Equality Law Research Articles

Let’s Be Reasonable!

Religious Freedom in an Egalitarian Age is a very well-written book, which addresses the contemporary conflict between religious freedom and equality law, in particular regarding LGBT rights. Through the analysis of major decisions by the Supreme Court in cases concerning LGBT rights, Nelson Tebbe proposes a specific method to solve potential conflicts with religious freedom. This is a fascinating read for lawmakers but also for those who are new to these issues—and particularly for people like me, who either belong to a discipline other than law or are merely unfamiliar with the American legal tradition. How can Americans conciliate an increasingly necessary protection from discrimination to enjoy the full spectrum of civil rights and at the same time protect their idea of religious freedom? I deliberately insist on the pronoun “their,” because, although this is a book that pretends to establish a general rule to dissipate conflicts, it is based on a particular legal culture, and its recipes cannot be exported or discussed except for comparative purposes. The examples, analyses, and discussions are a nice portrayal of American culture concerning these matters today, which makes it a useful tool for everyone, though in different ways.

The Greek Divorce Law Reform of 1983 and Its Impact on Homemakers: A Social and Economic Analysis

In 1983, Greek Family Law was radically amended on the basis of gender equality and divorce law was liberalized, with the introduction of no-fault divorce and divorce by mutual consent. We aim to assess the potentially wide-ranging effects of the new divorce law on the social and economic status of homemakers in traditional, long-duration marriages. We reviewed a sample of 500 reported judicial decisions on maintenance and postdivorce distribution of marital property, finding that the new gender-neutral statutes on maintenance fail to protect the interests of homemakers after divorce. We identify judicial attitudes that misconstrue formal gender equality for substantive equality as a determining factor for such negative outcomes. We propose a new reliance-based model for Greek alimony law and illustrate that reliance is the most effective legal formula for acknowledging the nonpecuniary contributions of homemakers. Our research further demonstrates that homemakers are disadvantaged by the postdivorce distribution of marital property. We identified a number of problems that seriously compromise a homemaker's chances of receiving a fair share of marital acquests. The most prominent among them is that Greek courts do not apply clear-cut standards in evaluating a homemaker's domestic services, thus attaching a low value to their contributions within marriage. Yet another problem is that intangible assets (like the husband's postdivorce income and his pension benefits) are not designated as divisible marital property. We conclude by arguing that the reform was overall socially effective; however, it had an unintended negative impact on divorced homemakers. First, because the legislators did not include any special provisions on homemakers. Second, because judges have generally interpreted the new statutes as if men and women are always equal on divorce, and further, as if all women are similarly situated. To remedy these after-effects, we make specific proposals for future amendments. The central idea underlying these proposals is that divorce should be made more difficult for married couples with children. Lastly, we consider a number of measures that Greek policymakers can adopt in view of protecting divorced women and their children, while at the same promoting the social value of intact families. [This is an unpublished doctoral thesis submitted to the University of Chicago and supervised by Prof. Gary S. Becker, Judge Richard A. Posner and Prof. Mary A. Becker]

The effective design, implementation and enforcement of socio-economic equality duties: lessons from the pupil premium

The UK has extremely high levels of socio-economic inequality, which are predicted to rise over the next five years. Traditionally, equality law was seen as inappropriate to address socio-economic inequality but in the last decade, a growing number of equality duties have been introduced to address this persistent form of inequality. There is, however, little research on the principles that underpin these duties. This article seeks to address this gap through the use of data from interviews conducted with primary school personnel implementing the pupil premium. The article explores understandings of socio-economic inequality by individuals in schools; policy conflicts; the wider context of action to address socio-economic inequality; different decision-making processes; and accountability mechanisms. On the basis of the findings of this study, broad principles are outlined to inform the design, implementation and enforcement of socio-economic equality duties in the future.

Feminist Organizing around Gender Discrimination Lawsuits in Higher Education

Based on four years of participatory action research, this case study examines feminist grassroots organizing in response to three gender discrimination lawsuits in an athletic department at a US university. Students and community activists formed a multigenerational, multiracial, cross-class coalition to support the plaintiffs and to pressure university officials to remedy other institutional gender inequities. Our organizing efforts revealed that we did not similarly assess the potential of lawsuits to make substantive changes nor did we share a vision of how the university should be restructured to better serve women. Examining the fault-lines in our activism reveals how the articulation of difference fosters new forms of political consciousness that use more expansive understandings of equity than those in legal narratives, and leads to more radical forms of social justice work outside the narrow confines of normative rights-based aspirations. The findings are positioned in the feminist legal studies and feminist activism literature. This research contributes to our understanding of the impact of court cases on feminist political mobilization and sheds light on the contributions diverse groups of women make to the everyday interpretations of law and localized public understandings of gender equality.

