ETHICAL ISSUES IN DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

Diversity and ethics are component of every society and they are major challenge that has turned into a
losing situation for all involved, leading to demoralization of organization. No doubt many believe
societal diversity and ethics are the fundamental for organizational efficiency when properly managed. In
every organization, there are diverse beliefs, culture, religion, age, gender and educational background
among employees, manager and executives in organizations need to know what are the most ethically
appropriate or inappropriate courses of actions to take in their daily workplace situations. Diversity is the
ways people differ in an organization which can affect task or relationship of the employees. While ethics
is the study of moral obligation, or separating right from wrong and includes acts such as ethical
decisions and social responsibility acts. The focus of this study is on diversity and ethical issues in an
organization. This research work is a descriptive study in nature. The secondary information have been
collected from different scholars’ and researchers’ published books, articles published in different
journals, periodicals, conference paper, working paper and website which examine literature in the area
of organizational diversity and ethics. I will therefore recommend that management must modify their
styles to manage diversity and ethics in the organization. It is also important that management assess
the current level of diversity within the organization beginning with culture, ethnicity and education.
Management should adopt a high diversity culture for continuous change and improvement in the
organization.

Diversity and ethics in the workplace strives to make people of all socio-economic background feel
comfortable working within the organization. It further promotes equal opportunities among all
employees or prospective employees to be hired and promoted based on merit not race, gender or
creed. A small organization diversity program maintains non-discrimination standards and enforces
penalties for non-compliance. Beyond the legal compliance issues explored in workplace diversity,
organizations can benefit from encouraging more than just tolerance but also an embrace of differences.
In doing so, new horizons can be opened with new customer demographics, business partners and
internal performance methods. Even a small organization is exposed to many different cultures; ethnicity
and education levels and can improve future organization opportunities by managing diversity and ethics
in the workplace.

Diversity increases creativity within an organization because heterogeneous groups are crossfertilizing
one another within the organization. According to Ethno Connect, a consulting company specializing in
diversity, employees from different backgrounds bring in a variety of solutions on how to achieve a
common goal. As more diverse ideas are suggested, the chances of finding a workable answer are
improved. In atmospheres when brainstorming is necessary, more ideas are formed because team
members are culturally diverse. Companies that plan to expand into global markets benefit from
language diversity in the workplace. For example, a company with employees fluent in Japanese and
who understands Japanese culture experience an easier time communicating with representatives from
Japan. Many bilingual workers experience an advantage when applying for jobs because employees
understand the benefits of language diversity. An increased presence usually results in an increase in
sales. Job seekers are drawn to organization with diverse workforce because it is evident that the
organization do not practice employment discrimination. Potential employees want to know that
employers treat their staff fairly regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. Not only are such organizations
able to attract new talent but they can also retain existing talent because of high employee morale
resulting from diversity.
However, Diversity management issues abound in organizations and it is expedient that they are
proactively identified and appropriately addressed. Prejudice and discrimination seem to be alive more
in settings where there are diverse sets of persons. The contemporary Nigerian workplace may be a
typical example. Managing diversity in an organization is the planning and implementing organizational
systems and practice that will favor the organization. For organization to survive, the company needs to
manage and utilize its equality principle. Once these policies are in place, the company can begin
implementing diversity measures throughout the entire organization. When hiring employees,
qualification should be based on the quality of his experience, not age or any other category. When
diverse qualified workforce are hired, the manager will be able manage the diversity in the organization.
The skills of qualified employees need to be utilized and favoritism and discrimination should be
discouraged among the employees.

