Discrimination in employment and occupation is defined by the ILO as “any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation”. In other words, this means treating people differently or less favourably because of characteristics that are not related to their competency or the inherent requirements of the job.

Discrimination can stem from both direct and indirect actions by employers:

• Direct discrimination is straightforward; for example, excluding a job applicant due to their ethnic, religious, national, linguistic, disability or cultural background.
• Indirect discrimination involves an apparently neutral requirement or practice that has a disproportionate impact on a particular group, and which is not necessary and appropriate to achieve a legitimate, job-related objective.

Affirmative action (also known as ‘positive action’) may be permissible if its objective is to overcome past discrimination or address persisting inequalities. When operating in a country that has such measures in place, companies may be required to analyze their operations and supply chains to identify conditions that cause or maintain discrimination against relevant disadvantaged groups. They may then be required to take action to actively promote equality or to grant preferential treatment to certain groups, so long as there are no automatic and rigid quotas.

The right to be free from discrimination is firmly secured in international human rights instruments, including the UDHR, ICCPR and ICESCR. The right to equality and non-discrimination is also affirmed in relation to specific groups, such as women (CEDAW, article 11.1), migrant workers (CMW, article 7) or persons with disabilities (CRPD, article 27).

The elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation is one of five fundamental principles and rights at work by the ILO which Member States must promote, irrespective of whether or not they have ratified the respective conventions listed below, and it is the focus of Principle 6, one of the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact.

Relevant ILO conventions include two core ILO Conventions on Discrimination:

• ILO Discrimination (in Employment and Occupation) Convention, No. 111 (1958) requires ratifying countries to enforce national policies to promote respect and equal opportunities in the workplace and identifies race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin as bases of discrimination.
• ILO Equal Remuneration Convention, No. 100 (1951) promotes the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.

Other relevant ILO instruments include:

• Part-time Work Convention, No.175 (1994) and Recommendation, No.182 (1994)
• Maternity Protection Convention, No.183 (2000) and Recommendation, No.191 (2000)
• Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, No.156 (1981) and Recommendation, No.165 1981
• Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, No. 159 (1983) and Recommendation, No. 168 (1983)
• Older Workers Recommendation, No. 162 (1980)
• Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), No. 97 (1949)
• Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, No. 169 (1989)
• Violence and Harassment Convention, No. 190 (2019) and Recommendation, No. 206 (2019)

While most States have ratified the first two fundamental ILO conventions on non-discrimination, their implementation in national laws and enforcement of such laws vary greatly. In practice, the provision of legal protection against discrimination in respect of employment and occupation is not consistent across countries.

Companies are increasingly subject to non-financial reporting and due diligence obligations in the jurisdictions in which they operate, which often include disclosures on their performance. There are several high-profile examples of national legislation that specifically mandate human rights-related reporting and other positive legal duties, including the French Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law 2017, the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains and the Norwegian Transparency Act 2022.

Also, in 2021 the Netherlands submitted a Bill for Responsible and Sustainable International Business Conduct, and the European Commission announced its Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). This Directive is likely to come into force between 2025 and 2027 and will make human rights and environmental due diligence mandatory for larger companies.

These mandatory due diligence and disclosure laws require companies to publicly communicate their efforts to address actual and potential human rights impacts, including violations in relation to discrimination in the workplace. Failure to comply with these obligations leads to real legal risk for companies.

The elimination of discrimination in operations and supply chains requires an understanding of its underlying causes and the consideration of a wide range of contextual issues. Key risk factors include:

• Widespread societal/cultural acceptance of discrimination: Discrimination may be used to maintain the advantages (whether economic, political, social, educational, racial, etc.) of one group over other(s). Power disparities can, over time, be solidified due to unequal access to education and public life. For example, in India, it is a punishable offence to practice ‘untouchability’ (i.e. a severe form of discrimination against Dalits and other members of scheduled castes). Despite policy development and legislation, caste-based discrimination remains deeply entrenched.
• Laws and regulation: In some countries, certain groups are actively and directly discriminated against through laws and regulations. Marriage inequality is one such example, where marriage between same-sex couples remains banned in many countries. Although there has been greater global recognition of LGBTIQ+ rights over the last few decades, same-sex marriage is only legal in 29 countries.
• Poorly enforced domestic labour laws due to a lack of government resources and/or capacity. This can lead to discrimination issues occurring in the workplace without any remediation as the legal system to address discrimination may be weak. While anti-gender discrimination laws exist in many countries, women continue to be discriminated against in the workplace, for instance by facing pay inequality or sexual harassment.
• Religious factors and preferences: In some countries or regions religious differences can be a cause of discrimination. Religious discrimination occurs when an individual is treated differently because of their religion or belief, or lack of religion or belief. This can manifest in discrimination in the workplace. For example, Muslims face intolerance and discrimination in Europe, where they may suffer social exclusion, including barriers to accessing education and employment.
• Migration flows: Migration has increased hugely in the last twenty years, resulting in many workplaces having employees from a range of countries and nationalities. This can exacerbate discrimination on the grounds of race, nationality, religion, language or appearance as multicultural workforces are increasingly common, and stigmas or clashes may occur. Migrants often face significant discrimination in obtaining jobs and attaining pay equality in Western Europe and other parts of the industrialized world. A 2020 ILO report finds that migrants earn nearly 13% less on average than national workers in high-income countries.
• Globalization of operations: Many companies operate in regions where legal frameworks and political attitudes may not be conducive to the elimination of discrimination. When companies operate in countries where discrimination is rampant, workers in their operations and supply chains are more likely to face workplace conditions where gender, religious, racial, linguistic or other types of discrimination may occur.

This section outlines due diligence steps that companies can take to address discrimination in their operations and supply chains. The described due diligence steps are aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Further information on UNGPs is provided in the ‘Key Human Rights Due Diligence Frameworks’ section below or in the Introduction.

While the below steps provide guidance on non-discrimination in particular, it is generally more resource-efficient for companies to ‘streamline’ their human rights due diligence processes by also identifying and addressing other relevant human rights issues (e.g. child labour, forced labour, freedom of association) at the same time.

The starting point for any business to tackle discrimination is to develop a company commitment to non-discrimination. First, any company introducing policies to promote equality and avoid discrimination needs to be aware of the diversities of language, culture and family circumstances that may exist in the workforce. For example, both business services firm Ernst & Young and investment bank Citigroup have stand-alone anti-racism policies. The integration of non-discrimination aspects into a human rights policy is another option that companies such as Microsoft have adopted. Where companies do not have a human rights policy, non-discrimination is often addressed in other documentation, such as a business code of conduct or ethics and/or a supplier code of conduct.

Businesses may also consider aligning their non-discrimination policies with relevant industry-wide and cross-sector policy commitments, for example:

• Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code of Conduct
• Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Base Code
• amfori BSCI Code of Conduct
• Fair Labor Association (FLA) Code of Conduct

In addition to these overarching industry-wide initiatives, businesses could consider joining non-discrimination-specific global initiatives, such as the Partnering for Racial Justice in Business initiative launched by the World Economic Forum in January 2021. To join the Initiative, three steps are required from businesses:

• Racial and ethnic equity must be placed on the board’s agenda;
• Companies must make at least one commitment towards racial and ethnic justice in their organizations; and
• Companies must put a long-term strategy in place towards becoming an anti-racist organization.

Among the founding members of the Partnering for Racial Justice in Business initiative are global companies such as AstraZeneca, Deutsche Bank, H&M, HP, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Unilever.

Businesses may want to check the ILO Helpdesk for Business, which provides answers to the most common questions that businesses may encounter while developing their non-discrimination policies — or integrating non-discrimination commitments into other policy documents. Examples include:

• What are the prohibited bases of discrimination in employment?
• Is there any distinction that is not considered discriminatory?
• A company wants to recruit a worker for a job that requires physical strength. This job cannot be adapted, so as a consequence, the company does not want to receive applications from older people, persons of smaller builds, women or disabled persons. To what extent can this recruitment practice be considered a breach of ILO conventions related to discrimination? How can a company respect ILO principles related to discrimination without putting at risk the health and safety of its workers?

