Discrimination Discrimination Lesson Objectives Know what discrimination is

Discrimination

Discrimination Lesson Objectives • Know what discrimination is and that there are two kinds of discrimination. • Understand who equality law protects and why. • Be able to create a persuasive argument about equality law. 2 © Young Citizens

Discrimination My Identity re u t l u c religi on te s a t usic m appe aran ce Use the sheet to think about how you and other people would describe your identity. family 3 © Young Citizens friends sexu a lity

Discrimination What is discrimination? There are two types of discrimination Direct discrimination. This tends to be more obvious, e. g. racist comments or sacking a woman due to pregnancy. Indirect discrimination. This is a less obvious form of discrimination, e. g. forcing everyone in a company to start work at 8: 00 in the morning when this may negatively affect working parents. 4 © Young Citizens

Discrimination throughout history Can you match the dates to the law? 1833 Some women entitled to vote for the first time 1918 Slavery abolished throughout the British Empire 1967 Same-sex marriage legalised 1970 Equal Pay Act demands that women and men are paid an equal wage for equal work 1976 Race-related discrimination banned 1995 Discriminating against disabled people in relation to employment banned 2013 Homosexuality legalised 5 © Young Citizens

Discrimination The Answers Amir is a partner in a small law firm. When he reached 65 he was told he had to retire. Is it legal? It depends 6 © Young Citizens The UK no lo nger has a default retirem ent age of 65. Employers ha ve to justify a ll retirement dis missals. In 2012, the S upreme Cour t said that emp loyers needed to give particu lar consideration to whether a ‘public interes t’ is served when telling s omeone to retire.

Discrimination The Answers Jane is turned down for a job working as an assistant in a men’s clothing store. She believes this is because of her gender. Is it legal? Illegal 7 © Young Citizens Discrimination on the ground s of sex is prohibit ed in the area s of employment, education, an d the provision of g oods and serv ices. Employers are not allowed to recruit on the basis of gend er unless there a re exceptiona l circumstance s (e. g. a role in a play needs to be held by a w oman in order to pla y a female character).

Discrimination The Answers Lana is in a wheelchair and the bank she works at has just opened up a new branch in a brand new purpose-built building. Lana can’t use this branch because the only access to this building is up a set of stairs. Is it legal? Illegal 8 © Young Citizens Businesses a nd organisations must make reasonable a djustments to the physical fe atures of their property to overcome physical barrie rs to access (e. g. installing lifts as well as stairs). All new buildin gs should be constructed s o as to allow disabled peop le proper access.

Discrimination It is unlawfu l to discrimin ate on racial groun ds against a nother person. You are protecte d by the law if yo Patrick, an Irish man, refused to laugh u have been abused or h arassed on at the Irish jokes that his work racial grounds, an d t h is could includ colleagues made about him. He e racist jokes. complained to his manager but was told The Answers not to worry about it. When he made a further complaint he was dismissed by his company for having ‘an attitude problem. ’ Is it legal? Illegal 9 © Young Citizens It is also un lawful to tre at someone le ss favourab ly than others beca use they ha ve brought a c ase of racia l discriminatio n to the atte ntion of his/her e mployers. T his is known as vic timisation.

Discrimination The Answers More than on e type of discrimination can occur in a single case. In this c ase Carol suff ers both gender and ra cial discrimina tion. Carol was the only black, female Police Officer working in the Diplomatic Protection Group. She was singled out This was a re al case broug and targeted by her manager who ht forward by PC C a r o l Howard. In would undermine, discredit and belittle July 2014 a tribunal ruled that she had been disc her in front of her colleagues. rim Is it legal? Illegal 10 © Young Citizens inated agains t by the Metropoli tan Police, an d had been targeted by her boss fo r almost a year. She was aw arded £ 37, 000 in da mages.

Discrimination The Answers Mike and Isaac are in a romantic relationship. They are living in the UK and decide that they want to get married in their local registry office but are told they can’t because they are both men. Is it legal? Illegal 11 © Young Citizens In July 2013 the Marriag e (Same Sex Couples) Ac t was passed. This gives same sex co uples the same right to marry as heterosexua l couples.

Discrimination The Answers Nisha left school and applied to train as a nursery nurse at the local college. She was turned down because her exam grades were not good enough. Is it legal? Illegal 12 © Young Citizens It is not aga inst the law to turn som eone down because the ir exam results are n ot good enough.

Discrimination The Answers A company has a policy that all bus drivers must wear a peaked cap at work as part of their uniform. Some staff have expressed concern that this may discriminate against certain groups of people. Is it legal? It depends 13 © Young Citizens It is not aga inst the law to turn som eone down because the ir exam results are n ot good enough.

Discrimination Plenary • What have you most agreed or disagreed with today? • What do you think about the way discrimination is handled in schools? • Do you think that it is important to have laws on discrimination? Why or why not? 14 © Young Citizens