Forms of discrimination:

Discrimination at workplace can take place in any form. Be it on the basis of race, gender and religion. Newer forms of
biases, which are more subtle and less visible, like age, disability, genetic disposition, migration, HIV/AIDS, sexual
orientation and lifestyle are also emerging. Every professional, be it a sales person, a journalist, an executive or a software
engineer, has faced discrimination and has a story to tell: stories of harassment and humiliation; stories of injustice and
discrimination, tales of how male colleagues' attempt to limit professional success of their female counter parts, how one
employee is being looked down upon by other employee only because he belongs to a lower caste, how one’s abilities are
directly judged by one’s personality or color and what not. 

The most common and prevalent form of discrimination is the one based on race and religion. Judging an individual by race
and not by performance comes under discrimination. Such behavior of an employer can humiliate an individual and put him
under stress and depression. Differences in compensation packages between employees on basis of color or race are also
an unhealthy practice. In terms of age discrimination, younger workers are often being paid less for they are assumed to be
inexperienced. Moreover, there is a negative attitude among employers for recruiting and retaining older workers. Talking
about gender biases, women in India still remain the largest group that faces discrimination. Women today comprise only 2
per cent of the total managerial strength in the Indian corporate sector. While more and more women are joining the
corporates now with better salaries and even at senior levels, pay equity compared with their male counterparts is still a
disappointing. Migrants in Asia are also facing discrimination with low wages, menial jobs, and exploitative jobs contracts. 

Discrimination at work
Discrimination at work can come from either the employee of from the colleague side. Discrimination by colleagues can
happen to new employees. They may face sarcastic stares or constant digs made at them by their colleagues during initial
weeks. However, if it persists for a long time, it can affect not only the employee but also the employer. The effect on the
employee can be huge or meager but the impact on organization remains for a longer time. An employee who is being
discriminated witnesses non cooperation from peers and negative feedbacks form subordinates. Discrimination leads to
psychological and emotional disturbance, resulting in demoralization and descend in performance standards. It brings down
the overall performance, and fuels more discrimination, which in turn increases the number of gaps in one's work further.
Discrimination at workplace also affects the society. The socio-economic inequalities get widened and social cohesion and
solidarity are eroded. It results in wastage of human talent and resources. 

Employer's role 
Recognizing the fact that unwanted attention to any aspect of an employee demoralizes him, hits his performance level and
ultimately results in loss to the employee in the short term and to the organization in the long run, employers should
promote a discrimination free environment within the organization. The employer should try to be an equal employment
opportunity provider and should take affirmative actions towards disables and other weaker sections of its workforce. To
maintain bias free environment throughout the organization, employees at all levels should be provided periodic counseling
to train them to bring out the best in their new colleagues. All employees should be made to understand that harassing their
colleagues indirectly causes loss to the organization and its can have adverse effects on its repute. 

Fighting back:
Be it a manager or clerk, a contract worker or the one who is on rolls, a person deserves all the respect and benefits that
come with the post. Every employee has a right to a harassment and discrimination free workplace. As long as his
performance is meeting the standards set by the employer, he has the right to excel and grow and decide his career path. If
an employee feels discriminated on basis of physical appearance, religion, sex, caste or age, he has every right to raise his
voice against discrimination and seek a remedy from his employer. In this context, employers need to ensure that they do
not practice any form of discrimination or micro inequality. Similarly, organizations need to promote a harassment free
culture. 
Racial The extensive research on the complex and salient issues of racial and gender discrimination, inter group conflict, and
and racial harassment in the United States occupational structure and other institutions, which I and others have
conducted, indicates past and present workplace discrimination and the presence of harassment and hostile work
Gender environments for many employees of Color. However, the form and expression of racial hostility and discrimination has
Discrimi shifted over the past three decades.
nation In evaluating a racially hostile work environment, it is important to note that the manifestations and forms of
and expression associated with discrimination have changed significantly over the past four decades. Race relations and
Harassm racial conflicts have moved from the overt expressions of prejudice, discrimination and racial hatred associated with
the first half of this century to what some scholars call "second-generation", or more subtle barriers or forms of
ent in harassment, exclusion and hostility. The so-called new discrimination or harassment can be identified by attitudes,
behaviors, practices, policies, decisions, and workplace outcomes that; (a) maintain the status quo (i.e., a
Organiza predominately white male workforce and maintaining the positions of Blacks and other people of Color in isolated and
low level jobs) and (b); are couched in race neutral language and behavior. Some scholars refer to this strategy as
tions  maintaining a non-prejudiced self-image. One study that investigated the neutral language of racial behavior reported
that "the findings support the view that racial prejudice among whites is likely to be expressed in subtle, indirect, and
rational ways, whereas more direct and obvious expressions of prejudice are avoided . . . This pattern of behavior
seems well-suited to protect a non-prejudiced, non-discriminatory self-image . . ." Fry & Gaertner, 1986).

