Equality and Diversity

An effective organization is one which recognizes and maximizes the differences that exist within individuals whether be age, sexual orientation, gender, race or disability. One needs to explore the issues surrounding diversity in the workplace, the legislation that exists and the benefits that a diverse workforce can bring to your organization.

Diversity

Diversity issues related to race, gender, age, disabilities, religion, job title, physical appearance, sexual orientation, nationality, multiculturism, competency, training, experience, and personal habits are explored in these links. The bias is toward valuing diversity.

People can be diverse even in terms of invisible attributes. In any group, you’ll find different thoughts, values, social backgrounds, and levels of education. Other invisible attributes contributing to diversity can include your generation, sexual orientation, marital status, political or religious beliefs, physical abilities, and life experience.

When you consider the fact that there’s more to people than just the way they look on the outside, it becomes clear why diversity means more than race and gender. Those invisible attributes contribute a great deal to the mix of ideas and perspectives in the workplace.

When people have different views and backgrounds, they often observe a problem from different perspectives. This can help broaden their views and the way they approach problems.

Some companies bypass the HR Department altogether by including diversity in their strategic vision. By emphasizing and encouraging differences instead of suppressing them, a company allows fresh ideas to emerge. Instead of forcing everyone to think along the same lines, the focus is on the varied perspectives that emerge when differences are celebrated. This approach provides a company with business advantages not enjoyed by its peers who don’t foster diversity.

Diversity can be a tough issue for organizations to deal with. Although many companies want to foster diversity, they often encounter barriers and challenges along the way to establishing and developing diversity in the workplace. Every company is different, but most encounter a few common barriers to diversity: all types of prejudice and stereotypes, cultural expectations, jealousy and defensiveness, and resistance to change.

Embracing Diversity – Although people build their lives on the idea of predictability, very little in life is truly predictable. If you try to cling to old attitudes, ideas, and behaviors, you’ll become isolated. To embrace diversity, you must be open to change. When you’re able to fully embrace diversity yourself, you’ll be in a good position to work with others in the organization whose viewpoints differ from yours. You’ll be helping to unlock the creativity and innovation necessary for you and your organization to thrive.

To learn more about embracing diversity, these methods are a good place to start: develop a nuanced world view; assume there are no strange behaviors, just behaviors you don’t yet understand; be willing to set aside your own standards when thinking of different cultures; and be an advocate for diversity.

Communicating in a Diverse Setting – The most important tool you have for building rapport with others is communication. But communication can be tricky in diverse organizations, where people have different attitudes, behaviors, and values. Fortunately, you can follow guidelines to help minimize the risk of miscommunication and help create an inclusive climate. These guidelines concern three aspects of communication: your style, the way you listen, and your verbal and nonverbal language.

Equality

The various civil and political human rights and also the economic, social and cultural human rights have been guaranteed by the Constitution of India and re-christened as the “Fundamental Rights”. The provisions of Part III of the Constitution (Arts. 12 – 35) enshrine the Fundamental Rights, which are more elaborate than those of any other existing written constitutions dealing with Fundamental Rights.

Right to Equality (Articles 14 – 18) The five articles that cover the right to equality are

• Equality before law and equal protection of law – Article 14 – Article 14 consists of two parts namely equality before law and equal protection of the laws. Equality before law means that no individual should be given any special privilege by the state. Equal protection of the laws means the right to equal treatment in equal circumstances. Equality before the law also means treating unequal unequally. For example, the Supreme Court has recommended that the ‘creamy layer’ of the Other Backward Classes’ (OBC) should not be given the benefit of reservation.
• Prohibition of discrimination on ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth – Article 15 – There are four aspects of this right mentioned in following Clauses of this Article.

1. Prohibition of discrimination – Article15, Clause (1) – This article prohibits the state from discrimination against any individual or group of individuals. The principle of non – discrimination is based on equality and dignity.
2. Access to public places – Article15, Clause (2) – This right provides that no citizen can be denied access to public places, places of entertainment or the use of wells, tanks, and roads that are maintained out of State funds.

iii. Protective laws for women and children – Article15, Clause (3) – A positive discrimination for women and children is made in the Indian context. Thus provision for reservation for women, free education for children etc. is provided.

1. Reservation for backward classes – Article15, Clause (4) – The constitution recognizes the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes as weaker sections of the population. It authorizes the state to make special provisions for the advancement of these sections of the society.

