In Unit 11, both Rosie Purves and Elvis Malcolm talk about their experiences of racism at work. Compare their different experiences and discuss how racism can be avoided in care work.
by
harrithomaslivecouk (student)
TMA 03 PI NUMBER: C1322713
In Unit 11, both Rosie Purves and Elvis Malcolm talk about their experiences of racism at work. Compare their different experiences and discuss how racism can be avoided in care work.
We recognise that communities are largely diverse and in terms of working in the health and social care setting, it is important to recognize characteristics that make people different from one other form the basis for inequality. Negative attitudes and beliefs form the basis for stereotyping, which places people into ‘communities of identity’, because of a similarity they each possess. Stereotyping can go on to become prejudice, which is an ‘advance judgement based on a stereotype’ (K101, Unit 11, p 145) which often leads to discrimination, if the discrimination is based on ethnic background or colour this becomes ‘racial discrimination’. It is important for institutional environments to recognise and respond to racial discrimination in the workplace as it affects a large amount of people such as Rosie Purves and Elvis Malcolm (K101, Unit 11). Racism is a prejudiced belief and when acted upon become racial discrimination, Shah clarifies the distinction ‘prejudice generally refers to negative attitudes... discrimination describes negative actions directed against the persons who are its objects- the victims of prejudice (Shah, 1995 cited in Unit 11, 148). Using the case studies from the K101 materials to compare how institutional racism , has been affected by the diversities of society and developments in government care policy, we can observe how different workplace climates and their respective policies affect employees in terms of discouraging and challenging any form of discriminatory behaviour. Rosie Purves and Elvis Malcolm both experienced a form of racism in the workplace; however, evidence shows how implemented government care policy contributed to a positive outcome for Elvis, in contrast to Rosie’s negative experience.
Rosie Purves experienced direct racial discrimination, at the NHS hospital where she worked, as defined in the ‘The Equality act 2010’ ‘ as where the reason for a person being treated less favourably than another is a protected characteristic listed in section 4; Race’ ( The Open University HSC Resource Bank,2012) .We know from evidence, that Rosie experienced Racism both intentionally from the mother of the child she was caring for, purely because of her ethic background and unintentionally by the nurses and NHS staff who worked alongside her’ Tribunal chairman Martin kurrein told the hearing that the Childs mother admitted she had ‘no problem’ with the care that Mrs Purves had provided but she was ‘a racist’ and did not want a black person to care for her child’( BBC News, 2004, Unit 11 p151) . Rosie was shocked and affected emotionally that she could be treated so inappropriately, which resulted in her becoming depressed and isolated; she did not feel of value in the workplace. She knew it was not her care that the mother had problems with, but only her skin colour. The racism was not acknowledged and dealt with by the hospital or her colleagues, which made Rosie feel that her feelings were of no importance and that she were the problem, therefore making it appear that the hospital agreed with the treatment of Rosie Purves, which made the NHS trust ‘ institutionally racist’. The hospitals decision to agree with the mother’s request to move the child furthered Rosie’s experience of racism and added to her feeling that the hospital agreed with the mother treating her unfairly ‘Bhavnani et al (2005,p 150) argue that when people or organisations ignore racism, this is actually racism in another form’. Rosie felt ashamed at the way she had been treated, and therefore felt unable to speak out she says ‘I felt alone. I felt there was no one there for me really but i had to keep my chin up’ (Purves, 2004).
