; Racial Discrimination at Workplace: How should you response?

Racial Discrimination at Workplace: How should you response?

Racial discrimination is still ubiquitous at work, but what are the signs of workplace racism? In the workplace context, race discrimination means unpleasant treatment to employee or job applicants because of race, race-related characteristics or nationality. How should you respond to racial discrimination at work as an employer or employee?

Malaysia has been a multicultural society who comes together as one. However, racial discrimination often happens in discernment and explication of Malaysia’s labour market. According to Discrimination of High Degrees: Race and Graduate Hiring in Malaysia from Lee Hwok Aun, the problem of discrimination in hiring and promotion often happens specifically against non-Malays in the Malay-controlled public sector and Malay in Chinese and foreigner-controlled private sector. (Source: Research Gate <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299632679>)  The issue holds political weights and socio-economic repercussion more monumental than the minuscule total of the factual enquiry aim towards it. As  Discrimination of High Degrees: Race and Graduate Hiring in Malaysia from Lee Hwok Aun reveals there’s no existing system to differentiate the effect of racial discrimination on employment prospects mainly in academic achievement, personal strengths and language proficiency, as well as employer characteristics such as ownership profile and job specifications. (Source: Research Gate  <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299632679>). Therefore, it is fruitful to understand the law in labour law of Malaysia as the first step in avoiding any discrimination:

· In Malaysia, Article 8 is the cornerstone of Constitutional protection of the rights to equality and non-discrimination. Article 8(1) stated that: “All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.

· 589 Article 8(2) stated that there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender in any law or in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in an administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.

· 590 Article 8(2) offers a limited protection from discrimination, in terms of the types of individuals which it seeks to protect, and the scope of protection it offers to those it does protect.

Source: Malay Mail <www.malaymail.com>

The employer 

As an employer, you need to understand what racial discrimination is, how to identify provide trainings to help your employees to understand the severity of it and set up a system in place to safely report discrimination cases. To be more specific:

·  Offer employees training on their rights and responsibilities.

·  Have disciplinary actions in place with proper guidance. If such harassment happens, the company should look further into it and, where appropriate, disciplinary action should be taken accordingly.

·  Pay close attention to harassment on racial discrimination which can be offensive and emotional for the victim.

· Document complaints quickly, interview the parties and keep an eye closed on the aftermath after an investigation. The complaining employee should be made to feel safe returning to work with the harasser. If otherwise, the employer should find other solutions such as transfer to another department to keep apart both parties or terminating the harasser. 

The employee 

As an employee, there are informal and formal options if you believe you are experiencing racial discrimination. The informal approach would be letting your employers know your concern and do not assume they will take a sanatory action. If there’s an incident of discrimination happens, document them and update the management or Human Resources if the harassment continues. If the company provides a satisfactory resolution, there may not be necessary to escalate the complaints. However, if the solution is dissatisfied, you can file a complaint with an administrative agency or court.

You may be a victim of racial discrimination if you are facing the following situations:

  • Hiring/Firing/Promotions: You have splendid qualifications and job experiences but not hired because the company is not comfortable working with Indians, Malays or other races. You are being laid off by the company while colleagues of other races with the same role sustain their jobs. You have been long with the company and have a splendid performance but did not get a promotion. Instead, the position is filled by people who might be less qualified. 
  • Job Pay: A new manager with similar working experience recently hired and, you found out that he got a higher pay than you when you worked up from an executive position to a manager role. You are the top salesperson for your company but are moved to an infamous territory while an  employee of a different race who doesn’t perform well is given with your territory and client base.
  • Job classification: You job responsibilities became heavy. However, there are no changes in your job classification and pay adjustment to reflect the responsibilities. 

Racial discrimination is not an uncommon situation in the workplace. Employers should be fair and responsible to investigate any issue that they became aware. Do not be afraid to voice out when you faced such a situation and speak out to your management and HR department when it is appropriate.