• Equality of opportunity in matters of public Employment – Article 16 – The aim of article 16 of Indian Constitution is to provide equal opportunity to all citizens in employment offered by the state or its agencies. This article has five clauses

1. Equality of opportunity – Article 16, Clause (1 ) wherein it is stated that equality of opportunity should be given to all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the state.
2. Prohibition of discrimination – Article 16, Clause (2) This clause prohibits discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, and place of birth, residence or any of them in respect of any employment of the state.

iii. Residential requirements – Article 16, Clause (3) It allows the Parliament to make laws that require residential (domicile) requirements in a State for public employment or appointment.

1. Protective laws – Article 16, Clause (4) This Clause allows the Parliament to make protective laws for appointment of backward classes of citizens who are not adequately represented in the services of the state.
2. Preference to certain persons in religious institutions -Article 16, Clause (5) This clause prescribes that the Parliament can make laws which require only a person professing a particular religion to be appointed in a body or institution of that religion. For example, a Hindu can only be appointed as a priest in a Hindu temple.

• Abolition of Untouchability – Article 17 – This is a unique article that has been incorporated only in the Constitution of India. Article 17 declares that not only Untouchability has been abolished but it also makes any practice and propagation of Untouchability in any form punishable in accordance with the law.
• Abolition of Titles – Article 18 – The Clause of the Article prohibits the State from conferring any title at all upon any person. However the State is not prevented from awarding military distinctions, such as Mahavir Chakra, Param Vir – Chakra etc. for honoring men for their acts of valour or academic distinctions.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation refers to sexual and romantic feelings for people of the same gender, a different gender, or more than one gender. People who identify their sexual orientation as “straight” or “heterosexual” feel attracted to people of a different gender than themselves. People who identify as “lesbian” or “gay” feel attracted to people of the same gender as themselves. People who identify as “bisexual” feel attracted to more than one gender, typically women and men. “Pansexual” is a term used by people who feel attracted to more than one gender and feel that other terms don’t include people who are transgender and gender nonconforming (people who have a gender identity or gender expression that doesn’t match their sex assigned at birth). People who use the term “queer” may use it to mean lesbian, gay, bisexual, or pansexual, or they may use it because other terms don’t quite describe their experiences.

Some people might identify their sexual orientation one way, but experience attractions that don’t match the label they are using. For example, a person might identify as “straight,” but feel attracted to people of the same gender or more than one gender and sometimes act on those attractions. Sexual orientations can also change over time for some people. For example, a person might be attracted to people of the same gender as themselves, and then later be attracted to more than one gender. This is normal! It just means that sexual orientation is complicated for some people.

It may take a different amount of time to understand ourselves and our attractions to others. For example, people who have repeated crushes and/or pleasurable body experiences with people of the same gender as themselves, but have no crushes or pleasurable experiences with people of a different gender than themselves will often identify themselves as “gay” or “lesbian” at some point. However, having one or even a few experiences with somebody of the same gender does not automatically make you gay or bisexual. Sometimes it takes a long time to understand our sexual and romantic feelings and how our bodies react to other people.

There is no official time that determines our sexual orientation. For some people, adolescence is the time when they figure out their sexual orientation, but for other people it may not happen until young adulthood or even later in life. During adolescence, our brains start to release certain hormones that help our bodies go through puberty and change. This happens over many years. At the same time, we may start developing crushes towards other people, which may lead to having pleasurable sexual experiences. For some people, this gives them a clue about who they might have sexual and romantic feelings towards.

Gender Identity

Gender identity is a person’s internal feelings of being a woman, man, both, or neither. Most people have a gender identity and/or gender expression (how a person shows their gender through their appearance or behavior) that matches their sex assigned at birth. However, some people have a gender identity or gender expression that is different from their sex assigned at birth; these people might use the term “transgender” or “gender noncomforming” to describe their gender identity.

Gender can be expressed in many ways – through our clothes, speech, activities, hobbies, and our behaviors. It ’is considered fine for any of these things to change at different times, depending on what feels comfortable.

LGBT

LGBT is shorthand for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. The “LGBT” in this term refers to sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is defined as an often enduring pattern of emotional, romantic and/or sexual attractions of men to women or women to men (heterosexual), of women to women or men to men (homosexual), or by men or women to both sexes (bisexual). It also refers to an individual’s sense of personal and social identity based on those attractions, related behaviors and membership in a community of others who share those attractions and behaviors. Some people who have same-sex attractions or relationships may identify as “queer,” or, for a range of personal, social or political reasons, may choose not to self-identify with these or any labels.

The “T” in LGBT stands for transgender or gender non-conforming, and is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity or gender expression does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. Some who do not identify as either male or female prefer the term “genderqueer.” While it is important to understand that sexual orientation and gender identity is not the same thing, they do both reflect differing forms of gender norm transgression and share an intertwined social and political history.

