ABSTRACT
When someone is rejected or will not be considered for a job for which he or she is quali®ed because of ethnic, racial, age or gender group, that is discrimination. Decisions to employ someone must, by law, be based on the prospective employee's ability, experience and quali®cation to do the job, not on his or her age, gender, race, and so forth. Discrimination happens because prejudices and stereotypes may in¯uence employers' perceptions of an applicant and therefore their assessment of his or her ability to do the job, to get along with people and to work in a team setting. For example, an employer who believes that women are hormonally and emotionally unsuited to stressful corporate work may wrongly believe that a female applicant is indeed less able to cope with the demands of the job or less able to perform than a male applicant. The decision, based on prejudice and stereotypes, not to hire her is discrimination. Similarly, the decision not to hire female applicants because of a mistaken belief that women with families are more likely to take more days off over child care is also discrimination. An employer who does not hire African Americans because of a false belief that blacks are lazy and unreliable is discriminatory. An employer who does not hire older people because of an unfounded belief that older people are less productive and more likely to go off sick than young people is discriminatory.