Businesses should seek to develop an understanding of the different types of discrimination and how it can affect people in their own operations and their value chains. For example, women constitute a growing proportion of the world’s workforce, but on average continue to earn less than their male counterparts or are not provided with the same opportunities. Another example is employees with disabilities who may have particular needs that should be met, where reasonable, in order to ensure that they have the same opportunities (e.g. for training and advancement) as their peers.

Impact assessments focusing on discrimination could include the following:

• The prevalence of discrimination (in access to employment, education, land, capital, economic opportunities etc.) based on ethnicity, religion and other grounds;
• The potential for such discrimination to impact on the company and its workforce — and vice-versa.

Assessing the prevalence of intersectional discrimination will also help companies gain a better picture of the different layers of discrimination people (potentially) affected by their operations and value chains may face. Intersectional discrimination occurs when an individual is discriminated against on two or multiple grounds that interact simultaneously and in an inseparable manner. For example, women may face discrimination not only based on their gender, but also because of their age, disability, social and economic status, ethnicity and race.

Any such assessment should be commensurate with operational requirements and may range from a desk-based assessment to on-site and corporate-level exercises. Depending on the sector and expanse of operations, companies might consider integrating customers, business partners, suppliers and contractors into the assessment — to ensure the full range of potential and actual risks and impacts are addressed.

When conducting an assessment, companies might focus on three key areas:

1. External context

• Does the country of operation have a history of divisiveness (e.g. on religious, ethnic or national grounds) and does it demonstrate evidence of discrimination within broader society? Does the company have adequate anti-discrimination policies and processes to ensure workers in their global supply chains are not discriminated against in the workplace?
• What are the relevant laws pertaining to equal opportunity and non-discrimination? Do these provide adequate protection to marginalized groups to ensure equal opportunity — or are additional measures required?
• Are there local affirmative action requirements for particular groups of employees that may be applicable to your business? If not, would historical circumstances justify unilateral action on the part of the company (in line with relevant legal controls)?
• What are the views of civil society groups in the country or region of operation regarding discrimination faced by marginalized groups in the workplace? Does the company consider such stakeholder concerns and is there a need to facilitate stakeholder partnerships to tackle issues pertaining to discrimination?

2. Internal context

• What is the current makeup of your workforce (e.g. its ethnic, religious, cultural, national or age composition)? And to what extent do current company policies and procedures address discrimination against various groups of employees in all aspects of employment and occupation?

3. Relationships (State/non-State business partners, civil society, value chain actors)

• What is the current makeup of your suppliers’ workforces (e.g. their ethnic, religious, cultural or national compositions)? And what is the current makeup of your customers?
• To what extent do business partners in your value chain (including suppliers and contractors) ensure that people have equal opportunities and treatment (i.e. workers are not discriminated against in their recruitment, hiring and employment practices, and specific groups in the local communities are not harassed and/or discriminated against by security service providers)?

Examples of company actions to address discrimination include the following:

