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CHAPTER 11
Job Discrimination
Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter students should be able to:
Identify various subtle and not-so-subtle forms of discrimination.
Understand the pervasiveness and systemic nature of discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
and ethnicity.
Glossary
1. affirmative action programs: Programs used to reverse the harm done to minorities due to past
discrimination.
2. comparable worth: The doctrine that men and women should be paid the same for the same work;
and similar amounts for jobs of similar qualifications, skill, effort, and responsibility.
Chapter Summary Points
1. Discrimination in employment involves adverse decisions against employees or job applicants
based on their membership in a group that is an object of prejudice or viewed as inferior or
deserving of unequal treatment. Discrimination can be intentional or unintentional, institutional
or individual.
2. Statistics, together with evidence of deep-seated attitudes and institutional practices and policies,
point to racial and sexual discrimination in the workplace.
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several factors. Affirmative action programs that rely on rigid and unreasonable quotas or that
impose excessive hardship on present employees are illegal.
5. The moral issues surrounding affirmative action are controversial. Its defenders argue that
compensatory justice demands affirmative action programs; that affirmative action is needed to
permit fairer competition; and that affirmative action is necessary to break the cycle that keeps
minorities and women locked into poor-paying, low-prestige jobs.
10. Sexual harassment is widespread. It includes unwelcome sexual advances and other conduct of a
sexual nature in which submission to such conduct is a basis for employment decisions (quid pro
quo) or such conduct substantially interferes with an individual’s work performance (hostile
work environment). Sexual harassment is a kind of discrimination and is illegal.
11. Employees encountering sexually harassing behavior from coworkers should make it clear that
the behavior is unwanted. If it persists, harassed employees should document the behavior and
report it to the appropriate person or office in the organization. In the case of sexual threats or
offers from supervisors, they should do this immediately. If internal channels are ineffective,
employees should seek legal advice.
Teaching Suggestions
In Chapter 11, Shaw and Barry examine the nature of job discrimination. They mainly assume that proof
1. Is job discrimination morally wrong? Job discrimination is an irrational form of prejudice involving
employment opportunities and wages when such things are determined by irrelevant characteristics, such
as age, race, sex, or disability. Such characteristics aren't always irrelevant and job discrimination is only
a problem when they are irrelevant. I will consider two arguments Shaw and Barry give against job
discrimination concerning a person's race or sex:
a. Job discrimination has ill effects on total human welfare. This is a utilitarian argument. For
example, when you refuse to hire people because they are black or women, then black people and women
will suffer and the business will suffer as a result. Both businesses and customers thrive when businesses
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This raises the following questions: If job discrimination harms the total human welfare, does that mean
job discrimination is morally wrong? Should libertarians agree that job discrimination is morally wrong?
If libertarians reject that job discrimination is wrong, is that a reason to reject libertarianism?
b. Job discrimination fails to respect people as ends in themselves. To respect people (or their
humanity) as an end in itself means to respect people as having value for their own sake without merely
being valuable for some other goal. Job discrimination fails to acknowledge that minorities (or some
group) have a great deal of importance. Having value and being respected would imply that we should be
treated well rather than insulted, marginalized, or oppressed.
2. Is sexual harassment morally wrong? Sexual harassment is considered to be wrong for the same
reasons as job discrimination, but there is at least one other consideration not discussed by Shaw or Barry.
In particular, sexual harassment has been shown to harm people. Sexual harassment has measurable effects
Questions for Discussion
1. Discrimination occurs at many different levels. For instance, a university that has a limited number of
openings for students must use some sort of discriminatory criteria to admit some students and deny other
students admissions. This seems unobjectionable. If so, then the question becomes: When are
discriminatory practices acceptable and when are they not acceptable and morally objectionable?
2. Are there good reasons for believing that a society today is obligated to redress injuries that occurred in
the past? How would you respond to someone who said: “I agree that injuries occurred in the past, and I
feel very bad about those injuries. But that was in the past and I did not participate in giving those injuries
Additional Resources for Exploring Chapter Content
Further Reading
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Internet Resources
Other Resources
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