WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Does legislation explicitly prohibit indirect discrimination on the basis of social class?

The term “social class” encompasses a diversity of terminology used across countries, and includes references to ‘caste’, ‘social background’, ‘economic standing’, ‘economic status’, ‘social condition’, ‘social origin’, ‘socioeconomic status’, ‘disadvantaged’, ‘property status, ‘education’, and others. For the purposes of this variable, the term “social class” captures all of these definitions.

Indirect discrimination indicates a prohibition of imposing standards, criteria, or other requirements that disproportionately impact persons on the basis of social class and have the effect of discrimination on this basis. In these cases, legislation either explicitly prohibits indirect discrimination, or prohibits the imposition of unreasonable requirements that particularly disadvantage persons on the basis of social class. Legislative prohibitions of indirect discrimination may extend across any aspect of work, or specific aspects of work such as hiring.

No prohibition means that legislation does not take an explicit approach to prohibiting indirect discrimination on the basis of social class. This does not mean that legislation denies this guarantee.

General prohibition of indirect discrimination means that legislation prohibits indirect discrimination generally— for example, by prohibiting indirect discrimination based on “any status” or stating no worker may be indirectly discriminated against. This general prohibition is not specifically extended on the basis of social class.

Yes, prohibition on the basis of social class means that legislation extends an explicit prohibition of indirect discrimination on the basis of social class.

Countries

Afghanistan - No indirect discrimination provisions

Algeria - No indirect discrimination provisions

Angola - No indirect discrimination provisions

Antigua and Barbuda - No indirect discrimination provisions

Argentina - No indirect discrimination provisions

Australia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Austria - No indirect discrimination provisions

Bahamas - No indirect discrimination provisions

Bahrain - No indirect discrimination provisions

Bangladesh - No indirect discrimination provisions

Belarus - No indirect discrimination provisions

Belize - No indirect discrimination provisions

Benin - No indirect discrimination provisions

Bolivia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Botswana - No indirect discrimination provisions

Brazil - No indirect discrimination provisions

Brunei - No indirect discrimination provisions

Burkina Faso - No indirect discrimination provisions

Cambodia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Cameroon - No indirect discrimination provisions

Canada - No indirect discrimination provisions

Cabo Verde - No indirect discrimination provisions

Central African Republic - No indirect discrimination provisions

Chad - No indirect discrimination provisions

Chile - No indirect discrimination provisions

China - No indirect discrimination provisions

Colombia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Comoros - No indirect discrimination provisions

Democratic Republic of the Congo - No indirect discrimination provisions

Republic of the Congo - No indirect discrimination provisions

Costa Rica - No indirect discrimination provisions

Cote d'Ivoire - No indirect discrimination provisions

Cuba - No indirect discrimination provisions

Cyprus - No indirect discrimination provisions

Djibouti - No indirect discrimination provisions

Dominica - No indirect discrimination provisions

Dominican Republic - No indirect discrimination provisions

Ecuador - No indirect discrimination provisions

Egypt - No indirect discrimination provisions

El Salvador - No indirect discrimination provisions

Eritrea - No indirect discrimination provisions

Ethiopia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Gabon - No indirect discrimination provisions

The Gambia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Germany - No indirect discrimination provisions

Ghana - No indirect discrimination provisions

Greenland - No indirect discrimination provisions

Grenada - No indirect discrimination provisions

Guatemala - No indirect discrimination provisions

Guinea - No indirect discrimination provisions

Guinea-Bissau - No indirect discrimination provisions

Haiti - No indirect discrimination provisions

Honduras - No indirect discrimination provisions

Iceland - No indirect discrimination provisions

India - No indirect discrimination provisions

Indonesia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Iran - No indirect discrimination provisions

Ireland - No indirect discrimination provisions

Israel - No indirect discrimination provisions

Italy - No indirect discrimination provisions

Jamaica - No indirect discrimination provisions

Japan - No indirect discrimination provisions

Jordan - No indirect discrimination provisions

Kazakhstan - No indirect discrimination provisions

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No indirect discrimination provisions

