Analyzing Adverse Impact at Super Foods

Analyzing Adverse Impact at Super Foods

Sex discrimination is a significant issue in the retail sector due to the assumption that women perform the role of a cashier better than men (Senčar, 2016). However, in some instances, organizations may hire more male cashiers due to the work schedules that may include working until late hours, limited flexibility of the cashier job, and being required to show up to work late and work on weekends and holidays. The information presented in the stock statistics report in the Super Foods case study indicates that the current population of male cashiers is 30%, while that of female cashiers is 70%. The availability in the relevant population is 50% for men and 50% for women. The statistics also indicate 200 male and 150 female applicants for the cashier’s job position. One hundred men and 75 women were engaged, with a selection rate of 50% for both men and women. Based on this information, it is evident that the company discriminates against its employees based on gender. Sex discrimination often occurs when people are denied opportunities due to their gender identity (Charlesworth, 2010). In most countries, sex discrimination is prohibited by federal law, and employers may pay heavy fines if they are sued for sex discrimination.

The statistics on the number of men and women hired as cashiers indicate that the organization favors women when hiring cashiers. This is because there are more female cashiers than male cashiers, and the difference is 40%. However, the number of male applicants exceeds female applicants by 50%, which explains why the company may have hired more men than women. Men dominate the cleaning and stocking jobs, where male stockers account for 70% of the total population of employees in the company, while female stockers account for 30% of the population. Male cleaners are also more because they account for 65% of the workforce, while female cleaners account for 35% of the population. The company maintains an equal selection rate for both genders. Still, more women are given less strenuous tasks when hiring decisions and assigning tasks. At the same time, men work on laborious tasks.

Sex discrimination is becoming a significant concern as employers continue ignoring anti-discrimination laws to suit their interests. A study by the International Finance Corporation (2013) indicated that hiring more women than men helps protect women’s rights and is also suitable for business. The report argued that the main benefits are accessing the best available talent, strengthening team dynamics, improving productivity and innovation, creating a better working environment, reducing staff turnover, and creating long-term relations. According to the report, women have the skills required to unite people and encourage others to give their proposals and opinions, thus encouraging teamwork, which contributes to the general success of an organization. Hiring more women than men thus creates a win-win situation because the employer and employee obtain real benefits. Women also play a vital role in boosting corporate image due to their friendly nature, which promotes proper customer relationship management. This could be one of the reasons why Super Foods has employed more female cashiers.

One of the ways the company can reduce sex discrimination is by creating a policy prohibiting sex discrimination in the hiring process (Tauber, 2019). The process should outline the hiring criterion, such as ensuring that two-thirds of the workforce comprises women while the rest comprises men. The company should also state the action to be taken by the hiring team if they make hiring decisions based on gender. The anti-discrimination policy should be updated regularly to abide by state and federal law and prevailing conditions in the job market. The second measure the company can take is writing gender-neutral job descriptions when advertising jobs to attract an equal or close to an equal number of applicants based on gender. The Super Foods statistics table indicates a higher number of male applicants for the cashier job compared to women, thus suggesting that the advertisement may have been more appealing to men, probably due to what was included in the job description. Therefore, the company can avoid this by ensuring that the job description does not suggest that the job is fit for a specific gender. The third strategy is creating a diversity policy that outlines diversity as part of the company’s culture.

A diverse workforce contributes to many organizations’ success in the modern business world. One of the reasons for the success is sharing ideas generated from different perspectives. Individuals have different ways of approaching things based on their identity, background, and personal experiences. Allowing people with these differences to coexist increases the chances of innovation and generating new ideas contributing to long-term growth (Mulvie, 2021). Super Foods also needs to consider the possibility of being sued for sex discrimination, particularly if an applicant is not selected for a vacant job and realizes that the company has a sex discrimination issue. Therefore, it should engage legal counsel in the hiring process to ensure that the hiring team abides by the laws prohibiting discrimination.

References

Charlesworth, S. (2010). The Sex Discrimination Act: Advancing gender equality and decent work? Sex Discrimination in Uncertain Times. https://doi.org/10.22459/sdut.09.2010.06

International Finance Corporation. (2013). Investing In Women’s Employment.

Mulvie, A. (2021). The benefits and challenges of managing an age-diverse workforce. Learning and Development for a Multigenerational Workforce, 86-115. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429293481-5

Senčar, T. B. (2016). Gender segregation in post-socialist Slovenia: Women’s experiences in the retail sector. Rethinking Gender, Work and Care in a New Europe, 170-185. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137371096_8

Tauber, A. (2019). Recruitment and selection. Gender and ethnicity discrimination.

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Read Chapter 3: Exercise 1. Strategy: Analyzing Adverse Impact. Mary was recently hired as an HR generalist at Super Foods, an organic grocery chain. One of her first assignments is to review the store’s data on its cashiers to identify if hiring and promotion practices have had an adverse (disparate) impact on men or women. Mary generated the following reports (see 3 tables Chapter Exercises: Strategy: Analyzing Adverse Impact) from the company’s employee database to use in her analyses. Address what the data from each table tells Mary.
Use this information to determine whether there is evidence of sex discrimination for cashiers. Write a brief report explaining why there is or is not an adverse impact. If there is, try to identify what might happen and suggest ways the firm can reduce it.

Must include:

Minimum 3 pages
Minimum 2 scholarly outside sources or professional periodicals, e.g., Harvard Business Review, published within the last two years.
APA format