• Lesbian: A lesbian woman is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to women. Many lesbians prefer to be called lesbian rather than gay.
• Gay: A gay man is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to men. The word gay can be used to refer generally to lesbian, gay and bisexual people but many women prefer to be called lesbian. Most gay people don’t like to be referred to as homosexual because of the negative historical associations with the word and because the word gay better reflects their identity.
• Bisexual: A bisexual person is someone who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to people of both sexes.
• Transgender or Trans: Is an umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity (internal feeling of being male, female or transgender) and/or gender expression, differs from that usually associated with their birth sex. Not everyone whose appearance or behaviour is gender-atypical will identify as a transgender person. Many transgender people live part-time or full-time in another gender. Transgender people can identify as transsexual, transvestite or another gender identity.
• Gender Identity: One’s gender identity refers to whether one feels male, female or transgender (regardless of one’s biological sex). Gender expression refers to outwardly expressing one’s gender identity.

Transsexual people live or wish to live full time as members of the gender other than that assigned at birth. Transsexual people can seek medical interventions, such as hormones and surgery, to make their bodies fit as much as possible with their preferred gender. The process of transitioning from one gender to another is called gender reassignment. Biological females who wish to live and be recognised as men are called female-to-male (FTM) transsexuals or trans-men. Biological males who wish to live and be recognised as women are called male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals or trans-women.

Transvestite or cross-dressing individuals are thought to comprise the largest transgender sub-group. Cross-dressers sometimes wear clothes considered appropriate to a different gender. They vary in how completely they dress (from one article of clothing to fully cross-dressing) as well as in their motives for doing so. A small number can go on to identify as transsexual.

Section 377

Section 377 of the IPC deals with “unnatural offenses”.

It held that “whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”

Basically, it says that any type of sex which is not “natural” (anal or oral, for instance) was a crime. Even if there was consent. No matter the gender of those who are doing it.

The criminalization of homosexuality was first imposed by the British in 1860, which found sexual activities between members of the same sex against the “order of nature.”

In 2009, in a landmark judgment, the Delhi High Court described Section 377 as a violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

The Supreme Court in 2013 overruled the Delhi High Court’s order and reinforced criminalization of homosexuality stating that Parliament’s job was to scrap laws.

This judgment by the apex court was highly criticised by the LGBTQ community in India and was seen as a setback for human rights.

In January 2018, the Supreme Court said a larger group of judges would re-consider the previous judgment and examine Section 377’s constitutional validity. Revisiting their 2013 verdict, the court added that it will decide on a curative petition.

The Supreme Court had then said: “the section of people who exercise their choice should never remain in a state of fear.”

India has just reached a landmark decision for its LGBT citizens. In July 2018, the case to decriminalize section 377 was reopened and, finally, 58 days later, the country is more equal and more colorful.

One of the biggest and the longest running LGBT rights battle in India has been finally won!

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously decriminalized part of the 158-year-old colonial law, prompting joyous tears, hugs, and dancing across the country.

“Any consensual sexual relationship between two consenting adults – homosexuals, heterosexuals or lesbians – cannot be said to be unconstitutional,” said the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, as he read out the judgment.

Section 377 is irrational, arbitrary and incomprehensible, as it denies the right of equality for the LGBT community. They possess the same equality as other citizens.

Right to privacy

On 24 August 2017, the Supreme Court of India in its landmark judgment held that Right to Privacy is a fundamental right protected under Article 21 and Part III of the Indian constitution. The judgment mentioned Section 377 as a “discordant note which directly bears upon the evolution of the constitutional jurisprudence on the right to privacy.” In the judgment delivered by the 9-judge bench, Justice Chandrachud (who authored for Justices Khehar, Agarwal, Abdul Nazeer and himself), held that the rationale behind the Suresh Koushal (2013) Judgment is incorrect, and the judges clearly expressed their disagreement with it. Justice Kaul agreed with Justice Chandrachud’s view that the right of privacy cannot be denied, even if there is a minuscule fraction of the population which is affected. He further went on to state that the majoritarian concept does not apply to Constitutional rights and the Courts are often called upon to take what may be categorized as a non-majoritarian view, in the check and balance of power envisaged under the Constitution of India.

“Sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy. Discrimination against an individual on the basis of sexual orientation is deeply offensive to the dignity and self-worth of the individual. Equality demands that the sexual orientation of each individual in society must be protected on an even platform. The right to privacy and the protection of sexual orientation lie at the core of the fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution.”

“Their rights are not “so-called” but are real rights founded on sound constitutional doctrine. They inhere in the right to life. They dwell in privacy and dignity. They constitute the essence of liberty and freedom. Sexual orientation is an essential component of identity. Equal protection demands protection of the identity of every individual without discrimination.”