News & Press
Equality Bill Would Enshrine Anti-Discrimination Laws
14 December 2009
Laws preventing racial discrimination could be supported and enshrined by the Equality Bill, currently undergoing its second reading in the House of Lords.
Unfair treatment on the grounds of gender, age and disability would also be better protected against if the bill is successful.
The Equality and Diversity Forum (EDF) and all its members, of which Runnymede is one, strongly urge peers to support the bill and allow it to become an Act of Parliament, thereby incorporated into UK law.
The new legislation would bring together many of the existing equality laws under one umbrella, which would help to make individuals’ rights clearer to them, as well as to employers.
The bill would also allow positive action initiatives to be widened and simplified, making it plain how business owners could redress the balance of under-represented groups - such as BME people - in their employment.
Protection from injustice due to ‘dual discrimination’ is an aspect of the Equality Bill particularly welcomed by EDF members.
At the moment, for example, a Black woman who feels she has been unfairly treated due to her gender and race combined would have little legal protection.
She would have to choose between race and gender for the grounds on which to make her case in an employment tribunal. Employers could then point to colleagues who are White women or Black men in a misleading defence.
You can read more about the EDF's reactions to the Equality Bill in this briefing.
A decision from the House of Lords, with any amendments, is expected in the coming months.
