Youth Challenge
Teaching human rights & responsibilities.

Unit 3: Young People in the Workplace

Back to Table of Contents || Stage 8

Activity sheet: "Difference" and discrimination

The DVD/script has focused on the workplace. But human rights situations involving identity and "difference" can occur anywhere. There may be situations in your own life at the moment: at school, in a sporting team, at a social club, or with your friends, where you see that identity or difference is dealt with inappropriately.

"Difference" is about different ways of thinking, being, acting, looking, etc. It is not just about gender, race, ethnicity, age, physical appearance or disability. We each vary in the way we see the world and how we act in relation to it. We can choose how to respond to difference. We can reject, acknowledge, accept, understand, appreciate, value or embrace difference.

We all deal with difference every day, often without thinking about it. We do think about it, though, if difference results in conflict, tension, a clash of views, or if we feel we might be disadvantaged by it.

For more information on discrimination and harassment you can go to:

• a school counsellor for professional support
• a workplace colleague that you trust
• the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
• your state and territory equal opportunity commission or Anti-Discrimination Board.

Use the grid below to note situations in your life which involve dealing with difference.

This document is also available for download in Word and PDF formats.