Discrimination
The dictionary definition of discrimination is “to distinguish difference between, judge between”.
Discrimination is about people being thought of as having different worth or value, being treated differently or given fewer opportunities.
Sometimes discrimination arises because people have decided that some people “deserve” to be treated less well than others. In other cases, people make discriminatory assumptions, for example, that older workers will take more sick leave than younger ones, or that a British Asian applicant for a job will not speak as well as a white candidate.
There are two types of discrimination:
Direct discrimination – This happens when one person is treated less favourably than another person would be treated in the same circumstances eg refusal to give a learner a work placement because of their sex, race or disability.
Indirect discrimination – This happens when a requirement is applied equally to everyone but has the effect of excluding one group of people more than another. For example, if your learning provider were to introduce a requirement that all learners had to be at least 6 feet tall, this would exclude more women than men in training. It would discriminate against women.