Diversity management is a strategy to promote the perception, acknowledgement and implementation

of diversity in organizations and institutions. Diversity management is based on the idea that diversity
opens up alternative ways of perceiving, thinking and acting and thus enriches the life of an organization
or any establishment. Human beings differ in age, social and national background, gender, sexual
orientation, physical and mental ability as well as religious belief and worldview. Diversity is a source of
creativity and innovation that can provide the potential for future development and competitive
advantage. Ensuring that diversity and ethics behavior in an organization is made visible and fruitful
remains a central concern of diversity management. In doing so, individual and structural representation
of perception and appreciation may be reflected upon. Managers have to perform many roles in an
organization and how they handle various situations will depend on their style of management. A
management style is an overall method of leadership used by a manager. However, there is no
particularly accepted style of management, but styles that lead to increased staff motivation, job
satisfaction, ethical behavior and productivity should be encouraged. While those that have the opposite
effect should be discouraged. Managers in most organizations commonly strive to encourage ethical
practices not only to ensure moral conduct but also to gain whatever business advantage there may be
in having potential consumers and employees regard the company as ethical. Creating, distributing, and
continually improving a company’s code of ethics is one usual step managers can take to establish an
ethical workplace and in doing so the mind set of administrators change to accept innovations.

Organizations hire employees from diverse ethnic groups, cultures, values styles. While employees
expect returns from the organization, their effective performance is significant for its success. Diversity
could present tremendous challenges as well as opportunities to the organization in terms of effective
management. Sometimes, diversity is connected with adequacy and sometimes it is viewed as negative
to organizational performance and frequently it has insignificant impact. Anyhow, the result of this study
provides guidelines for the management of diversity and ethics, and suggests that organization managers
should be willing to see and locate an immediate positive association between workforce heterogeneity
and organizational effectiveness. As an option, impacts are required to be controlled by the procedures
that firm takes after and by how different members and association pioneers deal with the diversity in a
productive approach to upgrade representative and hierarchical execution. Subsequently, joint
examination endeavors to decide the unforeseen variables that can mild workforce diversity to create
positive results. This necessity to see completely the many-sided quality of the diversity wonder and the
vast volume of information included in its examination while directing a top to bottom study in various
business ventures.
 ROLES OF WOMEN AND LGBTQIA IN ORGANIZATIONS
They bring gender equality
Most state struggle to bring genders equality laws into reality. While the law varies according to
different constitutions, almost all states across the world seem to have a challenge with filling the gap.
The more women enter into the corporate world; the more countries fulfill the gender equality balance
they work so hard to pass. In fact, it is a norm to see most corporate institutions encouraging ladies to
apply whenever they advertise a position.

Women have better relationship building skills

As a common knowledge, everyone understands that women relate better at workplace particularly in
the leadership roles. Consequently, they build stronger relationships with other organizations, partners,
and shareholders at large. This kind of relationship helps any organization to grow as every business
requires other partners to succeed. A good company to company camaraderie is not only healthy but
also reduces various conflicts that can pull its operations backward.

They create a healthy economy

When more women are in higher positions in the corporate world, there is a balance on distributions of
money and wealth on average. Therefore, the economy has a balance rather than more men earning
more income on overall. The ladies expenditure is not the same as those of women both on matters
relating to job and personal. In this regard, women being in a corporate world plays a crucial role in
creating an overall healthy economy.

Women in communication
Women communicate in a better way than men according to various research results. Corporate leaders
with better communication skills create harmony both internally externally. Any company requires a
smooth flow of instructions and any other communication for better results in productivity. Similarly,
women can engage more investors and shareholders with benefit in an attempt to expand the business.
They will also create better communication channels in the marketing department for better sales.

They’re better listeners.

Since managers have to deal with a team of people with different points of view and thinking, they need
to have exceptional listening skills. Women are better listeners, and that helps them rightly assess every
situation and build a good image in front of the team. Since they always pay undivided attention to their
teammates and take note of every minute detail to solve their grievances, women managers are liked
better than their male counterparts.

They’ve abundant reserves of patience.

As a manager, you need to be extremely patient while dealing with the tantrums of the entire team.
While men are not that great at doing a good job here, women usually tend to excel at having higher
patience levels. Women managers, therefore, aim at the personal development of every single member
of the team rather than merely looking into the growth of the team as a whole.

They’re more empathetic.

Empathy is an essential quality every manager must possess. Women tend to understand their
teammates’ issues better and offer full empathy in the case of an unfortunate incident or any other
emergency of a similar kind. Their kindness wins them extra points and makes them more accessible and
hence more popular as compared to male managers.

They’re great communicators.

Thanks to their highly efficient communication skills, they prove to be better at managing people.
Instead of taking an impulsive decision, they indulge in intelligent conversations with their team and find
the perfect solution. This also makes them great problem-solvers.

