Discrimination is a difficult and sensitive topic. Nobody wants to be discriminated against and nobody wants to be accused of discrimination. What is more, everyone judges situations and remarks differently. What one person experiences as a joke, can be hurtful for another. Discrimination does not always have to be on purpose. It can be that you do or say something, which hurts someone else, but which you didn’t mean that way or weren’t aware of. Different reasons for discrimination have been established in the Netherlands. Reasons for discrimination are the characteristics for which someone is discriminated against. In the image below you see examples of different reasons. Source: TNO
What can you do about discrimination?
If you have a problem with discrimination within the team, the points below could help you with how you tackle it.
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Prevention is better than cure. Ensure that it is clear that discrimination will not be accepted and even at the first signs talk to employees about their behavior. This can prevent worse behavior.
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Set a good example. Show them how it is done!
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Support the victim by listening and looking together for solutions.
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Ensure clarity on where employees should go if they have questions or want to report something. A person of confidence can help here. For example, invite this person to a meeting where he or she can say more about unacceptable behavior. In this way employees get to know the person of confidence and you lower employees’ threshold for visiting him or her.