WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Is positive action considered gender discrimination?

The term ‘gender’ refers to country references to ‘gender’ or ‘sex’ or specific protections for ‘female’ or ‘women’ employees.

The term ‘positive action’ refers to policies and programs undertaken by an enterprise to remedy the effects of long-standing discrimination in society and achieve substantive equality at the workplace.

No prohibition of gender discrimination means that legislation does not explicitly prohibit gender-based workplace discrimination broadly, nor specifically against discrimination in hiring, promotions and/or demotions, training, pay nor terminations. This does not mean that legislation denies this guarantee.

Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed means that legislation does explicitly prohibit at least one of these forms of workplace discrimination. However, legislation does not pair protection(s) with an explicit assertion that positive action is not a form of gender discrimination.

Positive action is not gender discrimination or specific mandates for positive action means that legislation explicitly prohibits at least one of these forms of workplace discrimination on the basis of gender and either asserts that positive action is not a form of gender discrimination, provides incentives for employers to undertake positive action, and/or explicitly outlines requirements that employers take affirmative action on the basis of gender.

Countries

Afghanistan - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Brunei - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Malaysia - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Micronesia, Federated States of - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Myanmar - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Nauru - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Nigeria - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Palau - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Singapore - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Solomon Islands - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Sri Lanka - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Sudan - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Tonga - No prohibition of gender discrimination

Algeria - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Andorra - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Angola - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Antigua and Barbuda - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Bahamas - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Bahrain - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Bangladesh - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Belize - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Benin - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Botswana - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Burkina Faso - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Burundi - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Cambodia - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Cameroon - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Canada - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Cabo Verde - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Central African Republic - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Chad - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Chile - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

China - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Colombia - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Comoros - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Democratic Republic of the Congo - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Costa Rica - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Cote d'Ivoire - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Cuba - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Djibouti - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Dominica - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Dominican Republic - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Egypt - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

El Salvador - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Equatorial Guinea - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Eritrea - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Gabon - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Ghana - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Guatemala - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Guinea - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Guinea-Bissau - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Haiti - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Honduras - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Indonesia - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Iran - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Iraq - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Jordan - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Kuwait - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Laos - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Latvia - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Lebanon - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Lesotho - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Libya - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Madagascar - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Mauritania - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Mauritius - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Monaco - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Morocco - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Nepal - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Nicaragua - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Niger - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Oman - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Pakistan - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Panama - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Papua New Guinea - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Paraguay - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Qatar - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Rwanda - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

San Marino - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Saudi Arabia - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Senegal - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Seychelles - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Somalia - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

St. Kitts and Nevis - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Eswatini - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Syria - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Thailand - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Togo - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Trinidad and Tobago - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

United Arab Emirates - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

United Kingdom - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Vanuatu - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Venezuela - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Yemen - Gender discrimination prohibited, positive action not addressed

Albania - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Argentina - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Armenia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Australia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Austria - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Azerbaijan - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Barbados - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Belarus - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Belgium - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Bhutan - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Bolivia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Brazil - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Bulgaria - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Republic of the Congo - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Croatia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Cyprus - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Czech Republic - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Denmark - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Ecuador - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Estonia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Ethiopia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Fiji - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Finland - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

France - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

The Gambia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Georgia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Germany - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Greece - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Greenland - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Grenada - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Guyana - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Hungary - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Iceland - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

India - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Ireland - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Israel - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Italy - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Jamaica - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Japan - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Kazakhstan - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Kenya - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Kiribati - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Republic of Korea - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Kyrgyzstan - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Liberia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Liechtenstein - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Lithuania - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Luxembourg - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

North Macedonia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Malawi - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Maldives - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Mali - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Malta - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Marshall Islands - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Mexico - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Moldova - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Mongolia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Montenegro - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Mozambique - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Namibia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

The Netherlands - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

New Zealand - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Norway - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Peru - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

The Philippines - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Poland - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Portugal - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Romania - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Russian Federation - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Samoa - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Sao Tome and Principe - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Serbia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Sierra Leone - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Slovakia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Slovenia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

South Africa - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

South Sudan - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Spain - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

St. Lucia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Suriname - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Sweden - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Switzerland - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Tajikistan - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Tanzania - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Timor-Leste - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Tunisia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Türkiye - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Turkmenistan - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Tuvalu - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Uganda - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Ukraine - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

United States of America - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Uruguay - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Uzbekistan - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Vietnam - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Zambia - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action

Zimbabwe - Positive action is not gender discrimination, or specific mandates for positive action