Stereotypes and Employment Discrimination
Stereotypes are prevalent in our society, and people often make assumptions about others based on characteristics such as the city or state where they grew up, where they attended college, the type of car they drive, how much money they make, the kinds of clothes they wear, and more. While these kinds of stereotypes can result in unfair negative assumptions about individuals, other kinds of stereotypes are actually unlawful when they are used to make employment-related decisions. For example, if an employer assumes that women are not as good at customer-facing jobs as men and only gives female employees less desirable background jobs, then that employer likely has engaged in unlawful sex discrimination.
There are many other ways in which stereotypes can result in unlawful employment discrimination, and our Palm Beach Gardens employment discrimination attorneys are here to help if you have been the target of any kind of discrimination in your job application process or in your employment.
What Are Stereotypes in Employment?
The word “stereotype” and the term “stereotyping” certainly are not limited to employment or workplace contexts, although they can be insidious and result in unlawful discrimination in hiring and employment circumstances. According to Harvard Business School, stereotyping, broadly, “is a prevalent way of thinking that exists in nearly every aspect of daily life,” and stereotypes are “overgeneralized perceptions and beliefs about how an individual in a certain group should or should not act.”
In employment contexts, the existence of stereotypes, particularly among employers, can result in bias or prejudice that leads to negative feelings or ideas about particular job applicants or employees because of assumptions drawn from stereotypes. When a job applicant or employee is treated differently because of those assumptions, then that behavior constitutes discrimination (although discrimination can also result from ideas or practices that do not involve stereotypes and related assumptions). Any form of workplace discrimination becomes unlawful when a job applicant or employee is treated differently on the basis of a protected characteristic.
Protected Characteristics and Stereotyping
While not all stereotypes involve negative assumptions about a particular type of person or group, stereotypes are often negative, and they can have harmful consequences. When stereotyping leads to discrimination on any of the following bases, then the targeted employee may be eligible to file a discrimination claim under state or federal law:
- Race;
- Color;
- Religion;
- Sex, including sexual orientation or gender identity;
- National origin;
- Pregnancy;
- Disability;
- Age (if 40 or over); and/or
- Genetic information.
Nobody should be treated differently or unfairly because of stereotypes. When stereotypes about persons of a particular religion, race, sex, or any of the other above categories result in unequal treatment in the workplace, it is critical to find out more about moving forward with an employment discrimination claim and holding the employer accountable.
Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Employment Discrimination Lawyer
Have you been the target of unlawful discrimination arising out of harmful stereotyping? Or are you currently working in a hostile work environment due to discrimination that involves dangerous stereotyping? It may be possible to file an employment discrimination case. An experienced Palm Beach Gardens employment discrimination attorney at Sconzo Law Office can speak with you today about your options. Contact us for more information.
Sources:
online.hbs.edu/blog/post/how-stereotypes-affect-an-organization
eeoc.gov/prohibited-employment-policiespractices#:~:text=An%20employer%20may%20not%20base