Benefits of diversity;
• Make provisions for food, prayer and equipments
• People from diverse group share their knowledge and expertise for example, doctors, teachers and nurses.
• Have an understanding of other people’s culture and religion we learn from them and increase our knowledge.
• Education-sharing of knowledge and experience from other diverse people.
Using recognised terminology to explain the importance of promoting equality, recognising diversity and respecting rights in a health and social care setting. No two people are the same and because people are different, it can be easy to think that some people are better then others or that some views are right whilst others are wrong. This view results in inequality. The promoting of equality is a very important issue in the social sector. Equality in health and social care settings means the right for all staff and patients to be treated as equals. All should treat each other, as they themselves would like to be treated. The main reason inequality exists is the misunderstanding by today's society towards diversity. Diversity can be anything different from the classic norm, and can be used in the forms of age, race, religion, sexual orientation as well as many other, equally unfair, reasons.
Stereotyping; Stereotypes are generalizations about a group of people whereby we attribute a defined set of characteristics to this group. These classifications can be positive or negative, such as when various nationalities are stereotyped as friendly or unfriendly. It is easier to create stereotypes when there is a clearly visible and consistent attribute that can easily be recognized. This is why people of color, police and women are so easily stereotyped.
Example of stereotyping in health and social care could be;
• All runners have bad knees and should put up with the pain
• Overweight people are lazy and do nothing to help their situation
• Male nurses are likely to be gay.
Prejudice; The term is often used to describe the way people sometimes judge others without knowing them. The judgements are made on the basis of labels and stereotypes and not the individual in question. Once we realise that the term prejudice is based on the term pre-judgement we can easily see the true meaning.
In health and social care people will be treated disadvantageously because of someone else’s lack of knowledge about them.
Rights; Rights are often linked with responsibilities. This means that everyone has access to basic human rights and in turn has a responsibility towards other people’s basic human rights. In UK law, 16 human rights have been incorporated into out legal systems. These are
• Right to a fair trial
• No punishment without law
• Right to respect for private and family life
• Freedom of assembly and association
• Right to marry
• Right to education
• Right to free election
P3; Explain the potential effects of discriminatory practice on those who use health or social care service.
There are two main types of discrimination – direct and indirect discrimination.
Direct discrimination; Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably than another in a comparable situation because of their racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. A direct discrimination is a job advert, which says "no disabled people need apply." However, in reality discrimination often takes more subtle forms. That’s why indirect discrimination is also covered.
Indirect discrimination; Indirect discrimination occurs when an apparently neutral provision, or practice would disadvantage people on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation unless the practice can be objectively justified by a legitimate aim. An example of indirect discrimination is requiring all people who apply for a certain job to sit a test in a particular language, even though that language is not necessary for the job. The test might exclude more people who have a different mother tongue.
Discrimination
Discrimination occurs when a person or a group of people are excluded, rejected, or otherwise treated poorly due to one of a number of characteristics. Many countries have laws protecting people of certain groups against discrimination, but discrimination can be difficult to prove.
Age-based discrimination, also called ageism, occurs when a person is unfairly discriminated against based on their age. Disability discrimination causes a person with a disability, whether mental or physical, to not have the same rights and opportunities as anyone else. All employers are required to make reasonable accommodation for a disabled worker, but this leaves the law open to interpretation. Although businesses are required to be accessible to people in wheelchairs accessibility is still often a touchy subject for many.
Race-based discrimination, or racism, is discrimination based upon a person’s race. For example, an Black candidate may be denied employment or admission to an organization or school even if he is better qualified than a white person. Discrimination based on national origin is also frequent, with the person’s country of origin being the basis on which the discrimination occurs.
Sex-based discrimination, or sexism, occurs when people are treated unfairly due to their sex. Although sex-based discrimination can happen to anyone, it is generally to the detriment of women. Sexual harassment is sometimes considered a form of sexism, although it can also be in its own category. Sexism can be overt, such as not hiring a woman for a job when she is the most qualified, or more hidden. Some people consider using women’s bodies to sell products, as is common in advertising, to be a form of sexism.
There are other forms of discrimination as well, including discrimination against people of a certain religion or sexual orientation.
