The Seven Grounds
Gender: The concept of gender has to do with the notion that a person is either a woman or a man. The prohibition against gender discrimination also protects those who plan to change their gender.
Transgender identity or expression: A transgender identity or expression refers to those who do not define themselves as either woman or man, or who through their choice of attire (or in some other way) express that they identify with a different gender. The concept includes a person’s mindset or their own personal feeling about their gender identity, i.e., the way someone expresses what can be called, their social gender, such as their choice of clothing, body language, cosmetics, or hairstyle.
Some victims of discrimination are what we often refer to as trans persons. This is an umbrella term for those who resist social norms for gender identity and gendered expression. Even those who identify as transsexual but are not planning to change genders are covered under the grounds for discrimination and thus protected by the law against discrimination.
Ethnicity: Ethnicity is an individual’s national heritage and ethnic background, skin colour, or other similar attributes. National heritage means that people have the same nationality, such as Finnish, Polish, or Swedish. Ethnic background means that these individuals have a culture in common. For example, a person can belong to a national minority group, such as Sámi or Roma. All human beings have one or more ethnicities. Anyone can therefore be subjected to ethnic discrimination.
Religion or other beliefs: The term ‘religion’ refers to religious worldviews such as Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Other convictions that are grounded in or have a connection to a religious worldview are Buddhism, atheism, and agnosticism. Political views and ethical or philosophical value systems that are not connected to any religion are not protected by the Anti-Discrimination Act.
Disabilities: A disability is a long-term physical, psychological, or intellectual limitation of a person’s ability to function that is congenital or the result of an injury or illness. It can have come about after an occurrence or be expected to arise later. According to the Anti-Discrimination Act, temporary limitations on a person’s ability to function are not a disability.
A disability is a reduction in a person’s physical, psychological, or intellectual ability to function. Hence, it is something a person has to deal with, not what a person is. A disability can be noticed more or less in different situations. Examples are allergies, dyslexia, hearing or vision impairments, etc.
Sexual orientation: The law defines sexual orientation as homosexual, heterosexual,or bisexual orientation. It is prohibited to discriminate against any of these orientations. The Anti-Discrimination Act is a protection that covers situations and conditions that are closely related to sexual orientation, such as having a sexual relationship or living with someone of the same or of a different gender.
Age: The law defines age as the length of life to date. The law refers to a person’s physical age, calculated from birth. Everyone is protected since everyone has an age.
Discrimination can take various forms, based upon one of the above grounds for discrimination. It may be that you have not received information or have not been invited to an event or gathering of some sort, or that you have been harassed. It may be the case that your colleagues ignore you.
Reference: Diskrimineringsombudsmannen 2018. Om diskriminering
