The Belgian Institute for the Equality of Women and Men protecting victims of intersectional discriminations
Illustration by Maqué Studio
Equality Bodies are vital in addressing discrimination resulting from the interplay or cumulation of multiple personal characteristics such as gender, age, and health status.
Emma was fired from her job of 16 years after informing her employer about health complications following a traumatic childbirth, which also affected her child. The dismissal occurred shortly after she disclosed her situation, despite expressing her willingness to continue working. Her dismissal letter stated she was being replaced by someone “younger, dynamic, and flexible.”
The Institute for the Equality of Women and Men (IGVM) intervened on its own motion in the lawsuit initiated by Emma to support her claims and argued that her dismissal constituted discrimination based not only on gender (pregnancy), on which the IGVM has a mandate, but also on age and health. The Court agreed, ruling that the employer had violated anti-discrimination laws.
The judgment emphasized that replacing an employee based on such criteria reinforces harmful stereotypes and marginalizes individuals who wish to remain in the workforce despite health-related difficulties
Are you interested in knowing more about how Equality Bodies effectively identify and fight intersectional and multiple discrimination?
- In 2024 Equinet published the blog post “Gender Equality and Climate Change Mitigation: How Can the Two Go Hand in Hand?“, authored by Marta Pompili, which emphasizes that achieving meaningful climate change mitigation requires integrating gender equality – through gender-sensitive data, women’s leadership in decision-making, education and empowerment for climate resilience, and an intersectional, gender-transformative policy approach across institutions like Equality Bodies – to ensure sustainable, equitable, and effective environmental strategies.
- In 2023 Equinet held a training on “Intersectionality & Multiple Discrimination – Methods on data collection and measurement, challenges and opportunities” which aimed to increase the capacity of Equality Bodies’ staff to develop methods on intersectionality and multiple discrimination data collection and measurement by sharing and discussing good practices as well as challenges and opportunities for overcoming them.
- In 2023 Equinet published the blog post “Intersectionality: Just another tool to fight discrimination?“, authored by Alizé Larguier, which argued that recognizing intersectionality – not just as a concept but as a practical policy and legal tool – is essential for effectively combating layered discrimination and ensuring that equality efforts truly reflect the complex realities faced by individuals with multiple, intersecting identities.
- In 2020 Equinet published the blog post “Why Intersectionality is relevant for a fairer Europe“, authored by Wadzanai Motsi-Khatai and Miriam Aced, Center for Intersectional Justice, to discuss the concept of intersectionality and how the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the implications of multiple discriminations.
- In 2020 Equinet published the statement by Alyna C. Smith, Advocacy Officer, PICUM, which emphasizes that equality legislation must explicitly address the multiple layers of discrimination faced by undocumented migrants – advocating for intersectionality, recognizing migration status as a crucial axis of inequality.