• Removing existing obstacles to non-discrimination practices: This may involve checking whether existing policies and processes (covering employees, contractors and other third parties) are intentionally or unintentionally discriminatory and implementing corrective measures if required.
• Affinity groups: Affinity groups are voluntary groups consisting of employees sharing a common identity and having the objective of promoting workplace tolerance. Supporting the establishment of affinity groups could be an effective strategy to complement other structural measures to tackle discrimination. The groups are commonly organized along ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic lines, providing a useful support network to employees of a particular identity. In addition, they are intended to raise awareness and understanding of particular groups and persons belonging to ethnic, cultural and other identities within the general workforce. Examples of companies that have facilitated the creation of affinity groups include HSBCand PwC.
• Diversity training: Examples of companies that conduct diversity training for their employees and suppliers include Unileverand Mitsubishi Motors. Conducting unconscious bias training can also help staff understand possible implicit biases that may impact recruitment and/or promotions and provide tools to adjust possible patterns of thinking that lead to discriminatory behaviours.
• Capability building for disadvantaged groups: Companiesmay wish to engage in employee mentoring, skills training or sponsoring of programmes to combat discrimination and/or to bolster the career prospects of disadvantaged groups. Such capability-building activities may include employee mentoring (for example through formal programmes involving senior managers and other staff); targeted recruitment to increase the representation of disadvantaged groups; and scholarships and language courses. For example, technology company Lenovo offers support and community around disability, early-career professionals and religious affiliation.
• Engaging with workers’ representatives: Tackling discrimination in the workplace often requires a cultural transformation across all levels of the enterprise. Buy-in from the workers is essential; workers’ representatives can — and should — play a leading role in this process.
• Promoting diversity in procurement: Companies may promote or require compliance with a specific code of conduct for key business partners (e.g. suppliers and sub-contractors), which contains non-discrimination requirements. Companies can (subject to local laws) also apply preferential procurement to increase the proportion they spend with minority suppliers — or suppliers who benefit minority individuals. For example, Walmart procured goods through 2,800 suppliers through its Supplier Inclusion Programme in 2019. The promotion of diversity within procurement can be subject to official requirements. For example, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) policy in South Africa includes criteria requiring companies to procure from recognized BBBEE suppliers as part of their overall qualification.

There are several ways to track performance on discrimination. However, it is important to note that discrimination may go unnoticed, especially where the victim feels vulnerable or afraid to report the issue. As such, making sure any tracking mechanisms are anonymous and as safe as possible is important. Steps on how companies can ensure workers have access to remedy and grievance mechanisms are detailed in the Remedy and Grievance Mechanisms section below.

The most common way of tracking performance on discrimination is through employee engagement and surveys, particularly anonymous ones. Gathering the experiences of employees will help companies determine the impact of their policies and processes and identify areas for improvement or remediation.

Supplier audits can help identify instances of discrimination in supply chains and allow a company to monitor performance. However, as with own operations, engagement with workers is likely to be the best way to understand discrimination within suppliers’ operations as visiting auditors are unlikely to view any discrimination, in particular indirect discrimination, which requires discussion with workers to understand disparate impacts of prima facie neutral criteria. Where workers feel unable to speak about their experiences, using anonymous feedback processes or ‘worker voice’ technologies can be helpful.

Responsibility for tracking performance on discrimination should be clearly allocated to relevant roles within the company and performance KPIs should be clearly defined. For example, HP has defined the following goals in relation to racial equality:

• Double the number of Black and African American executives by 2025;
• Double Black and African American promotion rates and technical representation by 2025; and
• Achieve 90% (up from 84%) in inclusion index score for Black and African American employees in 2021.

Another example of a company that has set KPIs with respect to diversity and inclusion is Japanese food company Calbee, which has a 30% target of female managers by FY2023/24, an increase of its current rate of 20.4% as of April 2020.

Companies are expected to communicate their performance on non-discrimination in a formal public report. This can take the form of a standalone report such as Barclays’ 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Report or GM’s Diversity and Inclusion Report; alternatively, communication can be made via companies’ broader sustainability or human rights reporting or in their annual Communication on Progress (CoP) in implementing the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact. Examples of companies covering non-discrimination aspects in their annual sustainability reports include Pertamina and Samsung. Other forms of communication may include in-person meetings, online dialogues and consultation with affected stakeholders.

Grievance mechanisms can play an important role in helping to identify and remediate discrimination issues in operations and supply chains. It is however important to be conscious of the fact that formal structures and informal cultural issues can prevent employees from raising concerns and grievances. Grievance mechanisms should be:

• Created with input from the affected groups they are intended to help; and
• Available in multiple formats and languages to accommodate workers’ needs.

It is important that businesses provide grievance mechanisms that prioritize the safety and well-being of the complainant, and that there are anonymous mechanisms available for those who are fearful of repercussions.

