Redressing the Balance: Positive Action, Quotas, Political Shortlists, and Associations

Abstract

This chapter studies positive action to secure full equality in practice, assessing when it is permissible to take positive action in relation to equality issues. It also considers the specific issue of all-women shortlists for elected positions. The key provisions in the Equality Act 2010 are in Chapter 2 Positive Action, which is in Part 11 Advancement of Equality. Section 158 concerns Positive Action in general and section 159 concerns specifically Positive Action: Recruitment and Promotion. These sections intersect with other provisions of the Act, for instance those in which certain otherwise discriminatory conduct is rendered permissible by occupational requirements or because it is otherwise justified. These provisions all reflect core ideas in the centre of the equal treatment principle.