Racial discrimination or harassment should be understood as expressed by Courts - that hostile work environment
harassment can not be limited to just "economic" and "tangible discrimination" - but includes the entire spectrum of
disparate treatment in employment. . Harassment can exist in a workplace in such a way as to pollute the environment
in such a way as to destroy completely the emotional and psychological stability of minority group workers.

Thus, workplace discrimination can be determined by how Black, women or members of other underrepresented
groups are treated and how the company implements its equal opportunity policy.

It is important to note here that the subtle and indirect nature of the modern forms of prejudice and racial avoidance
are such that a reasonable black person or person of Color, who psychologically identifies with his or her racial group
membership and is therefore aware of and offended by the new expressions of discrimination, harassment, or unfair
treatment will often be one of a few people in the workplace to draw the conclusion that discrimination is operating in
the work situation. Moreover, because of his or her position and perception of unfair treatment, coupled with the
companies polices and actual procedures in processing complaints, it is possible that the complaint may not be taken
seriously. This is, particularly true given the fact that whites, in work situations involving Blacks who may feel they are
treated differently due to race, will reject out of hand race explanations because of the need to protection of their non-
prejudiced self-image and instead will point to non-racial factors to explain the situation away. If the Black person
persists he or she is then labeled "over-sensitive" and "touchy" – 

The extent to which a Black person will react to personal and institutional gender or race-based hostility that affects
the conditions of employment depends on that person's racial identity ego status. That is, his or her level psychological
resolution about the meaning of his or her racial group membership. Watts and Carter found that Black people varied
in their ability to perceive discrimination and the variation was directly related to each person's psychologically
determined racial identity rather than just one's ascribed race group category. Nevertheless, how the complaints are
expressed may also vary depending on the person' gender, since for a Black women the type of discrimination or
harassment may be unclear (i.e., whether it is gender, race or both) One's organizational position and power may also
influence how a complaint may be expressed. That is, if the person is the only Black or person of color in the work unit
or office she or he may be reluctant to specify the exact form of the harassment or discrimination for fear of being
isolated even more than she or he already is in the work unit or office. Also because the expressions of harassment
and discrimination are often done in subtle and indirect ways the victim may be unsure about how to present the
complaint. For instance, harassment could be expressed in the form of (a); persistent micro-aggressions (subtle, small,
stunning automatic assaults that produce stress for its targets) that keep them on the defensive, and in a
psychologically reduced condition or; (b), could result from subconscious motivations that are often explained away
with some excuse or; (c), simply deny that the reason for hostility was discrimination – instead many argue that the
 act or behavior was just a joke or for fun.

Researchers that investigate harassment in organizations have reported that many instances of discrimination go
unreported. One reason is the belief that one will not be treated fairly. People feel that; (1), the process is biased in
favor of the alleged offender, who usually has a higher position in the organizational structure then the victim; (2),
filling a grievance is futile and will only exacerbate one's situation rather than improve it; (3), the system cannot or will
not protect the complainants' privacy; (4), the system cannot or will not protect the complainants from retaliation by
the offender even if it is unlawful; (5), the complainants may be apprehensive about the credibility of their complaint.

When the organization has explicit policies and procedures with clear consequences for violations and the company
carries the responsibility for addressing such violations as opposed to a token effort or a policy with no action - then
women and other groups protected from discrimination or harassment feel empowered to act on their complaint.
Moreover, it is important to point out that individuals may be influenced by the practices and procedures of a company.
Scholars have noted that stereotypes can influence how employees are seen and responded to and that stereotypic
beliefs can be elicited by the environment as well as carried around in people's heads. Thus, a workplace can be made
hostile and may elicit race or gender stereotypes by establishing norms that signal acceptance of harassing or
discriminatory behaviors.

Racial and gender discrimination may be described as any verbal or physical act which is intended to cause or could reasonably be expected
to cause individuals or groups to feel intimidated, demeaned, or abused because of their racial, ethnic, gender or national background.

Sexual Harassment may be explained as an illegal form of gender discrimination, which is void under Title VII of the United States' Civil
Rights Act of 1964. The state and federal laws of the United States prohibit specific kinds of discrimination.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that "managers can't hire, fire, pass over for promotion, deny a vacation request, do anything
surrounding the terms and conditions of employment because of someone's protected characteristics. This means you can't make decisions
or take employment actions because of an employee's race, color, gender, religion, or national origin."...

