Handout: Discrimination

Students at Quincy College, ESOL Department, Quincy, MA

Discrimination begins when a group of people think they are better than another group of people. In my life, I was discriminated against one time. My company paid men more than they paid women for the same work. In Lithuania, where I worked, there were 15 employees: 2 women and 13 men. I worked as an accountant and my boss was always telling me that women do not need as much money as men. I think that his thinking came from the past. He believed a man should be the boss in the family and that women should listen to men. In fact, we cannot say that men are worth more than women, or that women are worth more than men. It depends on people’s intelligence and work ethic.

I was trying to change his opinion, but I could not. In his head, he made a set of opinions which came from ignorance of the facts. When people have ideas embedded in their minds, it is difficult for them to let go of those ideas. I think that an effective response to this problem is to educate ourselves and communicate with different cultures, people and genders.

—Rima Indreliunaite

Discrimination occurs when one is treated different than others. In general, my opinion is that even if laws exist that protect people, there will never be a world free from discrimination. Religion, status, relationships, power and money are some important causes for discrimination.

As I have no practical experience in buying a house in the United States, I haven’t faced housing discrimination. However, in this essay, my objective is to describe different forms of housing discrimination and how people can protect themselves.

Housing discrimination occurs when a buyer is shown only a few number of neighborhoods of low-quality houses, given incomplete information about a house, or kinds of laws.

In the United States, the Fair Housing Act protects people from such discrimination. These federal laws protect people based on color, race, national origin, religion, familial status or disability. Although these laws have been enacted, many people may not be aware of the fact that they have been discriminated against. To escape from discrimination, or to seek justice, a person must be aware of his/her rights and should do his/her homework before going to a real estate agent or mortgage lender. Homework means checking newspapers and learning about the best interest rates. A person can also attend a counseling or education class which is provided by local community development corporations.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this essay, a discrimination-free world does not exist, but one can reduce the degree of discrimination by doing a little homework.

—Romana Jurikova

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