Ending Job Discrimination

Women and ethnic minorities still find it harder to get a good job than other workers in OECD countries, and are more likely to be paid less, despite impressive improvements in recent years. One reason for this continuing problem is discrimination – unequal treatment of equally productive individuals because of gender or race.

Virtually all OECD countries have enacted anti-discrimination laws in recent decades, mainly to improve equity and social cohesion. However, anti-discrimination legislation can also be seen as a way to make the economy more efficient. By outlawing barriers to employment for under-represented groups, these policies are likely to raise labour supply and thus help counteract the effect of population ageing.

The OECD’s Revised Jobs Strategy suggests that specific strategies to bring under-represented groups into the workforce, along with family-friendly policies or tax incentives can help bring them back into paid work. But helping people to find a job is not enough; major efforts are also needed to ensure that all individuals have access to the same job opportunities. Discrimination diminishes the potential impact of such policies, but anti-discrimination legislation can help make them more effective.

Enforcing anti-discrimination legislation in most OECD countries, however, relies essentially on victims’ willingness to claim their rights. Thus, public awareness of legal rules and their expected consequences (notably, victims’ costs and the benefits of lodging complaints) is a crucial element of an effective strategy to establish a culture of equal treatment. But legal rules are likely to have more impact if they do not rely exclusively on individual complaints for enforcement. In this respect, specific anti-discrimination agencies (so-called equality bodies) may play a key role. This Policy Brief looks at what anti-discrimination policies have achieved and what more governments can do to create a level playing field for all potential members of the workforce.

OECD: Topics: Employment http://www.oecd.org/topic/0,3699,en_2649_37457_1_1_1_1_37457,00.html

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