Discrimination is a persistent and pressing challenge. It violates the principles of respect for the inherent dignity and the equal rights for all, with far-reaching effects that touch almost all aspects of people’s lives – from their income and housing security to health, social relationships and civic participation. These consequences come at a considerable personal cost and to society as a whole.
Despite concerted efforts to combat discrimination since the introduction of the Union of Equality in 2019, self-reported discrimination rates have risen in most European Union (EU) countries. This trend reflects recent major events, increasingly diverse populations and growing public awareness. While self-reported data cannot definitively confirm whether discrimination itself is increasing, these data offer valuable insights into the risks people face and the nature of their experiences. Self-reported data are especially valuable in the EU, given the variability of data collections across EU Member States.
This report, Combatting Discrimination in the European Union, draws on new self-reported survey data and responses to the OECD Anti-Discrimination Questionnaire to explore the extent, nature and effects of discrimination, along with OECD EU countries’ policy and legal responses. The OECD Anti‑Discrimination Questionnaire has enabled the creation of a unique dataset of anti-discrimination laws and policy initiatives that promote inclusion for groups at risk of discrimination, including persons with disabilities, people from racialised communities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, young people and older people. This holistic data collection exercise supports an examination of the gaps in national laws and policies, as well as highlighting good practices that could be more widely adopted. By analysing surveys and the OECD Anti-Discrimination Questionnaire, this report provides new evidence on the experience of discrimination and the comprehensiveness of OECD EU countries’ responses – contributing to the aims of the OECD Observatory on Social Mobility and Equal Opportunity.
This report was prepared by the OECD Centre on Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE). Suzana Hardy was the lead author and analyst, with additional analysis and contributions by Andrés Ruiz Ojeda and Tom Schraepen, and support from Alessandro Facchini, Wonkyung Kwak and Neil Martin. The work was carried out under the supervision of Carlotta Balestra and published under the direction of Romina Boarini and with inputs from Carrie Exton. Martine Zaïda provided communications support and Anne-Lise Faron prepared and formatted the manuscript for publication. The team thankfully acknowledges the comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of the report provided by delegates of the OECD Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee and the OECD Working Party on Social Policy, as well as feedback from the European Commission Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers. The team is also grateful for feedback provided by OECD colleagues on the working paper that informed the development of this report, including Marie-Anne Valfort, Marc Folch (both OECD Directorate for Employment and Labour and Social Affairs) and Jenny Hedman and Sasha Milanova (both OECD Development Co-operation Directorate).
This report was carried out with the financial assistance of the European Commission Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, and the OECD would like to thank them for their support. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the OECD member countries or the European Commission.