Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Deferred
Consider expanding section 14 of the Equality Act to protect more than two characteristics.
Recommendation
We welcome the Government’s commitment to introducing section 14 of the Equality Act 2010 and the protection it will offer to groups with two protected characteristics. Given that Muslim women may be discriminated against on the basis of their sex, ethnicity and religion, we recommend the Government consider the merits of expanding the scope of section 14 of the Equality Act to include more than two characteristics. (Recommendation, Paragraph 82
Government Response Summary
The government defers to the Equality law call for evidence from April 2025, which sought evidence and views to identify barriers to opportunity and seek expert views on how to overcome these barriers, including on how to strengthen protections against dual discrimination, and will confirm next steps after considering the responses.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
41. We welcome the Committee’s attention to people who have experienced discrimination due to a combination of protected characteristics and share the view that this is unacceptable. 42. The UK has a strong history of protecting against direct and indirect discrimination and the Government is committed to reinforcing this, including through strengthening protections against dual discrimination. It is wrong, for example, that some Muslim women or women experiencing the menopause may be treated less favourably by an employer or service provider because of a particular combination of protected characteristics. The Equality Act 2010 has protections that enable people to challenge discrimination across a range of fields, including the provision of services, employment and recruitment processes. Acas also provides free impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice, including guidance on Following discrimination law - Recruitment - Acas. We will explore with Acas options for enhancing their advice. 43. In April 2025, we launched the Equality law call for evidence, which sought evidence and views on a number of areas of equality policy to identify barriers to opportunity and seek expert views on how to overcome these barriers, including on how to strengthen protections against dual discrimination. We will be confirming our next steps after considering the responses.