Eu Equality Law after a Decade of Austerity: On The Social Pillar and Its Transformative Potential

Eu Equality Law after a Decade of Austerity: On The Social Pillar and Its Transformative Potential

Students as Producers and Active Partners in Enhancing Equality and Diversity: Culturosity at Canterbury Christ Church University

Equality and diversity of truths, of opportunity, of outcome, of dignity and of identities lie at the heart of the idea of university (Wolff, 1992, p. 68). However, despite the fact that the UK ‘has well-established equality law and practice’ and the Equality Act 2010 requires universities to implement changes that protect their students and employees from various forms and effects of discrimination, ‘inequality remains, albeit often in more complex and subtle forms than have been understood before’, argues David Ruebain (2012, p. 3).This study contributes to the discussion about equality and diversity practices in the university context by proposing strategies to embed into students’ learning community equality and diversity and subsequent graduate attributes. The case study is the Culturosity Project: an equality and diversity training initiative co-created by Dr Kasia Lech and a group of final-year students and graduates from Drama and Performing Arts programmes and delivered – as a Canterbury Christ Church University Partners in Learning project – to L4 and foundation-year students. The project was first delivered in 2015 and has now become part of student induction at the CCCU Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

Possessive Attachments: Identity Beliefs, Equality Law and the Politics of State Play

One feature of the neo/liberal possessive self is the propertied character of certain beliefs: treated as belonging to those who hold them, recognized and supported in acting on the world, and protected. While an ownership paradigm predates anti-discrimination and human rights regimes, these regimes have consolidated and extended the propertied status of certain identity beliefs in ways that naturalize and siloize them. But if beliefs’ propertied character is politically problematic, can it be unsettled and reformed? This paper considers one possible mode for doing so, namely play. Oftentimes, play works to secure and assert the propertied attachments people have to their beliefs; but some forms of play offer other possibilities. Focusing on the state as a complex site of play relations and encounters, this article explores how state play engages identity beliefs in a contemporary legal drama of colliding beliefs between conservative Christians and liberal gay equality advocates.

Should we take the 'disability' out of discrimination laws?: Students with challenging behaviour and the definition of disability

Disability discrimination law has been of limited benefit to people with atypical and challenging behaviour. The role that law might play in upholding the equality rights of people with challenging behaviour is potentially expanded by changing medical and scientific knowledge about such behaviour, which brings more people within the definition of 'disability' and the protective ambit of the law. Yet this protective promise has not translated into legal gains, with few successful equality law cases decided in Australian courts and tribunals. This article critically examines the role of law, particularly anti-discrimination law, in regulating (or protecting) divergent behaviour, using a case study of students with challenging behaviour in Australian schools. It considers the lack of successful discrimination law cases in the education context, and asks whether, given this seeming legislative failure, disability discrimination laws have anything left to offer school students in terms of protecting their equality rights. The article gives an overview of anti-discrimination complaints and cases brought by students with challenging behaviour. It includes interview data from State and federal anti-discrimination bodies, legal practitioners and disability activists to complement case law and other public reports of discrimination. Using this background data, the article considers whether current discrimination law models do enough to protect the rights of students with challenging behaviour to education and inclusion in public life or whether new legal and policy measures are needed. It specifically examines changes to the regulatory landscape, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, and whether there are any real prospects for law reform.

“Another nice mess you’ve gotten me into” employers’ liability for workplace banter

PurposeBanter has been defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “the playful and friendly exchange of playful remarks” [www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/banter]. This suggests that it is a form of dialogue or conversation that is welcome, non-threatening and appreciated by the recipient. However, this is often not the case, and the purpose of this paper is to consider the legal rules dealing with banter where it is threatening, unwanted or oppressive to the recipient. Where there is a discriminatory aspect to the banter, the protection provided under equality law will be considered. Banter can be directed at workers with different characteristics (e.g. disability, age, religion, sex, race or sexual orientation), and this paper will consider discriminatory banter whatever the basis. The different types of dialogues falling under the term banter will be analysed and the extent to which legal protection is in place to deal with it will be considered. The statutory legal rules dealing with harassment and bullying in the UK are the most relevant to controlling workplace banter and accordingly will be given primary consideration. Finally, recommendations will be made for improving both management practice and the law in this area.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology used is a thorough review of secondary sources in the UK including relevant statutes and legal cases and research undertaken in this area.FindingsThere is a need for legislative change to protect victims of unwanted workplace banter.Research limitations/implicationsLegal and managerial solutions to a complex problem.Practical implicationsVery few sources of primary research.Originality/valueHighly original.

