Social Change: Workplace Discrimination

SOC-220: Social Change Process Worksheet
Student’s Name
Institution
Course Name and Number
Professor’s Name
Assignment Due Date
Selected social condition: Workplace Discrimination

Social Condition:
Workplace discrimination is one of the social conditions affecting many societies today. It occurs when a person or group is treated unfairly because of specific characteristics such as race, gender, religion, ethnicity, origin, age, sexual orientation, and disability (Colella & King, 2018). One instance of discrimination is when a female employee is paid less wages than a male employee doing the same job, or an employee from a minority ethnic community is denied the training opportunities offered to other colleagues.
Workplace discrimination is a social condition because it can lead to many adverse social problems like lack of equal opportunities, inequality, hatred, interpersonal conflict, poor relationship, and demotivation. People who face discrimination are often less engaged and would prefer working elsewhere. At an individual level, workplace discrimination causes physical and psychological pain to the victims and their families. This condition is associated with anxiety, depression, and hostile behaviors. According to Colella & King (2018), persistent discrimination exposes employees to stigma, low self-esteem, depression, and loss of self-control, leading to suicide or suicidal thoughts.
Physically, discrimination can cause increased migraines and stress-related conditions such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease (Fekedulegn et al., 2019). Workplace discrimination also affects organizational performance since it limits innovation, communication, collaboration, and diversity. No business will target a completely homogenous clientele. So, hiring individuals with divergent outlooks, backgrounds and ideologies is healthy for business. Diverse customers often prefer doing business with diverse and inclusive organizations (Colella & King, 2018). Simply put, workplace discrimination destroys unity and creates division, thus, harming business operations. The many adverse effects of workplace discrimination demonstrate that this social condition is wrong and requires immediate intervention before it escalates.

Social Issue through Clams making:
Subjective data:
It is unfortunate that workplace discrimination is still a social problem despite the efforts made by labor unions and policymakers to end it. Many reported cases demonstrate how this problem has affected individuals, businesses, and society. One case I have witnessed is that of my friend, Clara, who works for a local construction company as an engineer. Clara works alongside other male colleagues who dominate the industry. The company has set a minimum monthly salary for employees. However, men engineers earn almost twice as much as female engineers despite doing the same job. In addition, certain employee benefits like transportation, home internet, and health insurance for the family are available exclusively to men. When Clara approached the manager to discuss the issue, the manager told her that unmarried women do not need a higher salary or benefits. Clara's case is a perfect case of gender dis...