Religion, race, and gender are not a job qualification. Discrimination, simply defined by Merriam Webster, is a “prejudiced or prejudicial action or treatment.” Job discrimination involves hiring prospective employees on the basis of such arbitrary qualifications as religious beliefs, skin color, caste standing, and gender. If an economy wants to thrive and compete in this crowded global market, it is vital that the employers of each and every country hire workers on the basis of their skills to get the maximum potential. If a person is hired for his or her religion, race, or gender, it can negatively affect the profits and performance of that company or government. These companies or governments lose out on the benefits of hiring highly qualified workers.
Job discrimination affects us all. The more productive and diverse the market place is, the more flow of goods and services and career opportunities will be available to everyone. The global market is like a pie. The larger the pie is, the bigger each individual slice will be. And, everyone wants the largest slice of the pie. Job discrimination shrinks this pie. For example, if a company only hires a certain race, that company risks losing potential revenue and benefits. By reducing the pool of prospective employees by eliminating certain religions, races, or genders, companies are hurting their own possibilities of achieving maximum productivity by not hiring the most qualified people.
Religion, race, and gender should not be a job qualification. In Hong Kong, 42 percent of Nepalese potential construction workers are unemployed. Conversely, only 19 percent of Hong Kong’s overall construction population is unemployed. As well, in Hong Kong, Muslim organizations have reported discrimination against Muslim men. By not hiring these skilled workers, not only is Hong Kong losing the productivity of these workers, they are losing their buying potential which contributes negatively to the whole economic cycle.
The effects are not necessarily always direct. Workers who are unemployed can end up on government assistance, not paying taxes, yet still driving on the roads and using the country’s infrastructure, as well as other government resources. The end result is that job discrimination costs those who discriminated in the form of higher taxes or fewer government services.
In Malaysia, racial discrimination prevents many groups from finding adequate work. For example, only three percent of Petronas gasoline station employees in Malaysia are Chinese. The result of which is a group of people in poverty due to the lack of employment. Again, this hurts us all and the overall economy. If they do not work, then they do not produce and they do not spend. The economic pie shrinks.
In other instances, the sound of a person’s name may prevent him or her from successfully finding employment. Job seekers with Arabic or Muslim-sounding names in Sweden or black-sounding names in the United States often do not receive callbacks during resume submissions. Simply put, discrimination is not limited to one form or only one country. Everyone is guilty. But, the more progressive and tolerant companies will be the most successful.
If the ways of discrimination are multiple and varied, then the effects of discrimination are just as numerous and different. In 1991, racial bias in employment practices contributed to a $215 billion loss for the U.S. economy, amounting to 3.8% of its gross-domestic product. The result is lost revenue, productivity, and a smaller market share (a smaller pie). It is not in a company’s best interest to refuse a capable employee on the basis of religion, race, or gender. We are all affected negatively as a result.
These companies not only weaken themselves but they also weaken their own country’s economy and ability to compete in a global market. Think of it this way: If Company X refuses to hire a person on the basis of anything other than their skills, then this person is unable to provide for his or her family and its livelihood, including such necessities as food and education. This results in hunger and illiteracy—two 100% curable diseases that can infect every aspect of a society.
Job discrimination makes a huge impact on the global economy. When qualified candidates are unable to find employment because of discrimination, the country’s economy suffers by not utilizing the full potential of their workforce. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said, “Discrimination at work is ‘a violation of human rights’ that literally wastes human talents, with detrimental effects on productivity and economic growth.” [1] Discrimination keeps countries from effectively ending poverty. In our unstable world, job discrimination is the one of the worst forms of human rights violations—it comes from within and hurts everyone in the end.
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[1] http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/lang--en/WCMS_082633/index.htm
