The 16 types of discrimination (and their causes)
Discrimination consists of treating a person, group or institution in a different and harmful way. This can be due to different reasons: race, sex, gender, ideas, place of origin, physical appearance, etc.
Discrimination is not something new, since humanity has always discriminated against other individuals for reasons of their resources, origins or intelligence, and even entire peoples for their different ideas regarding religion or religion. politics.
In this you can find relevant information regarding the different kinds of discrimination that exist.
Causes and consequences of discrimination
Discrimination occurs frequently in all societies. Although public opinion criticizes some forms of discrimination such as racism or machismo, hardly any unaffected by discriminatory events that may occur on a day-to-day basis, such as those suffered by, for example, people obese
Discrimination can be an individual or collective phenomenon, and it can have different causes. Some of them are:
- The economic or social situation It can be the cause of discriminatory behavior, either due to a bad economic situation or an environment that favors this type of behavior.
- The ideology It is one of the main causes of discriminatory behavior towards certain human groups.
- The fear it can cause entire peoples to mobilize in a discriminatory way against some people.
- The submissive and imitative personality it can cause some people to not have sufficient critical capacity and simply get carried away by others.
- The influence of the group it also makes discriminatory behaviors normal for many people.
- The need or interest it can lead to discriminatory behavior towards individuals or groups considered inferior.
Discrimination causes the person who is a victim to suffer a series of consequences.
On a psychological level, the person may experience anxiety, guilt, depression and feelings of loneliness. But those who are discriminated against can also suffer other problems, such as difficulties in finding employment, school dropouts and even death.
Types of discrimination
The causes can be varied and the consequences devastating. However, there are different types of discrimination that we must understand. They are as follows.
1. Individual discrimination
Individual discrimination is that which one individual performs against another. That is, it is when a person treats another person differently and negatively, without there being a differentiated contextual reason.
2. Institutional discrimination
This type of discrimination is characterized because they are public or private institutions that carry out some type of discrimination based on sex, race or other reasons. Institutional discrimination is more complex than individual discrimination.
An example could be exclusive housing or a job offer that asks for the “Catalan” language, excluding those people who do not speak that language despite not being a real requirement for the position to which they aspire.
3. Collective discrimination
A type of discrimination in which inferior treatment is given to a group of people. For example, discrimination towards immigrants or the LGTBI group.
4. Structural discrimination
He refers to the discrimination that arises from institutional policies that directly or indirectly favor some individuals and harm others. Although the policies of the institutions should be fair to all, this is not always the case.
5. Direct discrimination
The best known and most visible form of discrimination, in which the person who suffers it receives unfair treatment from another person due to their characteristics. It is easier to detect. For example, not accepting a woman in a job just because she is not a man, or marginalizing a homosexual person for having a different body language.
6. Indirect discrimination
It is a less visible form of discrimination that often goes unnoticed. For example, the imposition of norms or rules that seem harmless but in practice are not.
7. Negative discrimination
The person who is a victim of discrimination is treated in a discriminatory and harmful way. For example, by not allowing disabled people to watch a football match.
8. Positive discrimination
Positive discrimination is one in which a disadvantaged group is helped to achieve equity. For example, with a different grade in a physical examination of an opposition. This type of discrimination is instrumental, that is, it pursues the objective of correcting a historical grievance against a specific group. However, it is also a source of controversy and social debate.
9. Racism
Racism is one of the best known forms of discrimination. It is also known as discrimination based on the race or ethnicity to which the person belongs, and it occurs because an individual or several belonging to one race treat another person or persons of another race with inferiority race. For example, discrimination against people of color, Jews or Gypsies.
10. Sexism
Also another of the best known forms of discrimination, in which the person who practices it underestimates people of the opposite sex. There are some theories about it. You can know them in this article: "Sexist prejudice: explanatory theories”.
11. Maternity discrimination
Maternity discrimination often arises in the workplace, as it refers to treating a woman differently (either an employee or job seeker) for the possibility of having children. There is a law that prohibits this type of discriminatory conduct.
11. Religious discrimination
When an individual or group of individuals receive unfair and unfavorable treatment for not practicing or sharing the religious ideas of the society in which you live.
12. Ageism
Age is the reason for discrimination. It is usually carried out, above all, in work environments, in which the ideal age to work is considered to be between 25 and 45 years old. Older people may be left out of the labor market and not be interested in certain job offers. It is also called 'old age', although there is also, in certain contexts, discrimination against young people.
13. Discrimination due to disability or illness
People can also be treated unfairly for suffering a physical or mental disability, or by suffering from any disease. The consequences can be both personal treatment and access to jobs, among other damages.
- More information on discrimination against people with functional diversity in this article.
14. Discrimination based on physical appearance
It manifests itself when the person who receives the discrimination is not very physically attractive. Either by not having attractive physical features or by suffering from obesity. It is known by the term 'aspectism'.
15. Transgender discrimination
It is the discrimination suffered by those individuals who live a gender role that does not match their biological sex. For example, transsexuals. This form of discrimination is also known as'transphobia'.
16. Discrimination based on political ideology
Occurs when an individual or group of individuals receive unfavorable treatment for not sharing political ideas with the society in which he lives. This can generate from social marginalization to repression, as happened during the Franco regime with thousands of Spanish communists and anarchists.