They’re better at networking.

Networking is quite an essential skill every manager must possess. Women are naturally good at it and
their flawless communication skills help them network better. In today’s time, making connections is
quite essential to making your business grow and with women managers the chances of a business
flourishing just multiply.

They’re way more organized.

With their highly efficient organizational skills, women hardly miss deadlines and are hence more likely
to take a business to new heights. Instead of randomly burdening their team with lots of work, they plan
it all out. They ensure that their team starts working way before the deadline so that they don’t miss any
crucial deadlines and don’t stress out either.

They’re better at engaging people.

Multiple studies have shown that women leaders prove to be better at engaging their teams as
compared to male managers. The primary reason for a better engagement ratio as compared to men is
their powerful observation skills. They know what motivates their team and what’s required to keep
them engaged.

They appreciate good work more frequently.

Women managers pay extreme attention to details and hence notice a good job immediately. As they
tend to appreciate good work often and offer rewards and recognition, they’re more popular among the
team as compared to male leaders. Being more likable as a manager is always a good thing.
 ROLES OF WOMEN ACROSS AND BEYOND MEDIA
Building egalitarian societies is one of the priorities of modern democratic states. Mass media play a
unique and important role in the shaping of a society where men and women enjoy equal rights. Raising
women’s legal awareness is important for the creation of an egalitarian society. This is reached through
several means, including psychological, social, economic, philosophical, awareness of human rights,
political and so on. The role of media is important for being successful in all the mentioned spheres. The
media can promote and speed up the reforms in progress, or, on the contrary, it can hamper their
implementation.

A number of international conferences and conventions have voiced and publicized the need to break
public stereotypes through change in the media policy. Mass media, however, continue to reproduce
discriminatory stereotypes about women and portray them in sexist ways. As a rule, women are
portrayed in a narrow range of characters in mass media. If we were to divide mass media into two
categories, such as fictional and news-reporting, then in the former, women are often associated with
the household or sex-objects, and in the latter category, they lack roles.

Only in a limited number of news programs do women appear as main actors or experts. One of the
reasons for this situation is the smaller number of women in these spheres, but even the existing
number of women are underrepresented compared to their male counterparts.

In advertising and magazines, women are usually portrayed as young, slim and with beauty that meets
the accepted standards. Women with this kind of appearance are often associated with sex objects.

Why do social scientists attribute importance to study of images and stereotypes of women in media?
Femininity, as well as masculinity, are not biological, but rather, cultural constructs. Representations and
manifestations of femininity differ across cultures, time and societies. Femininity is culturally and socially
constructed by the family, education, the public, and to a larger extent, the media. In this respect, the
long-term change in women’s images in media could help change the perceptions and stereotypes
women face in a society.

In the initial stage of its history, media were managed exclusively by men. The media images of men
and women were tailored to men’s preferences. In other words, men were creating media images of
men and women they wished to see in reality.

Media images of women have become a subject of criticism in Feminist Media Studies since 1960s,
when Betty Friedan in her book entitled The Feminine Mystique (1963) revealed and criticized the image
of an ideal woman in post-war America. Friedan calls this image "the happy housewife
heroine."[1] Following her, numerous organizations, feminist groups and journals researched and
revealed the discriminatory nature of women’s images in advertisements and films. The troublesome
findings of their research were behind the reason of UNESCO’s statement on Mass Media in 1979,
namely:

"Taking into consideration that TV programs give information and reflect on gender roles in real life, it
must be stated that women’s images are distorted and unrealistic in these programs. All kind of
entertainment programs portray women in a dual image. On one hand, they are decorative objects. Yet,
at the same time, they are passive individuals in the household and in marriage who are dependent on
men for financial, emotional and physical support.” [2]

Despite the fact that today media increasingly associate femininity with independent and powerful
women, qualities informed by sexuality continue to play a dominant role in the shaping of femininity.

Fragmental display of the female body and fragmentation of women’s body in advertisements promote
the objectification of women’s bodies. When the TV screen or a commercial poster displays only slender
long legs, prominent breasts or thighs, it is difficult to perceive that body holistically and as possessing
personality.

