Are you prejudiced? Do you discriminate against certain people or categories of people? Are you prejudiced at work and do you discriminate at work?

Prejudice concerns the way we think. Discrimination is about the way we act towards others. Prejudices do not have to be acted on.

What is it we fear about people who are different from us? Why are we quick to spot differences but slow to recognise our common humanity?

Next week presents an opportunity for us to celebrate difference - not uniformity - in the workplace.

In your workplace, why not plan to celebrate cultural diversity? Stop work half an hour early some day and have people partake of diverse ethnic foods and drinks. Invite people to wear something of their culture, get the stereo playing some culturally diverse music. Have a party.

A workplace celebration of cultural diversity is just one of the ideas proposed in the resource pack that will be published to coincide with Anti-Racist Workplace Week, which runs from Monday to Friday next week.

The resource pack suggests that organisations should identify barriers to accessing the workplace and develop an initiative to support recruitment of staff from minority ethnic groups.

Anti-racism training for key personnel is recommended. Systems could be created to track the presence and experience of minority ethnic staff in organisations. Equality policies could be revised to include harassment based on race or membership of the Traveller community.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and the Equality Authority are backing the week.

It will start with the publication of the resource pack and a strong policy statement by IBEC, ICTU and CIF about racism in the workplace and the need to combat it. The Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, will open the anti-racist week at the Equality Authority in Dublin on Monday.

The week will conclude next Friday with a closing seminar by Mr Gurbux Singh, chairman for the Commission for Racial Equality in Britain, who will talk at the Equality Authority offices about practical strategies for addressing racism in the workplace.

Other events include a seminar, at the Aer Rianta Training Centre on Tuesday, for human resources personnel on anti-racism and recruitment.

Mr Niall Crowley, chief executive of the Equality Authority, told The Irish Times that race was slowly emerging as a workplace issue in Ireland.

"We are going to have an increasingly diverse workforce in cultural and ethnic identity terms over the coming years. Now is the time to take steps to prevent racism emerging in the workplace," he says.

Moreover, "we can't divorce the workplace from the community that it draws from and serves. The anti-racist workplace will be an important force for change in the wider society. We do know racism has increased with increasing virulence," he says.

People need to tackle racism at work wherever it already exists and do all they can to prevent its increase.

Racism in the workplace "has the potential for growth and now is the moment to prevent it", Mr Crowley says.

jmarms@irish-times.ie