The glossary provides you with definitions of key terms connected with discrimination and diversity issues in the EU.
How to use the glossary
If you are looking for a specific term you can search alphabetically in the ‘A-Z of discrimination’ found below.
Alternatively, scroll down the page for a complete list of terms.
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - L - M - N - P - R - S - T - V - W - X
A
Access to justice
One of three priorities set out by the EU to enable individuals and companies to exercise their rights in a Member State other than their own. Other priorities are mutual recognition of judicial decisions and increased convergence in procedural law.
Adultism
Adultism is prejudice against a person or group on the grounds of age. Adultism refers specifically to age discrimination against young people.
Age
EU citizenship confers the right to protection from discrimination on the grounds of, among other things, age. This is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Ageism
Ageism is a prejudice against a person or a group on the grounds of age.
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B
Belief
EU citizenship confers the right to protection from discrimination on the grounds of, among other things, belief. This is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is a type of sexual orientation which refers to a person who is sexually attracted to both men and women.
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C
Case-law
Rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Communities. These have major legal weight, comparable to treaty texts and secondary EU legislation (directives, regulations, etc.)
Charter of Fundamental Rights
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union consolidates rights contained in Community Treaties, EC Court of Justice case-law, international conventions, constitutional traditions common to the Member States and a range of European Parliament declarations.
Citizenship of the European Union
The 1991 Maastricht Treaty established the concept of European citizenship, dependent on national citizenship of an EU Member State. EU citizenship confers a range of rights.
Civil Society
Voluntary and community groups, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), trade unions, etc. The EU encourages the input of civil society in the decision-making process.
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D
Direct discrimination
Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favourably than another in a comparable situation because of their racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. An example of direct discrimination is a job advert, which says ‘no disabled people need apply.’
Disability
The Treaty of Amsterdam empowers the EU to take measures against discrimination on the grounds of disability.
Disabled people
Under the EU Treaty disabled people have the right to expect freedom from discrimination and recourse through the EU’s legal channels.
Discrimination
The Treaty of European Union makes protection from discrimination based on nationality, gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation a fundamental right of EU citizenship.
Diversity
Diversity is one of the founding principles of the European Union and was one of the driving forces behind the process of European integration. It refers to a set of conscious practices which acknowledge and tolerate difference. Today, the values of the European Union promote a better public understanding of the benefits of diversity and the fight against discrimination in society. The European Commission’s key objectives are to prevent people from being discriminated against in any way due to their racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
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E
Employee
EU citizens living in another Member State are entitled to the same rights as an employee who is a national of that country. People from countries outside the EU are still subject to national immigration laws.
Employment
Under the Treaty of Amsterdam, employment is now enshrined as one of the European Community‘s objectives. A new title on employment (Title VIII) in the EC Treaty states that employment is to be taken into consideration in other Community policies.
Ephebiphobia
Ephebiphobia is defined as the irrational fear of adolescents and a prejudice against teenagers.
Equal Opportunities
Two key elements of the general principle of equal opportunities are the ban on discrimination on grounds of nationality (EC Treaty: Article 12) and equal pay for men and women (EC Treaty: Article 141). It is intended to apply to all fields, particularly economic, social, cultural and family life.
Equal Treatment
An important right conferred by EU citizenship. The Treaty of Amsterdam added a new Article 13 to the Treaty, reinforcing the principle of non-discrimination. Under this new article, the Council has the power to take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Equality
EU citizenship confers the right to protection from discrimination on the grounds of, among other things, sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. This is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Ethnic Group
An ethnic group is defined as a population of people sharing a common genealogical or ancestral heritage. Ethnic groups sharing the same historical background are linked by a common cultural practice, language and sometimes religion, belief or tradition.
Ethnic Origin
EU citizenship confers the right to protection from discrimination on the grounds of, among other things, ethnic origin. This is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
EU citizenship
The 1991 Maastricht Treaty established the concept of European citizenship. EU citizenship confers a range of rights, including freedom of movement and the right to vote and stand in local and European elections in every Member State.
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F
Four Freedoms
The EU and EC Treaties guarantee four fundamental market freedoms: free movement of goods, services, people and capital.
Free association
The right to associate freely in the EU has been established by the case-law of the European Court of Justice.
Free movement of persons
A fundamental right of EU citizenship, allowing citizens to travel, live and work freely throughout the EU. The Treaty of Amsterdam communitised the area, giving the Commission a greater role in proposing initiatives.