Breakdown of the equal area law for holographic entanglement entropy

We investigate a holographic version of Maxwell’s equal area law analogous to that for the phase transition in the black hole temperature/black hole entropy plane of a charged AdS black hole. We consider proposed area laws for both the black hole temperature/holographic entanglement entropy plane and the black hole temperature/2- point correlation function plane. Despite recent claims to the contrary, we demonstrate numerically that neither proposal is valid. We argue that there is no physical reason to expect such a construction in these planes.

“Notorious RBG”: A conversation with United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

On February 2, 2016, Prof. Ruth Rubio-Marin, Chair of Constitutional and Comparative Public Law at the European University Institute (EUI), interviewed the U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The interview took place in the framework of the European University Institute’s annual Ursula Hirschmann Lecture, a space dedicated to stimulate research and thinking which links ideas about Europe and the study of gender. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg engaged in a conversation that tackled her whole persona, without making rigid divides between the professional and the personal. Deep legal analysis, personal anecdotes, and invaluable advice for future researchers and lawyers intertwine in the interview, which sheds light on important dimensions of equality law.

Dvostruka uloga žena u suvremenoj obitelji: stavovi studenata Sveučilišta u Zadru

Obitelj je oduvijek bila u interakciji s društvenim, gospodarskim, kulturnim i drugim povijesnim tekovinama. U posljednjih 50 godina dolazi do povećanja broja žena na tržištu rada, a dvohraniteljske obitelji postaju normativ u razvijenim zemljama. Ipak, velik broj žena iz takvih obitelji ima poteškoća u usklađivanju poslovnog i obiteljskog života, posebno što se tiče skrbi za djecu, što upućuje na dvostruku ulogu žena u suvremenoj obitelji. Dakle, status žene se u društvu promijenio, no njezina uloga u obitelji, briga o djeci i teret kućanskih poslova ostaju isti kao u prošlosti kad je žena bila vezana za kuću. Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ispitati stavove studenata Sveučilišta u Zadru prema dvostrukoj ulozi žena u obitelji u Hrvatskoj, odnosno prema položaju žene na tržištu rada i njezinim obiteljskim obvezama te utvrditi u kojoj mjeri ocjenjuju ponuđene mjere pomoći ženama u usklađivanju poslovnih i obiteljskih obveza te poboljšanja njihovog položaja u društvu efikasnima. U istraživanju je korišten prigodan uzorak od 181 ispitanika, od kojeg 91 čine žene, a 90 muškarci. Studenti općenito pokazuju umjereno egalitaran stav prema ovom problemu, a kao što je i pretpostavljeno, dobivene su razlike u stavovima, u smjeru da žene, kojima je majka stalno zaposlena te ispitanici kojima je majka obrazovanija, s jedne strane, izražavaju egalitarnije stavove od muškaraca, kojima je majka domaćica te niže obrazovana, s druge strane. Razlika se najviše očituje u vidu usklađivanja obiteljske i poslovne uloge žene te utjecaja ženine zaposlenosti na dijete. Također, analizom rezultata dobiven je podatak da ispitanici/e koji pokazuju veću osjetljivost prema pitanju dvostruke uloge žene u obitelji, kao korijen problema vide u zakonu i društvenim vrijednostima, dok rješenje za pomirenje obiteljske i profesionalne uloge žene i poboljšanja njezinog položaja u društvu vide u dosljednom primjenjivanju zakona, obrazovanju te promjeni svijesti o ravnopravnosti spolova.