Remediating the issues of discrimination can be difficult and should be handled sensitively, as the harm caused to the victim could be significant. If legal proceedings have been taken against the business regarding discrimination, the business should seek legal advice and cooperate in good faith with such proceedings.

It is advisable that businesses have a remediation plan included in their human resources policies and procedures, which can guide responsible employees in remediating the situation in an effective and sufficient way. Examples of remediation actions may include the following:

• Disciplinary measures against the actor(s) responsible for, and management tolerant of, the discriminatory behaviour;
• Return of lost earnings or property lost through discrimination to the victim;
• Altering processes, policies and procedures to ensure that the situation does not arise again; and
• Depending on the type of discrimination, there may also need to be physical changes to a business, such as ensuring accessibility in the workplace for employees with disabilities or offering separate working spaces for men and women.

This section includes examples of company actions to address discriminatory practices in their operations and supply chains.

This section includes examples of further guidance on non-discrimination. Please also refer to Gender Equality and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights issues for further issue-specific resources on these two non-discrimination aspects.

• United Nations Global Compact, The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact: The Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact provide universal guidance for sustainable business in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. Principle 6 calls on businesses to uphold the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
• World Economic Forum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 4.0: A Toolkit for Leaders to Accelerate Social Progress in the Future of Work: A toolkit for business to ensure diversity and prevent discrimination in the workplace.
• OHCHR, Minority Rights: International Standards and Guidance for Implementation: This guidance provides a range of information on how to include minorities and their rights in policies and practices, including in the workplace.

• ILO, Promoting Equity: This guide provides information on how to manage diversity in business, from creating policies to monitoring progress.
• Business in the Community, Race: This page includes a range of resources for businesses on race and how to improve racial equality at work.
• United Nations Global Compact, Anti-Racist Action for Business: This site provides a range of guidance and resources for businesses to take anti-racist actions.
• Global Compact Network UK, Black Lives Matter & Business: This campaign features resources and talks for businesses to learn how to integrate pro-Black Lives Matter actions into business performance and policies.

• Women’s Empowerment Principles, Resources: The WEPs website has an extensive collection of resources on gender equality, including frameworks, templates, reports, guidance and toolkits that companies can utilize in the design, implementation and monitoring of their gender equality programmes.
• UN Women and ILO, Rethinking Gender-responsive Procurement: Enabling an Ecosystem for Women’s Economic Empowerment: This publication proposes an evolved vision of gender-responsive procurement that leaves no one behind and creates outcomes for gender equality and women’s empowerment, not only opportunities.
• UN Women, COVID-19 and the Care Economy: Immediate Action and Structural Transformation for a Gender-responsive Recovery: This brief highlights key measures needed to address the increase in unpaid care work due to the pandemic, ensure adequate compensation and decent working conditions for paid care workers and enable the participation of paid and unpaid caregivers in the policy decisions that affect them.
• UN Women, Handbook: Addressing Violence and Harassment Against Women in the World of Work: This handbook includes practical information on how to prevent and respond to violence and harassment in workplaces.
• United Nations Global Compact, E-Learning Course: How Business Can Accelerate the Pace of Change: This online course helps companies understand the role of business in advancing gender equality and the concrete steps that they can take to help accelerate the pace of change.
• United Nations Development Programme, Gender Diversity and Inclusion for a Fair Business Environment: This report presents results of research conducted across five ASEAN countries on gender roles and stereotypes that can limit women’s leadership prospects and highlights the role of companies and their organizational policies and practices in promoting gender-equal leadership.
• United Nations Development Programme and the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, Gender Dimensions of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: This resource emphasizes how human rights responsibilities must include gender considerations and includes a three-step gender framework that States, business enterprises and other stakeholders could use to achieve substantive gender equality.
• ILO-UN Women, Empowering Women at Work: Company Policies and Practices for Gender Equality: This resource provides suggestions on how companies can promote gender equality in their operations, with reference to international labour standards and guiding principles. ILO and UN Women have also published another resource on promoting gender equality in supply chains.
• ILO, A Quantum Leap for Gender Equality: For a Better Future of Work for All: This report highlights key gender gaps and obstacles to decent work for women.
• ILO, The Women at Work Initiative: The Push for Equality: This report outlines obstacles to gender equality at work and in society and suggests how they can be tackled by Governments and companies.
• ILO, Policies and Practices for Gender Equality in Supply Chains: A report on promoting gender balance in global supply chains.
• ILO, Tools and Resources for Business on Non-discrimination and Equality — Gender Equality: A range of tools and reports on achieving gender equality in the workplace.
• ILO, Maternity Protection Resource Package: Guidance and tools to strengthen and extend maternity protection to all women in all types of economic activity.
• ILO, The Contribution of Social Dialogue to Gender Equality: A report demonstrating how industrial conversations and social dialogue improve opportunities for women and gender equality at work.
• World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2021: This resource provides an overview of the barriers women continue to face as another generation of women will have to wait for gender parity.
• Fair Labour Association, Triple Discrimination: Woman, Pregnant and Migrant, Preventing Pregnancy Discrimination among Temporary Migrant Workers, Lessons for Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand: Guidance for employers to avoid multi-factored discrimination against women in supply chains.