Freedom
All citizens of the EU have the right to move, live and work freely within the EU.
Fundamental Freedoms
For EU citizens to be able to exercise fundamental freedoms particularly the right to live and work throughout the EU the judiciaries of the Member States must cooperate and standardise procedures to remove any barriers faced by the citizen in carrying out personal or economic administrative and litigious activity.
Fundamental rights
EU Treaties and case-law provide for fundamental human rights as well as rights connected with EU citizenship, such as freedom of movement throughout the EU. These rights are summed up in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, proclaimed in December 2000.
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G
Gay
Gay refers to the sexual orientation of homosexuality.
Gender
EU citizenship confers the right to protection from discrimination on the grounds of, among other things, gender. This is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Gender Equality
The term comprises the envisaged equality between both sexes in all areas, including employment, education and social rights.
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H
Harassment
Harassment refers to the violation of the dignity of a person on grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, gender or sexual orientation. In a legal sense harassment refers to behaviours that are found threatening or disturbing. An environment of harassment is considered to be intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating and offensive. This kind of conduct is prohibited by the Fundamental Rights of the European Union, EU treaties, European Directives, European case-law as well as rights connected to the EU citizenship.
Hate Group
Hate groups are organised groups promoting highly offensive attitudes or even committing acts of violence towards people adhering to a particular racial, ethnic, religious or other social group.
Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality means the attraction between two people of opposite sexes. It is characterised as a sexual orientation along with homosexuality and bisexuality.
High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Representative of the United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights, responsible for monitoring and promoting human rights worldwide. The EU cooperates with the (OHCHR).
Homosexuals
EU citizenship confers the right to protection from discrimination on the grounds of, among other things, sexual orientation. This is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Human rights
The case-law of the European Court of Justice recognises the principles laid down in the Council of Europe’s Convention on Human Rights. This respect for human rights is incorporated into Article 6 of the EU Treaty. Action is outlined for cases where a Member State seriously and persistently breaches the principles.
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I
Indirect Discrimination
Indirect discrimination occurs when an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice would disadvantage people on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, gender or sexual orientation unless the practice can be objectively justified by a legitimate aim. An example of indirect discrimination is requiring all people who apply for a certain job to sit a test in a particular language, even though that language is not necessary for the job. The test might exclude more people who have a different mother tongue.
Integration Policy
The EU have called for creation of a policy to give people in the EU who are from countries outside the Union rights and obligations comparable to those of the EU citizen.
Islamaphobia
Islamophobia is an irrational fear or prejudice towards Islam or Muslims. Islamophobia has significantly increased in the Western world since the terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001.
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J
Jeunism
Jeunism is a preference of younger people purely on the basis of age. This term is often linked to the realm of employment; certain sectors favour younger candidates in order to project a certain image.
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L
Lesbians
EU citizenship confers the right to protection from discrimination on the grounds of, among other things, sexual orientation. This is enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
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M
Migration
The act of leaving one country or region to settle in another.
Mobility
EU citizens can move, live and work freely in any EU Member State. Closer cooperation between Member States on civil laws and procedures aim to make mobility truly possible.
Municipal elections
Elections in which citizens choose representation at local level. EU citizens have the right to vote in local municipal elections throughout the EU, even if they are not nationals of that State.
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N
Non-discrimination
Since 1999, the EU may pass legislation to combat discrimination on grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
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P
Political rights
Since the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, all EU citizens have the right to vote and stand as candidates in municipal and European, although not national, elections.
Political, economic and social rights
These rights are enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, proclaimed by EU leaders in Nice in December 2000.
Positive Action
The directives recognise explicitly that outlawing discrimination will not necessarily be enough by itself to ensure genuine equality of opportunity for everyone in society. Specific measures might be called for to compensate for disadvantages arising from a person’s racial or ethnic origin, age or other characteristics which might lead to them being treated unfairly. For example, ethnic minorities may need special training and specific help to have a reasonable chance of finding a job. Putting on training courses or making different arrangements especially for them are ways of improving their chances. The directives allow positive action of this kind to be undertaken and do not regard it as infringing the principle of equal treatment.
Prejudice
Prejudice may be defined as prejudgement and preconception towards another human being or group of people formed without knowledge or examination of the facts. Prejudices are often reinforced by stereotypes and are usually based on an assumption, feelings or beliefs, which can influence perceptions and behaviour.
