Gender, sex discrimination bad for workplace

LECTURER and graduate studies co-ordinator at the Institute of Gender Development Studies Dr Angelique Nixon said yesterday that gender and sexual discrimination is harmful for the workplace.

Nixon said it will have an impact on both employees and clients, as well as anyone who is a part of a business or enterprise.

Speaking at a Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace workshop at the Employees Consultative Association Training and Conference Facility, Aranjuez, Nixon said discrimination can take place when an employer discriminates against an employee in work-related decisions. These could include hiring, firing, promotions, availability of benefits, and could also happen through employees having issues with each other.

“So why should we care about all this stuff? I want to say that members of the LGBTQI community live around you, work with you. It can be your collegue, it could be someone you sit next to, they can be coming into your places of employment…they are everywhere. We share the nation, and we want to do that free of violence and discrimination.

“It is also important to think about if there is any kind of harmful interaction around gender and sexuality. It is going to impact your entire workplace. And we should care,” Nixon said.

She said LGBT folks, especially people who didn’t conform to certain standards of gender or expectations, were unable to stay employed, and the situation was a serious problem.

Protecting employees should be a number-one priority and engaging social responsibility for the workplace inside and outside is necessary, she said.

“Diversity and inclusion equals excellence and success. When we are more diverse and more inclusive, I think that can only increase our success.”

At the workshop, participants from various companies discussed understanding gender equality, why should business care, identifying workplace risks and how they should be resolved or addressed discrimination and crafting a way forward.