Call to make menopause protected characteristic under Equality Act.

[NitroNine]

The Guardian have clearly been so overwhelmed by the last few days that they woman-ed all through this article about the call by MPs for menopause to be protected characteristic in UK Equality Act 😁

An improvement on the BBC version which has 'Trans men' as a massive section title after the first 4 sentences. Is that really the most important thing to include at the top of this article? It doesn't even seem to meaningfully relate to the section underneath. Very poor journalism.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-62323327

Doesn’t this link pretty much automatically to age?

And sex

Adding Menopause specifically as a protected characteristic doesn't sit quite right with me.

Shouldn't we treat any debilitating health conditions with equal compassion and protection?

I think that would take the whole idea of protected characteristics into the realm of meaninglessness.

Age sex and disability. In terms of protection under the equality act it sits most comfortably under disability. It’s a condition which can have a significant impact on a woman’s ability to conduct normal day to day activities. It’s only when it does this that protection should be afforded

I was lucky, I sailed through menopause. So why should menopause itself be protected? Surely it should just be a form of disability if you're struggling.
The people I feel really sorry for are those, usually men, doing really physical jobs into their mid 60s.

I don't like the way this going. Everything can't be a protected characteristic. I saw on a thread about making single mums a protected characteristic as well. Surely we will get to a point that the list of protected characteristics is so long it becomes meaningless. Surely if you are menopausal and are being discriminated against then that comes under the sex protected characteristic.

No menopause shouldn’t be a protected characteristic under the equality act. It falls under sex as does pregnancy.

pregnsncy doesn’t fall under sex. Neither would it work for menopause to fall under sex.

Why not?

Because you could be being discriminationated against compared to other women?

What does that mean? You’re still being discriminated against on the basis of your sex.

The Equality Act 2010 doesn’t list pregnancy as a separate protected characteristic in Part 2, Chapter 1. It includes pregnancy in Part 5 Work, Chapter 3 Equality of Terms where both Sex Equality and Pregnancy/Maternity appear and are clearly derivative from the protected characteristic of sex in Part 2, Chapter 1.

Pregnancy/maternity is a separate protected characteristic

if you try to litigate menopause under sex you get into the realms of dual characteristic discrimination which is problematic.

it only works under disability.

As a separate characteristic it’s unnecessary since many women don’t have any physical/mental problems associated with menopause. It’s only needed to protect those who do.

I don't think we should be messing with the protected characteristics - menopause should already be covered by the sex and age characteristics and is far to nebulous to be a category on its own (much like 'periods' should not be a stand-alone characteristics despite impacting many women's lives). I think this is trojan horse to start messing with the list of protected characteristics and no doubt someone will try to slip in gender identity or swap 'sex' with 'gender'.

No, pregnancy/maternity is not a separate protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Part 2, Chp 1, para 4:
“ The protected characteristics

The following characteristics are protected characteristics—
age;
disability;
gender reassignment;
marriage and civil partnership;
pregnancy and maternity;
race;
religion or belief;
sex;
sexual orientation.”
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents

Menopause isn’t a disability. It’s a natural process just like pregnancy. If it is to be added anywhere, it should be with pregnancy/maternity in Chp 5, Part 3 Sex Equality

As a separate characteristic it’s unnecessary since many women don’t have any physical/mental problems associated with menopause. It’s only needed to protect those who do.

That is not true - you could be discriminated against because you are menopausal without having any problems. You could also be discriminated against because you were perceived to be menopausal.

But I don't think there is a case for adding menopause as a protected characteristic under the equality act, and like others think it likely to open a can of worms.

Weird. It wasn’t on the screen but when I copied it pregnancy/maternity popped in.

Ummmm

"No, pregnancy/maternity is not a separate protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
Part 2, Chp 1, para 4:
“ The protected characteristics

The following characteristics are protected characteristics—
age;
disability;
gender reassignment;
marriage and civil partnership;
pregnancy and maternity;
race;
religion or belief;
sex;
sexual orientation.”
www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents"

I’m thoroughly confused now. The law isn’t written very well.

Yeah,
its odd, it’s been added to para 4. But is missing in the rest of the chapter even though every other one is listed and so on.

You’re wrong I’m afraid. You’re reading the contents but if you click onto the link you will see that pregnancy and maternity is a protected characteristic under section 4 EqA

Yeah I just noticed that. Why isn’t it listed with all the others? They must not have amended the law correctly. I think it should be under sex anyway. There’s only one sex that can get pregnant and go through menopause.

Whilst I agree with the sentiment, good luck finding the protections afforded to disability. They really aren't anything to write home about. If anyone is depending on comparable treatment then they are going to be very disappointed.

You’re just reading the contents page. Pregnancy and maternity is treated slightly differently to the other protected characteristics and so the detail is further on in the legislation and split into work related cases and non work related cases.

As a menopausal discrimination lawyer believe me, I’ve thought this through. It sits under disability or it falls apart legally