Institutional Discrimination Examples
Institutional discrimination can occur in any phase of the employment process. This includes during the recruiting and hiring phase or when it affects promotions or involves firings. If a company refuses to hire people of a certain ethnicity or religion, this is institutional discrimination. Additionally, if a company refuses to promote individuals of a certain family status despite being qualified for the position, institutional discrimination is taking place.
However, some instances are not as overt. It is feasible that a hiring manager from a particular background or upbringing may unconsciously and unintentionally view members of another group as “less qualified.” In this way, it does not have to be intentional to occur.
Unfortunately, this discrimination can often be hard to detect. It may also be taking place in instances of:
- Unfavorable or unpleasant tasks consistently assigned to members of a certain group
- Arranging the workplace or office floor plan based on race, religion, gender or age
- Unequal application of disciplinary measures
- Unequal pay between workers who share the same responsibilities (which could result in a wage dispute)
- Difficulty or obstruction with using the rights afforded by the Family and Medical Leave Act
