European Union Non-Discrimination Law and Intersectionality

This book contributes to a critical reflection of current legislative and jurisprudential developments in Non-Discrimination Law, focusing on the European Union. The book is focused on intersectionality between gender, race and disability and the question of whether, and to what extent, this intersection can be adequately addressed in (EU) law. The discussion rests on two basic assumptions. First, the multiplication of 'discrimination grounds' in EU law and other legal regimes should not result in a dilution of the demands of equality law. Accordingly, the book focuses on the three key grounds - race, gender and disability. These constitute nodes around which other discrimination grounds can be grouped. Second, any multi-ground non-discrimination law framework needs to engage with the question of discrimination on several grounds. This book provides a critical evaluation of some of the problems presented by such intersectionality and an opportunity to explore the issues in depth. This collection offers some new proposals relating to the regrouping of identity categories and to the general approach to socio-legal research in the field. It also contains a comparative section, which expands on practical experiences with intersectionality and law, and a section dedicated to juridical responses to intersectionality. The book will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics and those working in the area of EU non-discrimination law and policy.

Professor Dagmar Schiek is Jean Monnet ad personam Chair (EU Law & Policy), School of Law, Queena€?s University Belfast, UK. She is also working as an advisory expert for the European commission and is a speaker at the European Academy of Law in the field of EU Non-Discrimination Law. She has published widely in the field of EU and national discrimination law. Anna Lawson is a Senior Lecturer in law at the University of Leeds and a member of the University's Centre for Disability Studies as well as its Centre for European Law and Legal Studies. She is also working as an advisory expert for the European Commission and a range of other organisations. She has published widely in the field of disability and equality law.