Download Understand the meaning of the terms `prejudice` and `discrimination`

Cultural Diversity
In & Through Sport
Lesson One:
Prejudice & Discrimination
and Sport
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication
[communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible
for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the session you should be able to:
• Describe the terms prejudice and discrimination
• Explain the difference between ‘prejudice’ and ‘discrimination
Task: Warm Up
Working in groups, provide a definition and at least one example of
the following terms:
• Prejudice
• Discrimination
• Stereotypes
Definition of Prejudice
•
An opinion formed beforehand
without informed knowledge
•
An opinion which is likely to be
sustained even in the face of
evidence to the contrary
•
Intolerance of or dislike for people
of a specific ethnicity, religion or
group
Prejudice in Action
• Someone who is prejudiced holds certain attitudes and beliefs commonly known as stereotypes - about a person, group of people or
a thing.
• This attitude, often negative, is usually fixed in a way that the person
is reluctant to change.
• Can you think of any examples?
The Source of Prejudice
Prejudice is more likely to occur and persist where:
• Groups have different or conflicting key values
• Others are seen as different
• People see their identity in terms of belonging to particular
groups
• Their groups discriminate against each other
• Fear that other groups pose a threat
Forms of Prejudice
• Sexism : prejudice based on a person’s biological gender
• Racism: prejudice based on a person’s ethnicity
• Sectarianism : prejudice based on a person’s religious background
and/or political beliefs
• Homophobia : prejudice based on a person’s sexual orientation
• Disability Prejudice: Prejudice based on a person’s physical or mental
abilities
• Ageism: prejudice based on a person’s age
Forms of Prejudice
• Work in groups and come up with at least one real life example for
any three of the following forms of prejudice:
– Sexism
– Racism
– Sectarianism
– Homophobia
– Disability prejudice
– Ageism
Institutional Prejudice
• Prejudice is often linked to power known as “Institutional
discrimination”.
• In some countries laws segregated public places into white and nonwhite areas.
• There has also been religious segregation, or ghettoisation
Institutional Prejudice
For many years black Americans fought for an end to racial segregation,
it officially ended in the USA in 1965
Institutional Prejudice
UN Photo/A Tannenbaum
Known as Apartheid, racial segregation only ended in South Africa in 1994!
Prejudice in History
• Also, woman have been sexually discriminated
against for many years:
 Denied entry to higher education until 1876
 Denied the right to vote until 1928
 Denied equal pay for equal work until 1970
 Denied positions of power and authority in
the religious organisations which still goes on
today
Emily Pankhurst campaigned for
women’s rights in the UK. She was
named as one of the most
important people of the 20th
century by Time Magazine in 1999.
Causes of Prejudices
Prejudices can be created by many factors:
 Fear, such as xenophobia
 Shame
 Guilt
 Inadequacy/insecurity
 Ignorance
 Negative experiences of a certain group
Task: Word Association Activity
Working individually, write down the first word(s) that come into
your head for each of the following:
Black people
Gay women
Old people
Women drivers
Sportswomen
Roma
Sportsmen
Politicians
Gay men
Foreign nationals
Travellers
Blind person
Task: My Prejudices
Consider the following:
 Where have your stereotypes come from and how have they
developed?
 How accurate are they in describing the group they are
associated with?
 Do you feel you want to change any of your stereotypes?
 How difficult would this be for you?
What is Discrimination?
•
Discrimination is the unfair treatment of an individual because of
his/her membership of a particular group
•
Discrimination is prejudice in action
Basis of Discrimination
Discrimination can be based on such things as:
 Sexual orientation
 Ethnicity or ethnicity
 Religious beliefs, or non-belief
 Age
 Disability
 Gender
Direct Discrimination
Direct Discrimination occurs when an individual is treated lesser than
those belonging to other groups.
 For example, the use of the following words and/or terms in a job
adverts is direct discrimination:
• Gender specific job titles eg “male teacher”, “female cleaner”
• Age specific words eg “mature”, “young and energetic”
• Specifying preference for able-bodied applicants eg “must be
physically fit”
Direct Discrimination
• Note: In certain circumstances, it is legal to ask for certain
requirements for certain jobs. For example, it may be legal to specify
“female care worker” when advertising for a job in a women’s refuge.
Indirect Discrimination
• Indirect Discrimination can be when certain requirements or
conditions can only be met by a certain group because of age, gender,
ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation:
 For example, if a supermarket chain had a policy that states that
all female operators have to wear dresses, this would exclude
certain groups of females, such as Muslim women whose dress
code includes wearing a shalwar (trousers) and kameez (top),
from competing for employment.
Indirect & Direct Discrimination
• Work in groups and discuss at least one real life example of indirect
and direct discrimination. What were the consequences of the
example of discrimination.
Sourcing the Problem
Stereotypes, Ideas, and Beliefs
Attitudes and Emotions
Prejudice
Discrimination
Review
• Stereotyping: generalisations about the "typical" characteristics of
members of a certain group
• Prejudice: attitude toward the members of a group based solely on
their membership in that group (can be positive or negative)
• Discrimination: positive or negative actions/behaviour, often based
on prejudiced beliefs
Thought for the Day
• An anti-bulling advert from Sweden*:
Click here. * Dubbed for use in Canada; for English version here.