MGTO 231Human Resources ManagementEqual Opportunity and the Law

Dr. Kin Fai Ellick WONG

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Basic conceptsBasic concepts

Equal opportunity in Hong KongEqual opportunity in Hong Kong

Assessment bias and equal opportunity

Assessment bias and equal opportunity

Basic concepts

What is equal opportunity?

The effective use of human resources is one of the key elements of every business's success. And equal opportunities is about using human resources effectively. Its basic philosophy is to create a level-playing field for the individual. In the employment world, it means matching the right person with the right job. We focus on people's abilities, not on their gender, marital status, or what they cannot do. Companies will reach their competitive potential when every employee feels fully valued and fully utilized.

Equal Opportunities also means building a society based on meritocracy. What we are saying is: ignore irrelevant factors and give individuals a fair chance to go as far as their talents and abilities can take them. Ensuring equal participation for every individual in all aspects of public life - that's what we are advocating for.

Anna Wu (from EOC homepage)

What is discrimination?

Stereotype (定型 ), prejudice (偏見 ), and discrimination (歧視 ), are they the same?

Which is the target of the law?

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Basic ConceptsBasic Concepts

Equal opportunity in Hong KongEqual opportunity in Hong Kong

Assessment bias and equal opportunity

Assessment bias and equal opportunity

Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)

It was established in 1996 Goals

To work towards the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability and family status.

To eliminate sexual harassment, and harassment and vilification on the ground of disability.

To promote equality of opportunities between men and women, between persons with and without a disability and irrespective of family status.

EOC implements three Ordinances to achieve these goalsSex Discrimination OrdinanceDisability Discrimination OrdinanceFamily Status Discrimination Ordinance

Some of the laws are highly relevant to the HR context

Chapter 480 Sex Discrimination Ordinance

Some sections highly relevant to the HR context Cap 480 s 7 Discrimination against married, etc. persons in employment field Cap 480 s 8 Discrimination against pregnant women in employment field Cap 480 s 11 Discrimination against applicants and employees Cap 480 s 12 Exception where sex is genuine occupational qualification Cap 480 s 13 Discrimination against contract workers Cap 480 s 18 Persons concerned with provision of vocational training Cap 480 s 19 Employment agencies Cap 480 s 20 Discrimination against commission agents Cap 480 s 23 Employees, etc. Cap 480 s 24 Other sexual harassment

Chapter 487 Disability Discrimination Ordinance Some sections highly relevant to the HR context

Cap 487 s 11 Discrimination against applicants and employees Cap 487 s 12 Exception where absence of disability is genuine occupational qual

ification

Cap 487 s 13 Discrimination against contract workers Cap 487 s 18 Persons concerned with provision of vocational training Cap 487 s 19 Employment agencies Cap 487 s 20 Discrimination against commission agents Cap 487 s 22 Employees, etc. Cap 487 s 23 Other harassment Cap 487 s 83 Validity and revision of contracts

Chapter 527 Family Status Discrimination Ordinance

Some sections highly relevant to the HR context Cap 527 s 8 Discrimination against applicants and employees Cap 527 s 9 Discrimination against contract workers Cap 527 s 14 Persons concerned with provision of vocational training Cap 527 s 15 Employment agencies Cap 527 s 16 Discrimination against commission agents Cap 527 s 20 Discrimination in disposal or management of premises

OutlineOutline

Basic conceptsBasic concepts

Equal opportunity in Hong KongEqual opportunity in Hong Kong

Assessment bias and equal opportunity

Assessment bias and equal opportunity

Assessment bias and

equal opportunity

What is a biased assessment?

People with equal ability have different levels of performance as measured by the test

Bias usually occurs when assessing people from groups with different characteristics Gender Race Language proficiency

Example 1

Suppose there is no difference in intelligence between Blacks and WhitesAn IQ test could have been biased if Whites in

general have scores higher than BlacksThe IQ test may overestimate the intelligence

of Whites and/or may underestimate that of Blacks

Example 2

Suppose there is no ability difference between boys and girls on academic achievementAn achievement test could have been biased

if girls in general get higher scores than boys from the test

This test may overestimate girls’ performance and/or may underestimate boys’ performance

Which of the following animals have higher intelligence? Rat, Monkey, Human, Ant, Pigeon

According to the scale of human, the possible order could be Human, Monkey, Rat, Pigeon, Ant

According to the scale of pigeon, the possible order could be Pigeon, Ant, Rat, Monkey, Human

A possible IQ test developed by Blacks The Chitling Test

A “handkerchief head” is a) a cool cat; b) a porter; c) an Uncle Tom; d) a

hoddi; e) a preacherWhich word is most out of place here?

a) splib; b) blood; c) gray; d) spook; e) African-American

Assessment bias and test validity

A test is believed to be less bias if it has high validity

Thus, bias can be assessed through the different types of validity we have learnt

In the HR context, criterion-related validity is often used A test may have been biased if its predictions are

differentially accurate for different groups of people Complete the in-class exercise for details

Some solutions to assessment bias

Three different approaches of solution based on different definitions of bias have been proposedUnqualified individualismQuotaQualified individualism

Unqualified individualism

Use test to select the most qualified individuals they could find

The goal is to predict those who would perform best on the job or in school

If race or gender was a valid predictor of performance, the unqualified individualist would see nothing wrong with using these variables for assessment and selection

Quota

Explicitly equalizing race and gender differences

Population has 20% minority groups, then 20% of the employees or students must be from the minority groups

Qualified individualism

Compromise between unqualified individualism and quota

It selects the best qualified people But it does not take information about

race, gender, and religion into consideration for assessment and selection