Acting against discrimination

For many people and communities in Europe, discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation remains a daily reality.   

The EU has the competence to combat discrimination on these grounds. It is doing so by putting forward legislation that aims to protect people against discrimination and carrying out a range of activities to promote inclusion and diversity.

The latest Eurobarometer survey, published in 2023, shows that over half of respondents see discrimination as being widespread in their country. In addition, 21% of respondents say they felt discriminated against or experienced harassment in the past year. 

Percentage of Europeans that believe discrimination is widespread in their country on the following grounds:

^{Source: Eurobarometer survey on discrimination in the European Union, 2023}

The Commission acts on a range of fronts to tackle discrimination, namely by:

• supporting experts and organisations to combat discrimination on the ground 
• carrying out actions to raise awareness and promote equality and inclusion 
• providing funding for activities and projects centred on anti-discrimination, promoting non-discrimination, equality, diversity and inclusion centred on anti-discrimination
• coordinating with EU countries the drafting and implementation the work of the EU Platform of Diversity Charters 

Promoting equality and diversity 

Every year, the Commission launches a range of initiatives that aim to bring local authorities, citizens, and organisations together to promote diversity and inclusion and to raise awareness around the benefits of diversity and inclusion. See some of the recent activities:

The European Commission has been working for a long time closely with companies, private and public, to foster diversity in the workplace. It does so through the EU Platform of Diversity Charters.

Thousands of organisations across the EU have already become the signatories of one of the 26 national Diversity Charters and benefit from their expertise and support in implementing diversity policies.

The Diversity Charters are run at national level, with one Charter per country. Together they have over 15,400 signatories (private and public organisations, NGOs, trade unions, local authorities), covering about 17 million employees.

To become a signatory, organisations signed a document (diversity charter), which outlines their commitment to promote diversity and equal opportunities at their workplace. 

Only one third of EU citizens are fully aware that they are legally protected against any kind of discrimination. To raise awareness across the EU, the Commission is supporting organisations that inform people of their protections against discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, gender or sexual orientation, among others.

Awareness-raising initiatives include:

• New issue paper: Tackling prejudice and discrimination in and through education and training 
• Gender Equality Training, run by the European Institute for Gender Equality 

The Commission also supports a network of equality bodies that provide assistance to victims of discrimination. 

The EU supports organisations working on equality via, among others, the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme. The programme focuses on four main areas: 

• promoting equality and non-discrimination
• promoting citizens’ engagement and participation 
• fighting violence, including gender-based violence
• protecting and promoting EU values

Find out more about CERV

In the EU, any discrimination on any grounds is prohibited, as stated in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

A range of laws and directives protect you against discrimination on different grounds, including: 

• Race and ethnic origin 
• Religion, belief, disability, age or sexual orientation 
• Equal treatment for men and women in terms of employment and occupation and access to/supply of goods and services 
• Proposal for equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion, belief, disability or sexual orientation 

EU countries are required to comply with the EU Charter when implementing EU law. Fundamental rights are also usually protected by your country’s constitution. If you feel that your equality rights are being breached, see how you can file a complaint at national level.