined as “The act or an instance of responding to an injury with an injury.” It is unlawful to retaliate against a person who has made a complaint or filed charges against you for harassment. The law forbids and protects individuals against retaliation when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment. Retaliation can be a major problem, and it can end up in death or the wrong person getting hurt. Protected class, In United States Federal anti-discrimination law, is “a characteristic of a person which cannot be targeted for discrimination.” The Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) imposes equal employment. The EEOC also explains that illegal harassment is not always linked to an individual's own secure classification. For instance, association, perception, cultural traits or apparel and affiliation are also based on the person’s own protected classification. Harassment from others is defined as “aggressive pressure or intimidation [that] covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive.” Harassment can come from emotions, boldness, or even fears and misinterpretation. But harassment is a big problem and is considered a behavior, and one must be responsible for one’s actions if one crosses the line. Example of such behavior is deliberate touching or repeated brushing against another's body, “which does not contribute to or advance the work, service or education activity being conducted.”

Our responsibility is to treat others with kindness, and respect others as we would want the same for ourselves. Workers liability means that “under federal law, an employer is legally responsible to a victimized employee for sexual harassment by a supervisor with authority over that employee.” Because there are so many harassment complaints at workplaces, the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision to hold any employers responsible if a report was made by the employee that a supervisor has been responsible for any sexually harassing offensive behavior toward them.

There are two different types of sexual harassment claims, and with these claims, a court must distinguish between them. Quid Pro Quo is a Latin phrase and it means “something for something.” This is a type of sexual harassment, that occurs when whether an employee gets promoted or even gets to keep his/her job is based on if the employee submitted to unwanted sexual advances or other types of inappropriate sexual comments or conduct. For example, if a manager were to tell an employee that she would be more likely to be promoted for an open position if she dressed sexier, that would be considered quid pro quo sexual harassment. The other sexual harassment is within a hostile environment which is a “work environment [that] exists when an employee experiences workplace harassment based on a legally protected class as defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC.” This type of harassment happens when a manager or supervisor or even a co-worker in your workplace makes unwelcome sexual advances or makes negative comments to you or to an employee. With this hostile and offensive behavior, it affects your ability to perform your regular work duties. Examples of this may be: A person asking you questions about your personal sex life and favorite position, showing you explicit photos of themselves without you asking them, and physical conduct that is sexual or degrading to any realistic person.

In discrimination cases, “reasonable person” standard is one aspect of the criteria used to determine whether a work or school environment is hostile. An example of this is when a plaintiff alleges that his/her coworker made repeated unwelcome sexual advances towards the individual. A “reasonable person” standard also should be applied to more basic determination of whether challenged conduct is of a sexual nature. According to the CCP Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Complaint Policy says, “Under this standard, one-time unwelcome behavior will seldom qualify as harassment unless it is sufficiently severe as judged by a reasonable person.”

Throughout this training, I really learned a lot about discrimination and harassment, but most of all the Quid Pro Quo that I had never heard of. For me, this training was worthwhile with my time and writing, and I enjoyed every bit of it. This information opened my eyes to identify when a person touches or speaks sexually to me at work or school since it has happened before. The use of online training for some people is difficult, since everyone has a different way of learning. In my opinion, online training is best because not only can you read and find more information on the subject, but you can see pictures and read other people’s comments and ideas about the best way to handle harassment or discrimination around you. Also, for some people, they may have a bit of shyness in them or might get sensitive about the topic and be bashful to talk.

Like many people, I was under the belief that to discriminate simply meant that you didn't like a certain person or group. Besides the more familiar forms of discrimination like race and gender, believe it or not, there's even a pregnancy issue which falls under gender discrimination, and there is discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age over forty years old, disability or handicap, and sexual harassment. Racial discrimination and harassment in employment or education means that someone is treated unfairly. At times, the harassment becomes abusive, intimidating or threatening based on that person’s race – due to behaviors by supervisors, instructors, peers, subordinates, or others in terms of workplace or educational opportunities or benefits based on that individual’s race. We should all respect each other in everything that we do. Something that I was a bit unclear about before being exposed to this information was the fact that making funny jokes about someone because of a disability, or singling out the way a person speaks or looks is a form of discrimination and disrespectful. We can make funny jokes because humor and laughter can relieve tension, stress and bad moods, but teasing and sarcasm are no way of communicating with each other. As a result, I can conclude that one should think about your jokes, or patting on a person’s shoulder, hand or any part of the body; before you do, ask yourself the question: is this right what I am doing? Moreover, I learned about workplace liability, confidentiality and freedom of expression in the online training course. Overall, it was fun and was quite an ongoing learning process for me.

Cited Work

Boyd, Karen S. "GLASS CEILING." Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society. Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2008. 549-52. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.

Gray, Eliza. "Racist Chant at Oklahoma University Was Ingrained by SAE Frat." N.p., 27 Mar. 2015. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.

Compose four multiple choice exam questions with four options in the answer on the materials you read and information you learned about discrimination harassment.

1. What should anyone do if a student makes explicit racist, sexist, heterosexist or ableist comments?

A. Report the comments to the school right away by filing a complaint so it would not happen again.

B. Ignore them and continue to do your work to avoid an argument.

C. Make the same comments back to them so that you can be even.

D. Walk over to them and slap the person that is making the comment remarks and show them you are not scared of them.

2. If you were at work and heard that a colleague is dating a volunteer worker, do you have any obligation to report this matter?

A. Whatever your colleague does is none of your business, so be happy for them.

B. As a colleague, you do not have obligation, but you may or can provide some frank advice on this matter.

C. Report your colleague and the volunteer worker to your boss so they could be fired right away.

D. You shouldn’t feel obligated to file a report, since work is the best place to meet someone.

3. What is sexual harassment?

A. Sexual harassment is only when someone looks at you up and down and always putting their hands on you when talking.

B. Sexual harassment is a welcome sexual advance to show the love they have for the person.

C. Sexual harassment is when a person really likes you but doesn’t know how to ask you out on a date.

D. Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or nonverbal conduct of a sexual nature that unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work or academic performance and creates an intimidating or hostile work, educational, or living environment.

4. If a student living on a University campus was sexually harassed by other students one night walking alone back to her dorm, can she file a complaint outside of the University?

A. When making a sexually harassed complaint you must only file it with the University on campus grounds.

B. If a person chooses not to pursue a complaint through the University, complaints can also be filed with the Office for Civil Rights.

C. If a person chooses not to file a complaint at the University they can also file with the federal or state department PHEAA school aid.

D. To file a complaint, you must hire a lawyer and pay legal fees, and the lawyer’s office would make the complaint for you through the state and the University.