The Charges Against Microsoft

Instances of gender/racial discrimination and sexual harassment were common in Microsoft since the 1980s. The company was even said to
be the 'most disdainful place for women to work' during the 1980s. In its initial years, Microsoft had only a few hundred employees, most of
them male. The only women employed in Microsoft were those who edited technical manuals. The work culture in the company was by and
large undisciplined. According to analysts, all the manners, attributes and traits that were not acceptable in conventional society were highly
prevalent in the company.

According to a report, "Microsoft was a geeks paradise, where issues such as interpersonal skills and personal hygiene had no importance
and the presence of women was barely tolerated. It was the base of newly evolved computer nerds, who prided themselves on being
masters of their fields where women had yet to take active part and were highly skeptical of the abilities of their female counterparts."...

in Trouble - Again

While the number of plaintiffs complaining of discrimination at Microsoft kept mounting in 2001, Microsoft claimed that it was committed to
diversity and did not tolerate discrimination of any type in its employment practices. The company announced that it had made considerable
progress in increasing the number of minorities working at Microsoft and had demonstrated its commitment to diversity and equality by
promoting women and minorities. According to company sources, as of October 2000, minorities accounted for 16.5% of total managerial
positions in Microsoft and 22% of the domestic workforce of the organization as against only 17% in 1997...

Charges of Discrimination

In January 2001, seven of Microsoft's former and current African-Americans employees filed a
discrimination suit against the company. One of the largest discrimination suits ever filed in the
US, it alleged racism and plantation mentality1 at their workspace and sought $ 5 billion in
damages. Microsoft was accused of discriminating against its employees through performance
evaluations, pay packages, promotions, wrongful terminations and retaliation. This suit
consolidated all the discriminatory suits filed separately by the seven employees. 

The suit was subsequently given the status of a class action,2 extending its reach to Microsoft's
vast base of former and current African-American employees.

Thus, all the former and current African-American salaried employees employed by Microsoft (in the US) on or after October 4, 1997 and all
the former and present female salaried employees employed by Microsoft on or after February 23, 1999 were included in the suit. The filing
was primarily based on the existing case of Rahn Jackson, 3 one of the first Microsoft employees to take legal action against Microsoft for
racial discrimination.

The plaintiff claimed that Microsoft's employment policies and practices permit its managers to exercise discretion when deciding on
evaluations, pay packages, promotions and job selections, resulting in decisions that reveal a race/gender bias. During the early 1990s,
many discrimination related suits had been filed against Microsoft. In the Donaldson 4 Vs. Microsoft case, the plaintiff alleged that Microsoft
discriminated against the Black and female workers by paying them smaller salaries, bonuses and stock options than it paid white males
performing the same work. The suit also alleged that Microsoft had even retaliated against Black and female employees who protested
against this discrimination.

Reacting to increasing media coverage of lawsuits filed against it, Microsoft claimed that the company did not tolerate employee
discrimination and was focused on offering unbiased treatment to employees and promoting women and members of minority groups in its
organization. However, few people bought their story. Willie Gray, one of the leading attorneys dealing in discrimination suits, argued that
Microsoft showed plantation attitude when it came to dealing with African-American workers. Gray remarked that in 1999, only 2.6% of the
Microsoft's employees and only 1.6% of its managers were Black. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Microsoft remained in the news
for discriminating against women and African-Americans.

Many cases of both sexual harassment and discrimination against female employees were reported. Though the issue of racial discrimination
arose in the late 1990s, it was only in 2000 that the employees initiated legal proceedings against Microsoft, demanding equality and justice.

Background Note
William H. Gates (Bill Gates), along with his friend Paul Allen, established Microsoft Corporation in 1975. Bill Gates initially focused on
software instead of hardware. Over the next two decades, Microsoft emerged as one of the richest and most influential companies in the
world. In 1998, the company became the world's most highly valued company, reporting a market capitalization value of $466 billion.

Microsoft is engaged in developing, manufacturing, licensing and supporting an extensive range of software products and services for a
multitude of computing devices.

Microsoft sells software to over a 180 million people. Its products are available in over 30 languages and are used in more than 50 countries.
The company is also involved in developing highly advanced, robust technologies for next generation software products. Microsoft's success
was attributed to (among other things) its effective recruitment and employee retention strategies. Microsoft had always attempted to
attract the best talent. 

According to a press report, "Microsoft seeks a particular type of smart person, one who is pragmatically inclined, verbally agile and able to
respond deftly when challenged." Because of its efficient performance appraisal system and work culture Microsoft had a very low employee
turnover rate. Microsoft gave incentives to employees on the basis of their performance appraisal. Employees underwent a performance
review every year...