16 Types of Discrimination and their causes

Discrimination

 Content

Causes and consequences of discrimination

Types of discrimination

1. Individual Discernment

2. Institutional discrimination

3. Collective discrimination

4. Structural discrimination

5. Direct discrimination

6. Indirect discrimination

7. Adverse discrimination

8. Affirmative action

9. Racism

10. Sexism

Maternal discrimination

11. Religious discrimination

12. Age discrimination

13. Discrimination on grounds of disability or illness

14. Discrimination based on physical appearance

15. Transgender discrimination

16. Differentiation based on political ideology

Discrimination is treating an individual, group or institution differently and effectively. This can be due to various reasons: race, sex, gender, ideologies, place of origin, physical appearance, etc.

Discrimination is nothing new, as humanity has always discriminated against other people on the basis of their resources, origins or intelligence, and even against entire nations, on the basis of differing views on religion or politics.

In it you can find relevant information about the different types of distinctions that exist.

Causes and consequences of discrimination

Prejudice is common in all societies. Although public opinion criticizes some forms of discrimination such as racism or machismo, it is hardly affected by discrimination that may occur on a daily basis, such as fat people.

Discrimination can be an individual or collective phenomenon, and it can have various causes. Some of them are:

Economic or social situation A reason for this discrimination may be due to a poor economic situation or an environment that favors this behavior.
Ideology is one of the main reasons for discrimination against certain human groups.
Fear can motivate whole people to discriminate against some.
A submissive and imitating personality may cause some people to lack critical thinking skills and be easily put off by others.
Group Influence It normalizes discrimination for many people.
Need or interest This may lead to discrimination against individuals or groups considered inferior.
Discrimination causes harm to the person who is the victim.

On a psychological level, a person may experience feelings of anxiety, guilt, depression and loneliness. But people who are discriminated against can also face other problems, such as difficulties in finding a job, dropping out of school and even death.

Types of discrimination

The causes can be varied and the consequences can be devastating. However, there are different types of differentiation that we should understand. They are as follows.

1. Individual Discernment

Individual discrimination is what one person does against another. That is, it is when one person behaves differently and negatively from another person, due to controversial contextual reasons.

2. Institutional discrimination

This type of discrimination is characterized because they are public or private institutions that discriminate against people based on gender, race, or other reasons. Institutional discrimination is more serious than individual discrimination

An example of this could be a special accommodation or job offer that may require the "Catalan" language, excluding those who speak this language even if they do not have a real need for the position.

3. Collective discrimination

A type of discrimination in which a group of people is treated inferiorly. For example, discrimination against immigrants or the LGTBI group.

4. Structural discrimination

It refers to discrimination that results from institutional policies that directly or indirectly favor some individuals and disadvantage others. Although institutional policies should be fair to all, this is not always the case.

5. Direct discrimination

The most famous and most obvious form of discrimination, in which the person suffering from it treats another person unfairly because of his characteristics. It's easy to figure out. For example, not accepting a woman for a job just because she is not a man, or marginalizing a gay person because of their body language.

6. Indirect discrimination

This is a less visible form of discrimination that often goes unnoticed. For example, the enforcement of rules or regulations that appear to be harmful but in practice are not.

7. Adverse discrimination

A person who is discriminated against is treated in a discriminatory and harmful way. For example, by not allowing disabled people to watch football matches.

8. Affirmative action

Affirmative action is one in which a disadvantaged group is assisted in achieving equality. For example, with different grades in the physical examination of the opposition. This type of discrimination is substantive, that is, it serves the purpose of correcting a historical grievance towards a particular group. However, it is also a source of conflict and social debate.

9. Racism

Racism

Racism is the most popular form of discrimination. It is also called discrimination based on the race or ethnicity to which the person belongs, and it occurs because a person or persons belonging to one race are considered inferior to another human being or people of another race. . For example, discrimination against colored, Jewish or Roma people.

10. Sexism

Sexism

Another well-known form of discrimination, in which the person who practices it, gives a lower status to the people of the opposite sex. There are some theories about this. You can learn about them in this article: "Sex Bias: An Explanatory Theory".

Maternal discrimination

Maternity discrimination often arises in the workplace, as it refers to treating a woman (either an employee or a job seeker) differently for the possibility of having a child. There is a law that prohibits such discrimination.

11. Religious discrimination

When a person or persons are treated unfairly and offensively for not practicing or sharing the religious views of the society in which you live.

12. Age discrimination

Age is the reason for discrimination. This is commonly done, especially in the work environment, where the ideal age to work is considered to be 25 to 45 years. Most individuals may be left out of the labor market and may not be interested in some job offers. It is also referred to as 'ageing', although in some contexts, younger people are also discriminated against.

13. Discrimination on grounds of disability or illness

People with physical or mental disabilities may also be treated unfairly, or because of illness. Among other harms, this can result in both personal treatment and access to jobs.

Learn more about discrimination against people with functional diversity in this article.

14. Discrimination based on physical appearance

It only appears when the person being discriminated against is not physically attractive. Either by not having attractive physical features or by being obese. This is known by the term 'partisanship'.

15. Transgender discrimination

It is the discrimination faced by individuals who play combat roles that do not correspond to their biological sex. For example, transsexual. This form of discrimination is also called 'transphobia'.

16. Differentiation based on political ideology

Occurs when an individual or a group of individuals is treated unfavorably for not sharing political views with the society in which they live. This may stem from social marginalization to repression, with thousands of Spanish communists and anarchists during French rule.

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