• ILO, Youth Employment, Making it Happen: An online resource on successful youth employment for businesses.
• ILO, Supporting Longer Working Lives: Multistage Approaches for Decent and Productive Work: A working paper on accommodating older workers in the workforce and increasing age diversity at work.
• World Health Organization (WHO), OHCHR, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Global Report on Ageism: This report — aimed at all sectors of society — defines the nature of ageism, summarizes the best evidence about the scale, the impacts and the determinants of ageism, and the most effective strategies to reduce it. It concludes with three recommendations for action, informed by the evidence, to create a world for all ages.

• ILO, Questions on Disability and Work, Key Issues on Promoting Employment of Persons with Disabilities: This guidance provides a background to disabilities and how workplaces can adapt to accommodate for people with disabilities.
• ILO, Tools and Resources on Disability: A selection of tools and guidance on disability in the workplace, including guides on respecting the rights of disabled workers, practical guides and company practices.
• ILO, Global Business and Disability Network: A global network of businesses working to be disability-inclusive, and a range of resources and country profiles on disability and business.
• ILO, The Win-Win of Disability Inclusion: A selection of resources and videos on how to be inclusive of disability in the workplace.
• ILO, Making the Future of Work Inclusive of People with Disabilities: Guidance on including employees with disabilities in the workplace.
• ILO, Promoting Diversity and Inclusion Through Workplace Adjustments: A Practical Guide: This guide aims to explain the concept of reasonable adjustments (“reasonable accommodation”) and provide practical step-by-step guidance on how and when these should be provided in the workplace.
• Ethical Trading Initiative, Towards Disability Inclusion: A handbook on inclusive work practices and places for workers with disabilities.

• OHCHR, UN Standards of Conduct for Business: This guidance provides a set of benchmarks for assessing the role of business in tackling discrimination and related human rights abuses.
• United Nations Global Compact, OHCHR, BSR, WEF, UN LGBTIQ+ Standards Gap Analysis Tool: A free, user-friendly and strictly confidential online platform that helps companies implement the UN Standards of Conduct and tackle LGBTIQ+ discrimination in the workplace and beyond. The Tool guides business in assessing current policies and programmes, highlighting areas for improvement and identifying opportunities to set future corporate goals and targets.
• ILO, The Promotion of LGBT Human Rights in the Workplace: This guide gives in-depth guidance on how to support LGBT workers and their rights in the workplace.
• BSR, OHCHR, and WEF, The Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality (PGLE): A coalition of organizations committed to leveraging their individual and collective advocacy to accelerate LGBTI equality and inclusion globally and drive positive change.
• Stonewall: The organization has a range of tools and guidance for creating equality and safe workplaces for LGBTQ+ colleagues and employees.