Introduction
Discrimination all over the world has definitely become one of the hottest issues discussed by various authorities. Discrimination whether it is based on race, religion or any other, is magnified and has continuously taken the centre stage as globalization speedily continues to engulf the world.
Through globalization labor shifts have been made possible as people cross borders in such for better living. One of the favorite destinations for most people has been the US. In an article posted in the New York Times, Steven Greenhouse examines how the Muslims are subjected to discrimination due to their Islamic affiliation.
This essay is a short summary of this article posted in the New York Times and also contains personal opinions of the implications of such discrimination to the human resource heads.
Article Summary
Generally, the article by Steven Greenhouse is an account of various discriminative actions directed to towards the Muslims, citizens and immigrants, working in the US. The article predominantly examines the discriminative action with respect to the work places.
This discrimination, as covered in this article, starts as early as at the recruitment process, whereby persons wearing hijabs, a Muslim outfit worn to cover the head, are classified as not having a company look. It is interesting that this takes place even when the recruitment officers are full aware that discrimination in the basis of faith is wrong.
The article also brings out the trend of discrimination in the US. According to this article, discrimination against the Muslims is on the rise. The numbers of reports which have been filed seeking justice against discrimination based on the Muslim religion are ever increasing. The EEOC has continually received reports of immigrants as well as citizens who are discriminated against due to their religious affiliation of being Muslims.
It is striking that some of the discriminatory activities are being directed towards long serving employees, for instance, the account of Imane Boudlal who had worked for two years for Disneyland was denied the opportunity to wear a hijab when she decided that she wanted to have it on during the holy month.
Another instance is that of Mohammad Kaleemuddin who has been working as a driver for a Houston truck company. Mohammad Kaleemuddin after working for three years in a friendly manner with fellow workers and his supervisor could not understand why they all over sudden turned against him and started calling him names.
In some instances, the discriminative actions were outrageous, for instances, the article records of cases where praying Muslims are perpetually disturbed during their prayer time.
Lessons for the HR
What lesson can the human resource department learn from this article? I believe that it is the duty of the human resource department to ensure that all the workers in a firm work in a productive environment that does not discriminate them on any basis. Law suits tarnish the name of a company as well it costs the company when fines are paid in case complainants succeed to show acts of discrimination were directed at them.
It is also clear that if the relevant departmental heads do not take actions to stop the discriminatory behaviors at the workplaces then they are likely to spill over to other social institutions within the society. This will breed hatred among the citizens and this may as well act as a catalyst for terrorism as it may be viewed as the only way to avenge for the humiliation for which the Muslims are subjected to.
Conclusion
Discrimination is on the rise at the workplaces and there is an urgent need for the relevant authorities to ensure that such is stopped.
Works Cited
Greenhouse, Steven. Muslims Report Rising Discrimination at Work. The New York Times, 2010. Web. <https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/business/24muslim.html>