Legal Definitions - gender discrimination

Gender discrimination occurs when an individual is treated unfairly or less favorably because of their gender, including their gender identity, gender expression, or perceived gender. This unequal treatment can manifest in various aspects of life, such as employment, housing, education, or access to public services, and can involve actions, policies, or practices that disadvantage individuals based on their gender.

• Example 1: Workplace Promotion

  A highly qualified female software developer, with a consistent record of leading successful projects and exceeding performance metrics, is repeatedly overlooked for promotions to senior management roles. Instead, less experienced male colleagues are promoted, with management citing a preference for a "more traditional leadership presence" or "someone who fits better with the existing team dynamic," despite the female developer having strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative approach.

  This illustrates gender discrimination because the female developer is being denied advancement opportunities not based on her qualifications or performance, but on subjective criteria or stereotypes that implicitly favor male candidates for leadership positions.

• Example 2: Access to Services

  A health club offers different membership rates and access to certain facilities based on gender. For instance, it charges women a higher monthly fee for access to the main gym floor, while men pay less for the same access. Conversely, it might offer exclusive "women-only" fitness classes at no extra charge, but require men to pay a premium for similar specialized classes.

  This demonstrates gender discrimination because individuals are being treated differently and less favorably (charged more or restricted access) based solely on their gender, rather than on the services they wish to use or their individual needs.

• Example 3: Educational Opportunities

  A high school's robotics club, which is open to all students, consistently assigns leadership roles and advanced technical tasks (like programming and complex assembly) predominantly to male students, even when female students express equal or greater interest and demonstrate comparable skills. Female students are often relegated to administrative tasks or less technical roles, such as fundraising or public relations.

  This is an example of gender discrimination because female students are being denied equal opportunities to develop technical skills and leadership experience within an educational extracurricular activity, based on implicit biases or stereotypes about gender roles in STEM fields, rather than on their individual abilities or aspirations.