Discrimination in Early Years Setting

Discrimination

Discrimination is the act of violating other people’s dignity or mistreating them because they possess different characteristics. People can experience discrimination at different settings such as schools, workplace, transport and housing. Three protected characteristics that the Equality Act 2010 highlights comprise age, gender, and race. The Act protects people from discrimination due to age factor, which commonly occurs in employment fields. However, the law still allows employers to deny applicants opportunities if they are not within the required age bracket. The Act also protects trans-sexual people and expectant employees from discrimination. Moreover, the Equality Act protects people against racial discrimination which includes color, nationality, and ethnicity.

Direct Discrimination

Direct discrimination is a situation where a person with a protected characteristic is mistreated. For instance, the Equality Act 2010 regards direct discrimination by giving employers the power to turn down applications of employees who are too young or too old for the post. The applicant might have the required qualification and experience for the job, but he or she must meet the stated age limit. This kind of discrimination can be challenged by creating internship posts for young applicants where they work under strict supervision rather than turning down their applications. Also, the organization should assign assistant workers to elderly employees to avoid direct discrimination in the workplace.

Recognition Failure

A challenge that has happened in early years setting (nursery) regarding discrimination is its recognition failure. In the early years, most people failed to recognize various forms of discrimination and could not educate their children against such behavior. However, professionals came and tried to change people’s attitudes towards other races and sexuality through education. For instance, the experts majorly chose to teach children against discrimination to help them share their experiences with others kids at school.