In addition, the portrayed female characters are largely influenced by the beauty myth. They have
flawless skin, slender stature and embody all components of beauty as perceived in society. As a result
of globalization this myth is increasingly generalized across cultures and societies. The standards of
beauty as portrayed in media, however, are impossible to achieve, since the models have been
transformed into these images through a number of technical means.

One of the reasons of discriminatory images of women in media is the fact that media products, as a
rule, are created by men, in men’s tastes and for men. In 2012 The International Women's Media
Foundation carried out a study of world news agencies and corporations to determine the status of
women in the news media. This first large-scale study illustrated that in all areas of media women were
still facing problems in achieving equality.

Despite the tremendous change that has taken place in the sphere of media thanks to feminist criticism,
the contemporary media are nowhere close to the standards they claim. Even in US and Europe, where
feminist ideas are widely spread, and women have legally reached equal rights with men, media
continue to have discriminatory attitudes towards women and rely on male worldview when portraying
women. Many researchers and analysts have documented the fact that in these countries women are
also poorly represented in media which in turn has had a negative impact on the formation of value
system.

The image of women and the voicing of women’s concern underwent a revolutionary change due to
modern technology and emergence of new types of media. Today, all of us, in fact, are part of the media
not only as consumers, but also as producers. And anyone, woman or man, can cover their problems
and story by themselves, make it public, and turn it into media for consumption. These new possibilities,
however, also bring about new challenges. In case of traditional media, it is possible to work with the
leadership and staff to undergo training and achieve some results. In case of social media, not only
groups in need of support voice their opinion, and publicize their perceptions freely, but also those
people who threaten these groups and spread discriminatory and offensive comments about them.
Thus, the quality of information disseminated in social media and the comments on these pieces of
information are much more sexist and patriarchal. Change in this sphere can be achieved only through
indirect impact.
 Though women have considerably in every aspect of life, have undergone experiences regarding
the exploitative treatment and these seems to be never ending. The Government, judiciary and social
action groups are taking positive action to make provision of true dignity in economic, social and
personal areas for women. In this attempt the mass media has a fundamental role in reporting the ill
effects of violence and criminal acts, unlawful activities following up corrective action, organization of
public opinion, bringing about social transformation and putting emphasis upon positive developments.
The media is regarded to be a medium that is to be effectively utilized to update, enlighten as well as
interest the public. The media is a transporter of knowledge, awareness, information, ideas, thoughts
and opinions. It is an influential power in creating an impact upon the viewpoints and perceptions of the
people on numerous concerns and issues. The media can be both positive as well as negative in terms of
the arrangement and observations of women as well as an authoritative instrument for the significance
of education and professionalization.
Although the media has played a very significant part in underscoring women's subjects, it has
also had a negative impact, in terms of perpetrating violence and crime against women, the
mistreatment of women, child marriage, female foeticide are some of the factors that came through
media, hence this is considered to be a negative effect of media. Generally, the media treatment of
women is contracted and persistently strengthens stereotyped gender roles and statements regarding
women. The women's occupations and roles within the society are that of a wife, mother, sister, and
daughter and in the present world, women are even engaged in professional employment settings and
jobs; this has brought them equal to the male dominated society and there has been elimination of
discrimination against women and all types of inequalities.

