What are the 9 characteristics of the Equality Act?
Asked by: Michale Zboncak | Last update: May 25, 2026Score: 4.8/5 (3 votes)
The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals in Britain from discrimination, harassment, and victimization based on nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. These characteristics apply to employment, services, and public functions.
What are the 9 characteristics of the Equality Act 2010?
It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of:
- age.
- gender reassignment.
- being married or in a civil partnership.
- being pregnant or on maternity leave.
- disability.
- race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin.
- religion or belief.
- sex.
What are the 9 grounds of the Equality Act?
The protected grounds are gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religious belief or lack of belief, age, disability, race including nationality, and membership in the Traveller community.
What are the 9 types of equality?
The Equality Act and protected characteristics
- age.
- disability.
- gender reassignment.
- marriage or civil partnership (in employment only)
- pregnancy and maternity.
- race.
- religion or belief.
- sex.
What are the 9 protected characters?
The 9 protected characteristics under the UK's Equality Act 2010 are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation, all serving to protect people from discrimination in areas like work, education, and public services.
Protected characteristics
How to remember the 9 protected characteristics?
We remember the protected characteristics by using the mnemonic:
- DR S GRAMPS.
- Disability.
- Race.
- Sex.
- Gender reassignment.
- Religion or beliefs.
- Age.
- Marriage or civil partnership.
What are the 9 descriptors in which employees are protected?
Applicants, employees and former employees are protected from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or transgender status), national origin, age (40 or older), disability and genetic information (including family medical history).
What are the 9 strands of diversity?
The nine key protected characteristics to promote diversity and protect against discrimination in the workplace are:
- Age.
- Disability (mental or physical)
- Gender reassignment.
- Marriage and civil partnership.
- Pregnancy and maternity.
- Race.
- Religion or belief.
- Sex.
What are some characteristics of equality?
Equality is the balanced or equal distribution of resources, opportunities, and rewards provided by a society, regardless of an individual's race, color, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, or previous condition of servitude.
What are the 9 reasons for discrimination?
This article explains 9 grounds of discrimination in Ireland and their meaning.
- Gender. Gender Discrimination occurs when someone is treated differently because of their gender. ...
- Civil status. ...
- Family status. ...
- Sexual orientation. ...
- Age. ...
- Disability. ...
- Race. ...
- Religion.
What is section 9 of the Equality Act?
(a) a reference to a person who has a particular protected characteristic is a reference to a person of a particular racial group; (b) a reference to persons who share a protected characteristic is a reference to persons of the same racial group.
What is title 9 of the civil rights Act?
Title IX is a federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. This law protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance.
What are the main points of the Equality Act?
The Equality Act 2010
It prohibits conduct and creates duties in relation to 'protected characteristics'. There are nine protected characteristics, listed in section 4 of the Act, ranging from age through to sexual orientation. The Act prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, and harassment and victimisation.
What does "protected" mean legally?
A protected class is a category of individuals legally safeguarded from discrimination or retaliation under federal or state law. Protected classes are identified by characteristics such as race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, and disability.
What disabilities are covered by the Equality Act?
Physical or mental impairment can include:
- physical impairments, such as mobility difficulties.
- sensory impairments such as those affecting hearing or sight.
- learning difficulties, including people with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyspraxia.
Is hair color a protected characteristic?
Discrimination on the basis of an immutable characteristic associated with race, such as skin color, hair texture, or certain facial features violates Title VII, even though not all members of the race share the same characteristic.
What are the 9 equality characteristics?
Under the Equality Act 2010, there are 9 protected characteristics which are; age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
What are the 7 types of equality?
Types of Equality
- Social Equality. Social equality indicates that no citizen of the nation should be denied rights, privileges, or opportunities because of their birth, class, caste, religion, colour, race, gender, or social standing. ...
- Civil Equality. ...
- Economic Equality. ...
- Natural Equality. ...
- Political Equality. ...
- Legal Equality.
What are the 7 properties of equality?
We have mainly nine properties of equality - addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, reflexive, symmetric, transitive, substitution, and square root properties. The addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division properties of equality help to solve algebraic equations involving real numbers.
What are my rights under the Equality Act?
The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act, making the law easier to understand and strengthening protection in some situations.
What are the 7 equality and diversity strands?
The Single Equality Act combines the existing three duties into one new Equality Duty that covers all seven of the equality strands: age, disability, gender, gender-identity, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation.
What are the 10 types of diversity?
Internal diversity: Race, gender, age, physical ability, ethnicity, and cultural identity. External diversity: Education, socioeconomic background, marital status, parental status, religious beliefs, and life experiences. Organizational diversity: Job function, hierarchical level, department, and union affiliation.
What are the 9 grounds for discrimination?
Equal Status
- 'the gender ground'
- 'the civil status ground' (formerly marital status)
- 'the family status ground'
- 'the sexual orientation ground'
- 'the religion ground'
- 'the age ground'
- 'the disability ground'
- 'the ground of race' (includes 'race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origins')
What is title 9 discrimination?
Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.
What is Section 9 of the Equality Act 2010?
(a)a reference to a person who has a particular protected characteristic is a reference to a person of a particular racial group; (b)a reference to persons who share a protected characteristic is a reference to persons of the same racial group.