Page 414 - Discrimination at Work The Psychological and Organizational Bases

16. INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
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15 years. There is a clear trend for countries to establish national laws
protecting rights at work. Across these laws, there is a wide range of
what constitutes employment discrimination, how laws are enforced, and
what remedies are available to victims of discrimination. For instance,
Denmark incorporates enforcement terms (e.g., authority, punishment)
into their antidiscrimination legislation (European Employment and In­
dustrial Relations Glossaries, 2002). Japan generally relies on noncoercive,
voluntary approaches for organizational compliance (Hamaguchi, 1997),
and Vietnam offers financial enticements (Diep & Ne, 2001).
It is beyond the scope of this chapter to review national antidiscrim­
ination employment laws. A review of four major targets of workplace
discrimination—gender, race/ethnicity, age, and disability—is presented
to illustrate these kinds of discrimination in various countries. In addition,
we review other less apparent grounds for discrimination such as sexual
orientation and religion. Most of the research we reviewed was descrip­
tive and we selected examples to represent a broad range of countries and
cultures.

TARGETS OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

Gender

Gender inequality is generally defined as "the restrictions placed on
women's choices, opportunities and participation" (United Nations Popu­
lation Fund, 2000). Despite being outlawed or condemned worldwide, gen­
der discrimination is still pervasive. In developed and developing coun­
tries alike, women have been struggling with the problems of job and pay
inequalities at different employment stages. These problems have been
summarized with such metaphors as the "brick wall," the "glass ceiling,"
and the "feminization of poverty." Furthermore, social scientists have ex­
amined some systematic causes of the problems, such as gender stereo­
types, sociocultural beliefs, and economic status of a country.
A Brick Wall This metaphor refers to societal and/or systemic organiza­
tional barriers erected to prevent women from entering the workplace. For
example, Chinese employers often specify a gender in their employment
advertisements (e.g., asking for only male applicants; Kerr, Delahanty, &
Humpage, 1996). Even if they are considered for positions, Chinese women
may have to meet higher arbitrary entry requirements than male recruits
because managers generally consider women workers "troublesome" (e.g.,
getting pregnant or taking time off to care for family; Kerr et al., 1996).
French women who return to the workforce may be the last ones to be
offered a job if they have to compete against current workers or even