MEDIA STEREOTYPES FOR WOMEN

Representations of girls and women in the media are loaded with stereotypes about who women are
and what kinds of contributions should they render within the society. These stereotypes can be
unconstructive, preventive and demeaning and impact both how women recognize themselves and how
others perceive them within the community.
Though women have
considerably in every
aspect of life, have
undergone
experiences regarding the
exploitative treatment and
these seems to be never
ending. The Government,
judiciary and social action
groups are taking positive
action to make provision of
true dignity in economic,
social and personal areas
for
women. In this attempt the
mass media has a
fundamental role in
reporting the ill
effects of violence and
criminal acts, unlawful
activities following up
corrective
action, organization of
public opinion, bringing
about social transformation
and
putting emphasis upon
positive developments. The
media is regarded to be a
medium that is to be
effectively utilized to
update, enlighten as well as
interest the
public. The media is a
transporter of knowledge,
awareness, information,
ideas,
thoughts and opinions. It is
an influential power in
creating an impact upon the
viewpoints and perceptions
of the people on numerous
concerns and issues. The
media can be both positive
as well as negative in terms
of the arrangement and
observations of women as
well as an authoritative
instrument for the
significance
of education and
professionalization.
Although the media has
played a very significant
part in underscoring
women's subjects, it has
also had a negative impact,
in terms of perpetrating
violence and crime against
women, the mistreatment
of women, child marriage,
female foeticide are some
of the factors that came
through media, hence this
is
considered to be a negative
effect of media. Generally,
the media treatment of
women is contracted and
persistently strengthens
stereotyped gender roles
and
statements regarding
women. The women's
occupations and roles
within the
society are that of a wife,
mother, sister, and daughter
and in the present world,
women are even engaged
in professional
employment settings and
jobs; this has
brought them equal to the
male dominated society
and there has been
elimination
of discrimination against
women and all types of
inequalities.
Though women have
considerably in every
aspect of life, have
undergone
experiences regarding the
exploitative treatment and
these seems to be never
ending. The Government,
judiciary and social action
groups are taking positive
action to make provision of
true dignity in economic,
social and personal areas
for
women. In this attempt the
mass media has a
fundamental role in
reporting the ill
effects of violence and
criminal acts, unlawful
activities following up
corrective
action, organization of
public opinion, bringing
about social transformation
and
putting emphasis upon
positive developments
RETALIATION OF DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEX
Chapter IV General Assembly, Article 13 section (b) UN Charter
promoting international co-operation in the economic, social, cultural, educational, and health fields,
and assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as
to race, sex, language, or religion.

Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women

The Magna Carta of Women (MCW) is a comprehensive women’s human rights law that seeks to
eliminate discrimination through the recognition, protection, fulfillment, and promotion of the rights of
Filipino women, especially those belonging to the marginalized sectors of society.

The Magna Carta of Women defines discrimination against women as:

 any gender-based distinction, exclusion, or restriction which has the effect or purpose of
impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise by women, irrespective of their
marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field;
 any act or omission, including by law, policy, administrative measure, or practice, that directly or
indirectly excludes or restricts women in the recognition and promotion of their rights and their
access to and enjoyment of opportunities, benefits, or privileges;
 a measure or practice of general application that fails to provide for mechanisms to offset or
address sex or gender-based disadvantages or limitations of women, as a result of which women
 are denied or restricted in the recognition and protection of their rights and in their access to
and enjoyment of opportunities, benefits, or privileges; or women, more than men are shown to
have suffered the greater adverse effects of those measures or practices; and
 discrimination compounded by or intersecting with other grounds, status, or condition, such as
ethnicity, age, poverty, or religion.

If the violation is committed by a government agency or any government office, including government-
owned and controlled corporations and local government units, the person directly responsible for the
violation, as well as the head of the agency or local chief executive shall be held liable under the Magna
Carta of Women. The sanctions under administrative law, civil service or other appropriate laws shall be
recommended by the Commission on Human Rights to the Civil Service Commission and the Department
of the Interior and Local Government.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6725

AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN WITH RESPECT TO

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED
THIRTY-FIVE OF THE LABOR CODE, AS AMENDED

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Article One hundred thirty-five of the Labor Code, as amended, is hereby further amended
to read as follows:

“Art. 135. Discrimination Prohibited.—It shall be unlawful for any employer to discriminate against any
woman employee with respect to terms and conditions of employment solely on account of her sex.

“The following are acts of discrimination:

“(a) Payment of a lesser compensation, including wage, salary or other form of remuneration and fringe
benefits, to a female employee as against a male employee, for work of equal value; and

“(b) Favoring a male employee over a female employee with respect to promotion, training
opportunities, study and scholarship grants solely on account of their sexes.
“Criminal liability for the willful commission of any unlawful act as provided in this article or any
violation of the rules and regulations issued pursuant to Section 2 hereof shall be penalized as provided
in Articles 288 and 289 of this Code: Provided, That the institution of any criminal action under this
provision shall not bar the aggrieved employee from filing an entirely separate and distinct action for
money claims, which may include claims for damages and other affirmative reliefs. The actions hereby
authorized shall proceed independently of each other.”

