What does discrimination in the workplace mean?

Discrimination in the workplace refers to actions that disadvantage an individual based on irrelevant personal characteristics such as race, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation. This definition emphasizes that discrimination occurs when hiring, promoting, or treating employees in a way that is not based on their job performance or relevance to the workplace, but rather on personal attributes that should not influence business decisions.

In this context, irrelevant personal characteristics are those that have no bearing on an individual's ability to perform their job effectively. Thus, workplace discrimination manifests in various forms, including harassment, unfair treatment, or exclusion from opportunities that should be available to everyone equally, regardless of their personal traits.

The other options either mischaracterize discrimination or narrow its focus inappropriately. Favorable treatment of certain employees can lead to discriminatory practices, but it does not encompass the broader issues of unfair treatment based on irrelevant traits. Unequal pay for the same work highlights a specific type of discrimination related to compensation, but it does not define the concept as a whole. Lastly, hiring practices that prioritize certain groups may be considered affirmative action rather than discrimination, depending on the context and the criteria used for prioritization. This underscores that discrimination specifically involves disadvantaging individuals rather than simply favoring certain groups.