Age and sex discrimination

Examples of age discrimination

The following findings from the European Social Survey provide an illustration.

• over 60% of UK respondents felt that age discrimination was a very or quite serious problem
• nearly a third said they had experienced discrimination because of their age
• over 40% said they had been treated with a lack of respect, eg insulted or patronised, and over 20% said they had been insulted or abused because of their age
• some 63.5% aged 15-25 said they had experienced unfair treatment because of their age. This fell to 16.2% aged 75+
• people in their 40s were thought to have the highest status, with people in their 20s and 70s believed to have lower status levels
• UK respondents thought it would be more acceptable to appoint a qualified 30-year-old as a boss than a qualified 70-year-old

Further information and support

• for organisations and services promoting age equality in Hackney, visit the Hackney Directory or for health and social care-related services, visit Hackney iCare
• Young Hackney provides information about services for young people
• adults including older people provides information about our services for older people
• British Youth Council empowers young people across the UK to have a say and be heard
• National Pensioners Convention is an umbrella organisation of over 1,000 local, regional and national pensioner groups
• Age UK offers advice and support to older people on benefits, care, age discrimination and computer courses, including on the law on age discrimination and how it affects older people
• the 2010 Equality Act and Schools, Department for Education
• the European Social Fund’s equality and diversity good practice guide on age discrimination
• profiling the needs of older people in Hackney

Sex

It is unlawful to discriminate against someone because they are a man or a woman. The Council is committed to promoting gender equality and valuing the contribution made by male and female citizens.

Examples of sex discrimination

The following statistics provide an illustration:

• women tend to experience greater levels of domestic violence. On average two women a week are killed by a violent partner or ex-partner in England and Wales, according to figures issued by the Home Office in 2015
• women tend to be paid less than men, earning 17% less than their male counterparts nationally. In Hackney, average weekly full time earnings are £613 for men and £592 for women, according to Government figures
• women tend to be less well represented in public life. 1 in 4 MPs are women; in Hackney 23 of the 58 elected councillors are women. According to a report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2011, it will be around 70 years before we see an equal number of male and female directors of FTSE 100 companies
• in 2015, 62% of girls in England obtained 5 or more GCSE’s grade A*-C compared with 49% of boys. In Hackney this was 6% of girls and 5% of boys according to figures from the Department for Education

Further information and support

• for organisations and services promoting gender equality in Hackney, visit the Hackney Directory
• domestic violence support in Hackney
• Women’s Aid works to end domestic violence against women and children.
• The Fawcett Society campaigns for equality between women and men in the UK on pay, pensions, poverty, justice and politics.
• The Women’s Resource Centre provides information and support to voluntary and community organisations working to improve the status of women.
• Rape Crisis England and Wales offers specialist services to women and girls who have been raped.
• gender equality a good practice guide, European Social Fund
• bullying and harassment at work, ACAS
• sexual harassment – managers’ questions answered, Equality and Human Rights Commission
• our paper profiling the needs of women and girls in Hackney