Received:
2026-05-15 | Accepted:
2026-08-12 | Published:
2026-09-30
Title
Intersectional discrimination in the context of employment and sustainability issues: comparative analysis in European countries
Abstract
Multiple intersectional discrimination refers to a situation in which multiple grounds operate and interact simultaneously, producing specific forms of discrimination. Multiple intersectional discriminations have, for a long time, caused various issues in employment and have become evident in access to employment, equal pay, and pensions. Moreover, it is an important point for gender equality and is essential to reach sustainable development. This article identifies recent changes regarding intersectional discrimination in the context of labour income and pay transparency, as well as changes in the EU legal framework, and the challenges they pose for European countries. The methodology is based on a literature review, statistical data analysis, legal regulation in EU Member States, and a qualitative study. The results showed an intersectional impact on employment, equal pay, and pensions, with varying degrees of direct impact on levels of structural inequality and on the future lack of sustainable development. Intersectional discrimination from the gender perspective might affect women with a migration background, younger and older women, women with disabilities and women with some religious or origin background. An additional point for raising compensation and sanction levels might lead victims of multiple intersectional discrimination to report it, and encourage pay and promotion law practitioners to challenge it.
Keywords
multiple discrimination, intersectional discrimination, employment, unemployment, gender equality, sustainable development
JEL classifications
J14
, J16
, K31
URI
http://jssidoi.org/jesi/article/6695
DOI
Pages
480-489
Funding
The project "Multiple Discrimination and Labour Income: A Comparative Analysis of Legal Regulations in European Countries" (MEDALIC) is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement No. S-PD-24-155.
This is an open access issue and all published articles are licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
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Funding: The project "Multiple Discrimination and Labour Income: A Comparative Analysis of Legal Regulations in European Countries" (MEDALIC) is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), agreement No. S-PD-24-155. /jesi/article/6695
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Raimonda BUBLIENĖ is a scientific fellow at the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences. She obtained a PhD in law from Mykolas Romeris University in 2022 (her PhD thesis focused on multiple discrimination in the context of European Union anti-discrimination law). Research interests: anti-discrimination law, gender equality, business law and information technology law. /jesi/article/6695
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