Managing Equal Employment Opportunity

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Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is a right to give a fair opportunity in hiring process and in their treatment through their job. It refers protection of job candidates against discrimination depend on different characteristics such as religion, race, gender, color and national origin (French, 2009). But it has been a trend to judge or decide a candidate’s suitability for a job on above any of those bases. Further EEO used to cover current employees against discrimination for promotions, pay allowances. Every employee in an organization have the right to fair treatment in all matters of employment. Most of private companies in Sri Lanka for the purpose of cost cutting employees are categorized as permanent, contract and third party and benefits also categorized according to that. So, company cultures are also changing and no fair opportunities to all employees, but principle of democracy require equality among citizens, there is also needed to provide equal employment opportunity and to eliminate the effect of past discrimination in employment.

Most of the government organizations in Sri Lanka, requirements are done for the personal contacts and for different favoritism not only for the reciting also in join promotions. Now it has been a trend in most of private organizations (Stoilkovska, et al., 2015). So it is a current serious problem in less value for educational background and experience.

How Equal Employment Implement in an Organization

  • Attempt to diversify the pool of candidates
  • Self-monitor by looking at whether the company’s own practices disadvantage people due to protected characteristics, or leave prior problems uncorrected
  • Structure job descriptions so that they are ‘neutral’ across protected characteristics, and ensure that the standards are consistently applied when evaluating candidates
  • Make sure that selection criteria don’t, as far as possible, disadvantage certain groups
  • Make sure that any agents or contractors acting on behalf of the company, do not discriminate.
  • Monitoring remuneration packages to ensure that unjustified discrimination is not occurring;
  • Application of performance reviews fairly to ensure that no unjustified discrimination is occurring and that any benefits are being applied equally;
  • Protecting complainants from possible retaliation. Processes need to be in place to ensure that those who complain of unjustified discrimination or harassment are protected (Donnelly, 2021)
Conclusion

Equal employment opportunity laws prohibit specific types of job discrimination in organizations which was introduced by U.S. labor department in order to protect employees. So even in Sri Lanka According to the Article 12 of the constitution there cannot be any discrimination on the base on race religion, gender, caste, language and political opinion (Diasz, 2020). But still it is a problem whether every employee have the equal employment opportunity in Sri Lanka.



References

Diasz, M., 2020. Development of equal employment opportunity law. 09 November, p. 8.

Donnelly, D., 2021. What is Equal Employment Opportunity. 07 march.

French, E., 2009. Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Management. Gender and Diversity in Organizations.

Stoilkovska, Aleksandra, Ilieva, J. & Gjakovski, S., 2015. Equal employment opportunities in the recruitment. Journal of Economics, 6(2), pp. 281-292.

 

Comments

  1. Hansika SamarakoonApril 29, 2021 at 8:54 AM

    Equal employment opportunity creates equal opportunity for everyone who works at the workplace. Equal opportunity also ensures that everyone stands a chance of being a leader or manager. A diversified portfolio of people ensures that the company can enjoy help from different skill sets.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HR ZONE JINODAMay 3, 2021 at 6:31 AM

    Good Article Poornima. I think this is really valuble with today scenarios. If the company fails to comply with equal employment opportunity regulations, they may face complaints, lawsuits and fines. There are also the intangible costs associated with having a uniform instead of diverse workforce; you’re missing out on the benefits of different perspectives and approaches to the work at hand

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ranjana BandaraMay 4, 2021 at 7:18 AM

    Ensure that management—specifically HR managers—and all employees know EEO laws. Implement a strong EEO policy with executive level support. Hold leaders accountable. Also: If using an outside agency for recruitment, make sure agency employees know and adhere to relevant laws; both an agency and hiring organization is liable for violations.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tania De MelloMay 5, 2021 at 5:47 AM

    In today’s workplace, human capital has become for many organizations the single most important determinant of competitiveness, productivity, sustainability, and profitability. Increasingly, the organization’s human capital is the source of innovation and a driver of business success. Human capital also represents significant potential liability, and the list of protected classes of employees is growing. As noted, companies can ill-afford to make “extraordinary mistakes”. Managerial and supervisory responsibilities require more than just getting the job done. The actions your organization takes directly affect employee commitment and engagement, morale and productivity, and employee retention. Importantly, they also play a critical role in EEO compliance and can expose your organization to significant liabilities. As governmental agencies have become more active — some would argue more aggressive — and have committed more resources to conducting assessments of employment policies and practices, organizations are at risk. As the EEO has noted, employers should not only comply with the various laws, they should conduct self-assessments and audit their practices to ensure ongoing compliance. Unfortunately, without ongoing training, even organizations with the best intentions, frequently make mistakes — often, costly ones.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sudarshanie PeirisMay 7, 2021 at 4:31 AM

    The chief benefit enjoyed by organisations that implement equal opportunity laws is the creation of a more diverse workforce. Various studies have shown that diverse workplaces increase staff retention and satisfaction, and even boost revenue

    ReplyDelete
  6. HR Times- Isuru WijayalathMay 7, 2021 at 8:01 AM

    Equal Employment Opportunity is a principle that asserts that all people should have the right to work and advance on the bases of merit and ability, regardless of their race, sex, color, religion, disability, national origin, or age.

    ReplyDelete

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