What is Sex Discrimination?

Direct Sex Discrimination

This occurs if a person is discriminated against and treated badly in comparison to another person of a different sex, under the same circumstances.

Examples of direct sex discrimination include:

• Dismissing an employee due to pregnancy.
• Dismissing an employee if she takes maternity leave
• Sexually harassing an employee, by either talking to, touching or behaving in an overtly suggestive manner.
• Bankers refusing to accept a woman’s salary as proof of her income if she applies for a mortgage.
• Bankers not giving financial credit to a married woman unless her husband’s signature is given, whilst a married man is not required to give his wife’s signature if he wishes to make a similar claim.
• Allowing only one sex to have free entry to a night club or other venue due to gender, without allowing the same privilege to the other sex.
• Placing job adverts for men only. Or implying that the employer is only looking for one gender for the job.

Indirect Sex Discrimination

This occurs if a set of conditions or requirements are made to one person, when the conditions apply to everybody but have a greater effect on one sex. For example if an employer sets out a series of rulings which he knows will not affect one of the two genders in his workforce, but will indirectly have an effect on one gender in particular.

Examples of indirect sex discrimination include:

• Dismissing only the female components of a part time work force in a company where there is a mix of genders. This also constitutes to direct sex discrimination.
• If an employer suggests that his female work force must not have young children. Since the proportion of women that have young children is higher than that of men who take responsibility for a child; it is the women who are discriminated against. This practice does not justify employment requirements.
• If a mortgage provider insists that he will only provide a mortgage for people who only work full time he is suggesting that he discriminates indirectly against women. Due to the fact that more women than men have part time work because of family commitments.

Victimisation

If a person is treated badly and discriminated against as a result of making a formal complaint or lodging proceedings against an employer or other party; whilst using their rights under sex discrimination legislation. It is also illegal to treat a person less favourably if they have supported the case of a person who has lodged a case for sex discrimination. For example a witness in the case.

For more information on sex discrimination, contact CAB.