Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

• In Australia, unfair work practices, policies and structures have discriminated against certain kinds of people - which have denied them access to jobs, promotions and limited their work opportunities.
• Discrimination refers to the direct or indirect treatment of a person unfairly based on:
  • Gender (male or female)
  • Ethnicity (race)
  • Marital Status (Married, single, widowed, de facto)
  • Disability
  • Religion
  • Political belief
• Outcome of Discriminatory work practices:
  • The best are not selected.
  • missed opportunity by the organisation
  • missed diversity - hence missed innovation, creativity and performance.
  • Lower morale - lower productivity
  • loss of competitive advantage (more merited go to your opposition)
  • a stagnant work culture - 'I'm in the good books of the boss - so I can bludge' or 'the boss sees something wrong in me so why should I care, as long as I get my pay'.
• Reasons for Discriminatory Behaviour
  • Sheer ignorance on
    • organisational goals (what would help achieve)
    • key performance indicators
  • Prejudiced
  • Biased
  • Fear - decision maker may have the fear of the merited person due to superior knowledge, skills and experience.
• EEO
  • term used to describe how to correct discrimination against people.
• The Law
  • The Commonwealth and State Acts cover discrimination in:
    • Recruitment
    • Selection
    • Training Courses
    • Wages and Salaries
    • Promotion
    • eligibility for benefits
    • promotion
    • redundancy and
    • unfair dismissal (termination)
  • The Major Acts are:
    • Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Commonwealth)
    • Human Rights Commission Act 1981 (Cth)
    • Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act 1986 Cth
    • The Sex Discrimination Act 2984 (Cth)
    • The Equal Opportunity Act 1984 and 1995 (Vic)
    • The Affirmative Action Act 1986 (Cth)
    • The Public Authorities Act 1990 (Vic)
    • The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)
• Complaints Procedure
  • Internal grievance processes within the organisation (see Vic Uni)
  • If internal procedures fail to deliver, external procedures to be used.
    • In Victoria - Equal Opportunity Commission investigates the complaint to reach an agreement between the parties.
    • Failing that, the case is taken to the Anti Discrimination Tribunal. The judgment is binding on all.