SEC. 2. The Secretary of Labor and Employment is hereby authorized to promulgate the necessary
guidelines to implement this Article in accordance with the generally accepted practices and standards
here and abroad.

SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date of its publication in at least two (2)
national newspapers of general circulation.

SOGIESC BILL

SENATE BIILL NO. 689

AN ACT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER

IDENTITY OR EXPRESSION (SOGIE) AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR

Explanatory note

According to the survey "The Global Divide on Homosexuality" by the Pew Research Center, 73% of adult
Filipinos agree that homosexuality should be accepted by society. The Philippines placed second as the
most gay-friendly country in the whole Asia-Pacific, after Australia. Just recently, some 70,000 people
joined the Metro Manila Pride March - the largest and oldest Pride demonstration in Southeast Asia.

Despite these overwhelming numbers, the Philippines is only more tolerant than accepting of the LGBT
community. According to a United Nations (UN) study, 30% of LGBT in the country reported being
harassed, bullied, or discriminated against by others while at work because of their sexual orientation
and gender identity or expression (SOGIE). The same study also said 21% of Filipino respondents
believed that they were denied a job because of their SOGIE. The country ranked 95th in the SPARTACUS
Gay Travel Index 2019, which scored countries based on measures like trans gender rights, marriage
equality, and the existence of anti-discrimination legislation
It is high time for the Philippines to join the long list of countries with a national anti-discrimination law.
With the hopes of giving the LGBT community full acceptance, and not just tolerance, this proposed
legislation aims to finally eliminate the hate and discrimination against them. This bill also seeks to
create an environment that is safe, equal, and reasonable for everyone regardless of their sexual
orientation and gender identity or expression.

VARIOUS EXAMPLES OF ADDRESSING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

THROUGH THE MEDIA.
What drives violence against women?

Evidence shows that violence against women is much more likely to occur when power, opportunities
and resources are not shared equally between men and women in society, and when women are not
valued and respected as much as men.

Research tells us that there are four key drivers of violence against women.

Driver 1: Condoning of violence against women

Attitudes, words and actions that trivialise, make light of or justify violence against women allow people
to think violence is acceptable or excusable.

Driver 2: Men’s control of decision-making and limits to women’s independence in public and private
life

Women continue to earn less than men in the media industry. Women are also less likely to be used as
authoritative sources or experts, and to hold producer or editorial roles in Australian media. At a societal
level, women continue to be under-represented in political and workplace leadership roles and perform
the majority of domestic labour.

When men control decisions and resources, in the home or in public, they have an opportunity to use
that power to reinforce privilege, and to abuse their power, while women have less power to stop it, call
it out, or leave.

Driver 3: Rigid gender stereotyping and dominant forms of masculinity

Common ideas of how men and women ‘should’ act influence the types of roles they are expected to
fulfil Gender norms can be particularly harmful for women, as traditional female roles are commonly less
valued.

When male power is the norm, and stereotypes of masculinity involve an assumption that men should
be in control and dominant, then men are more likely to use violence, including harassment and verbal
abuse, to ‘punish’ women who step outside of their expected roles.

Driver 4: Male peer relations and cultures of masculinity that emphasise aggression, dominance and
control
For some men, making jokes and comments that reinforce the idea that women should be less powerful
than them is a way of bonding and gaining the approval and respect of their peers. When aggression and
disrespect towards women are seen as part of being ‘one of the boys’, it is more likely that violence
towards women will be excused.

When the media amplifies, reinforces and normalises these ideas about masculinity and male peer
relationships, it promotes and reinforces the kinds of social norms, community attitudes and individual
beliefs that drive violence against women.

What can the media do?

The media can change the widespread condoning of violence against women by reporting accurately,
safely and respectfully on violence against women. Learn about reporting on violence against women.

The media industry can address gender inequality, challenge dominant gender stereotypes and work to
end disrespect towards women, as a sector. Find out about how the media can promote gender
equality through its work and as a workplace.