Prostitution
The selling of one’s body for sexual purposes. The EU has launched several initiatives to fight against the sex trade in women and children.
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R
Race
The EU is firmly opposed to any discrimination based on race. Article 13 of the Treaty empowers the EU to pass laws against all forms of racially based discrimination.
Racism
Racism is in direct breach of fundamental European values. The EU is working, from both a preventative and repressive perspective, to combat all its forms.
Reasonable Accommodation
Article 5 of the Employment Equality Directive states that employers have a duty of reasonable accommodation with respect to candidates or employees with a disability. This means that employers are required to take appropriate measures to enable a person with a disability to have access to employment or training unless doing so would impose a disproportionate burden on the employer. Reasonable accommodation would include, for example, providing wheelchair access, adjusting working hours, adapting office equipment or simply redistributing tasks between the members of a team. To determine the disproportionate burden, account should be taken in particular of the financial and other costs entailed, the scale and financial resources of the organisation and the possibility of obtaining public funding or any other assistance.
Refugee
A person who fulfils the requirements of Article 1(A) of the Geneva Convention, Article 1(A) defines a refugee as any person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race or ethnicity, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.
Religion
All EU residents are free to practise their own religion. This freedom is enshrined in the EU Treaties, the European Convention on human rights and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Right of asylum
Anyone who meets the criteria laid down in the 1951 Geneva Convention on refugees has the right of asylum in the first safe country they reach.
Right to travel
All EU residents enjoy the right to travel freely around the EU without a visa. This is part of the principle of free movement, upon which the EU is based.
Right to vote
Since 1993, all EU citizens have the automatic right to vote in local and European (although not in national) elections in whatever Member State they reside in.
Right to work
Anyone legally residing in a Member State has the right to take up employment there, either on a salaried or self-employed basis.
Rights
The EU upholds and protects certain fundamental rights for its citizens, such as the right to vote, to travel and to work.
Rights of access
The EU is working to improve the access its citizens have to justice in all Member States, and to overcome problems due to divergent legal systems.
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S
Sanctions
Explicit reference to the sanctions applicable to infringements of the national provisions against discrimination is made in Article 15 of the Racial Equality Directive and Article 17 of the Employment Equality Directive. According to these Articles, Member States must lay down the rules on the sanctions that will be applicable and take all necessary measures to ensure their enforcement. The Directives also specify that the sanctions, which may comprise payment of compensation to the victim, must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Segregation
Segregation is separating people of different races or classes, and usually refers to this practice in schools and other public service; this is a form of discrimination.
Sex
All forms of discrimination based on sex, e.g. pay-related, are contrary to EU principles.
Sexism, Sexist
Sexism describes discrimination against someone on the grounds of their gender and also is used to describe any type of differentiation based on sex.
Sexual Assault
Sexual assault refers to any type of physical contact of a sexual nature without voluntary consent.
Sexual harassment
The EU is working to fight sexual harassment through its anti-discrimination programmes and in June 2001 agreed a directive to outlaw it in the workplace.
Sexual Orientation
The 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam empowered the EU to outlaw all discrimination based on a persons sexual orientation. On this basis, the European Community adopted a directive prohibiting discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation in the area of employment.
Statistical Discrimination
Statistical discrimination describes an economic theory of inequality based on stereotypes against persons or a group of people to whom they are not culturally attuned. Often statistical discrimination is used in the employer/ employee context. The theory states that job seekers who do not share the same values as their potential employer, may either not be hired in the first place or will earn less.
Stereotype
Stereotypes are opinions or considerations about members of particular groups or a category of people that are entirely based on their membership to this group. Most stereotypes express very negative points of view which convey prejudices.
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T
Tolerance
Tolerance may be defined as the ability to accept or respect the beliefs and social values of another person or group of people.
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V
Victimisation
Victimisation is also prohibited. This is where someone is treated badly or differently for having made a complaint about discrimination or supporting a colleague who has made a complaint.
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W
Women
Article 3 of the Treaty commits the EU to promoting equal treatment between men and women in all its policy areas, not just for pay-related issues.
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X
Xenophobia
Fear of foreigners. Xenophobia is contrary to the fundamental principles of liberty, democracy and respect for human rights upon which the European Union is founded.
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