The Public Sector Equality Duty: Enforcing Equality Rights Through Second-Generation Regulation

Abstract This article reviews the effectiveness of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), based on insights from debates within equality law and theories of regulation. Drawing on examples of its practical implementation, the strengths and weaknesses of the ‘reflexive turn’ in equality law are assessed. While recognising the concerns raised regarding second-generation regulation, such as its inability to address structural power relations, the article proposes that this form of regulation has some merit when applied to equality law. First, the participatory processes that it produces can in themselves be viewed as equality outcomes, particularly when equality is understood to encompass the participation and inclusion of vulnerable groups. Second, this form of regulation can introduce change within organisations, proving reasonably resilient once embedded in standards of good management practice. The paper does not suggest that the processes of the PSED cannot be improved and instead proposes a number of ways in which second-generation regulation can be made more effective. However, it argues that examples of the implementation of the PSED show how reflexive regulation can provide more effective and resilient means to support the realisation of equality and social justice than at first appears.

직장 내 성희롱 예방 법정책의 문제와 입법적 대안: ｢고평법｣의 문제를 중심으로

직장 내 성희롱 예방 법정책의 문제와 입법적 대안: ｢고평법｣의 문제를 중심으로

T $T$ – S $S$ criticality of black holes with power Maxwell invariant source

In this paper, we show that black holes with PMI source exhibit the $T$ – $S$ criticality and derive the relevant critical physical quantities analytically. The values of critical quantities for the case $s\neq1$ vary from those for the case $s=1$ , showing the effect of PMI field on the critical phenomena of black holes. When $q< q_{c}$ , the $T$ – $S$ curve can be divided into three branches by a maximum point and a minimum point of Hawking temperature. With the help of specific heat analysis, we further show that the small entropy branch and the large entropy branch are stable. However, the medium entropy branch is unstable and can be removed via the technique of free energy analysis. Moreover, we examine the Maxwell equal area law and find that the relative errors for all the cases are small enough. So the existence of the PMI field does not affect the Maxwell equal area law.

Die beperkings van regstellende gelykheid

Die beperkings van regstellende gelykheid

La violence à l’égard des femmes fondée sur le genre dans la France contemporaine : bilan de la politique relative aux violences conjugales et aux mariages forcés depuis la Convention d’Istanbul

In 2014, France ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention) and passed the Law for Equality between Women and Men to bring French law into line with it. The Law for Equality between Women and Men situates the fight against violence against women within a broader context of the need to address inequalities between women and men. This is not new at the international level, but it is new to France. When the structural, transformative understandings of violence against women found in international texts are translated into national laws, policy documents and implementation on the ground, they might challenge widespread ideas about gender relations, or they might be diluted in order to achieve consensus. To what extent has French violence against women policy moved into line with United Nations (UN) and Council of Europe initiatives which present violence against women as both a cause and a consequence of gendered power relations? Have internationally accepted concepts of gender and gender-based violence been incorporated into French policy debates and, if so, how? What implications, if any, does all this have for the continued struggle in France and elsewhere to eliminate violence against women?

Marriage Equality Laws Linked to Drop in Teen Suicide

Marriage Equality Laws Linked to Drop in Teen Suicide

The Agents of Democracy: Courts for the People

We commonly think of the federal judiciary as an undemocratic (counter-majoritarian) institution that enforces the Constitution over the will of the people, as that “democratic” will is expressed through the political branches and the states. This essay proposes that we consider the opposite, specifically, that we pause on the possibility that the judiciary, through its enforcement and development of the law of liberty and equality, is in fact an agent of democracy counterpoised against the counter-majoritarian political branches.

Critical phenomena of regular black holes in anti-de Sitter space-time

In General Relativity, addressing coupling to a non-linear electromagnetic field, together with a negative cosmological constant, we obtain the general static spherical symmetric black hole solution with magnetic charges, which is asymptotic to anti-de Sitter (AdS) space-times. In particular, for a degenerate case the solution becomes a Hayward–AdS black hole, which is regular everywhere in the full space-time. The existence of such a regular black hole solution preserves the weak energy condition, while the strong energy condition is violated. We then derive the first law and the Smarr formula of the black hole solution. We further discuss its thermodynamic properties and study the critical phenomena in the extended phase space where the cosmological constant is treated as a thermodynamic variable as well as the parameter associated with the non-linear electrodynamics. We obtain many interesting results such as: the Maxwell equal area law in the P{-}V (or S{-}T) diagram is violated and consequently the critical point (T_*,P_*) of the first order small–large black hole transition does not coincide with the inflection point (T_c,P_c) of the isotherms; the Clapeyron equation describing the coexistence curve of the Van der Waals (vdW) fluid is no longer valid; the heat capacity at constant pressure is finite at the critical point; the various exponents near the critical point are also different from those of the vdW fluid.