Republic of Korea - No indirect discrimination provisions

Kuwait - No indirect discrimination provisions

Kyrgyzstan - No indirect discrimination provisions

Lebanon - No indirect discrimination provisions

Lesotho - No indirect discrimination provisions

Libya - No indirect discrimination provisions

Liechtenstein - No indirect discrimination provisions

Luxembourg - No indirect discrimination provisions

Madagascar - No indirect discrimination provisions

Malawi - No indirect discrimination provisions

Malaysia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Maldives - No indirect discrimination provisions

Mali - No indirect discrimination provisions

Malta - No indirect discrimination provisions

Marshall Islands - No indirect discrimination provisions

Mauritania - No indirect discrimination provisions

Mexico - No indirect discrimination provisions

Micronesia, Federated States of - No indirect discrimination provisions

Monaco - No indirect discrimination provisions

Mongolia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Morocco - No indirect discrimination provisions

Mozambique - No indirect discrimination provisions

Myanmar - No indirect discrimination provisions

Nauru - No indirect discrimination provisions

Nepal - No indirect discrimination provisions

The Netherlands - No indirect discrimination provisions

New Zealand - No indirect discrimination provisions

Nicaragua - No indirect discrimination provisions

Niger - No indirect discrimination provisions

Nigeria - No indirect discrimination provisions

Norway - No indirect discrimination provisions

Oman - No indirect discrimination provisions

Pakistan - No indirect discrimination provisions

Palau - No indirect discrimination provisions

Panama - No indirect discrimination provisions

Papua New Guinea - No indirect discrimination provisions

Paraguay - No indirect discrimination provisions

The Philippines - No indirect discrimination provisions

Poland - No indirect discrimination provisions

Qatar - No indirect discrimination provisions

Rwanda - No indirect discrimination provisions

San Marino - No indirect discrimination provisions

Saudi Arabia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Senegal - No indirect discrimination provisions

Seychelles - No indirect discrimination provisions

Sierra Leone - No indirect discrimination provisions

Singapore - No indirect discrimination provisions

Solomon Islands - No indirect discrimination provisions

Somalia - No indirect discrimination provisions

South Sudan - No indirect discrimination provisions

Sri Lanka - No indirect discrimination provisions

St. Kitts and Nevis - No indirect discrimination provisions

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No indirect discrimination provisions

Sudan - No indirect discrimination provisions

Suriname - No indirect discrimination provisions

Sweden - No indirect discrimination provisions

Switzerland - No indirect discrimination provisions

Syria - No indirect discrimination provisions

Tajikistan - No indirect discrimination provisions

Thailand - No indirect discrimination provisions

Tonga - No indirect discrimination provisions

Trinidad and Tobago - No indirect discrimination provisions

Tunisia - No indirect discrimination provisions

Turkmenistan - No indirect discrimination provisions

United Arab Emirates - No indirect discrimination provisions

United States of America - No indirect discrimination provisions

Uruguay - No indirect discrimination provisions

Uzbekistan - No indirect discrimination provisions

Vanuatu - No indirect discrimination provisions

Venezuela - No indirect discrimination provisions

Vietnam - No indirect discrimination provisions

Yemen - No indirect discrimination provisions

Zimbabwe - No indirect discrimination provisions

Andorra - General prohibition of indirect discrimination

Finland - General prohibition of indirect discrimination

Laos - General prohibition of indirect discrimination

Albania - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Armenia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Azerbaijan - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Barbados - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Belgium - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Bhutan - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Bulgaria - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Burundi - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Croatia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Czech Republic - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Denmark - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Equatorial Guinea - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Estonia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Fiji - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

France - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Georgia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Greece - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Guyana - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Hungary - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Iraq - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Kenya - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Kiribati - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Latvia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Liberia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Lithuania - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

North Macedonia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Mauritius - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Moldova - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Montenegro - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Namibia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Peru - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Portugal - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Romania - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Russian Federation - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Samoa - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Sao Tome and Principe - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Serbia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Slovakia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Slovenia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

South Africa - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Spain - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

St. Lucia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Eswatini - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Tanzania - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Timor-Leste - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Togo - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Türkiye - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Tuvalu - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Uganda - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Ukraine - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

United Kingdom - Yes, social class-specific prohibition

Zambia - Yes, social class-specific prohibition