3. GROUNDS OF DISCRIMINATION EXPERIENCED
3.2 Relationship Between Social-demographic Groups and Grounds of Subjective Discrimination
It is interesting to consider the characteristics of those reporting different grounds of discrimination. As discussed above knowing which grounds of discrimination tend to arise among different social groups contributes to our understanding of the subjective experience of discrimination. This is because rather than assuming the risk of reported discrimination is based on membership of that group we can interrogate what the respondent him/herself felt was the motivation behind his/her experience. Looking at the gender breakdown of reported grounds there is a strong contrast in the grounds of discrimination reported by men and women. Table 3.2 shows that age discrimination accounts for almost a quarter of the grounds reported by men but it amounted to only 15 per cent of the grounds reported by women. In contrast, family status accounted for 17 per cent of discrimination reported by women but just 3 per cent for men. Marital status was also mentioned more frequently as a ground for discrimination experienced by women.
The following analysis of the reported grounds of discrimination against the relevant indicators within the population (for example, the reporting of discrimination based on marital status, by marital status of the population) provides more information on which sub groups are at risk of subjective discrimination.21 While interpreting these
21 We avoid simply looking at the rates of each population group reporting various grounds because each respondent could choose multiple grounds.
results it should be kept in mind that for each ground there are a small number of cases relative to the size of the population.
Table 3.2: Grounds of Discrimination as a Percentage of All Reported Grounds, Distinguishing Men and Women
Male Female
% %
Age 23.7 15.1
Race/skin colour/nationality/ethnic origin 19.7 12.6
Gender 9.7 13.1 Family status 3.3 16.8 Disability 7.8 4.8 Marital Status 2.1 6.6 Sexual Orientation 0.6 0.1 Religious Belief 0.7 0.5
Membership of the Traveller community 0.3 1.3
Other 32.1 29.2
100.0 100.0
Total grounds 1,737 1,719
Note: Multiple forms of discrimination and multiple grounds of discrimination were allowed for each respondent.
Figure 3.1: Gender Composition of Those who Report Gender Discrimination and of Total Population
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Report Gender Discrimination All
Female Male
Note: Individual respondents could record multiple grounds.
Looking first at gender discrimination we find that just under 45 per cent of reports of gender discrimination come from men. This highlights the point discussed earlier that discrimination in this report is not necessarily directed towards minority or particular groups within the grounds: discrimination on the basis of gender is often seen as solely directed towards women. While this is in contrast to the picture provided by studies of objective discrimination (mostly in the labour force), it should be noted that
these reports from men arise predominantly in relation to accessing financial services, which because of their frequency, dominate the overall picture (the relationship between grounds and domains of discrimination is addressed below in Section 3.3).
In Figure 3.2 we consider the age composition of those who felt they were discriminated against on the grounds of age compared to the age-composition of the population. Those aged 18-24 years make up the largest proportion of those reporting age discrimination, accounting for 35 per cent of this group compared to a presence in the population of 15 per cent. Surprisingly, those aged over 65 years are not over-represented among those reporting age discrimination – they make up 17 per cent of that group compared to 15 per cent of the population. Only 22 per cent of reports of age-related discrimination come from those aged 25 to 44 years even though they represent 41 per cent of the population. It is disproportionately the young, not the old, who experience age-related discrimination in Ireland.
Figure 3.2: Age Composition of Those Who Report Age-related Discrimination and of Total Population
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Report Age Discrimination All
65 + years 45 - 64 years 25 - 44 years 18 - 24 years
Note: Individual respondents could record multiple grounds.
Figure 3.3 shows that 43 per cent of reports of discrimination on the grounds of race/skin colour/nationality/ethnic origin come from non-Irish nationals in the ‘White’ category and 35 per cent come from respondents of Black Asian or ‘Other’ ethnicity (mostly non-Irish nationals but including a small percentage of Irish nationals).22 It is
perhaps surprising that 21 per cent of these reports (albeit representing a small number of incidents) come from the majority group i.e. Irish nationals of White ethnicity. It is unlikely that these reports related to discrimination on the grounds of membership of the Traveller community as there was a separate category for this response. These results indicate that some majority respondents perceive preferential treatment of minority national or ethnic groups. Note, however, that while 21 per cent of reports come from the majority group, these make up over 90 per cent
of the population, so the rate of reported discrimination is considerably lower than among other ethnic/national groups.
Figure 3.3: Composition of Those Reporting Discrimination on the Basis of Race/Skin Colour/Nationality or Ethnic Origin
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Report Racial Discrimination All
Black, Asian & other White, Non-Irish White, Irish
Note: Individual respondents could record multiple grounds.
Figure 3.4: Marital Status of Those Reporting Discrimination on Grounds of Marital Status and of Total Population
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Report Marital Status Discrimination All Widowed Separated Married Single
Note: Individual respondents could record multiple grounds.
Two groups are over-represented among those reporting discrimination on the basis of marital status: those who are single and in particular those who are separated/divorced (see Figure 3.4). A quarter of complaints of discrimination on the
grounds of marital status came from the latter group even though they only make up 5 per cent of the population. Single people reported 45 per cent of marital status discrimination. As we saw in Chapter 2 single people reported more discrimination than married people accessing a range of services (shops/pubs/restaurants, financial services and housing) and while looking for work.
Two groups are also particularly over-represented among those reporting discrimination on the basis of family status: lone parents with children aged under 15 years and couples with children aged under 15 years (see Figure 3.5). The former group account for just 5 per cent of the population yet this group made one third of the claims of discrimination on the basis of family status.
Figure 3.5: Family Status Composition of Those Reporting Discrimination on the Grounds of Family Status, and of Total Population
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
Report Family Status Discrimination
All
Not Family Unit
Lone parent children >15 Lone Parent children <15 Couple children <15 Couple no children < 15
Note: Individual respondents could record multiple grounds.
As is clear from Figure 3.6, disabled respondents are much more likely to report discrimination on the grounds of disability. In fact, 84 per cent of those reporting discrimination on the grounds of disability were disabled. This compares to just under 12 per cent of the total population who report that they have a disability.
The number of cases of subjective discrimination attributed by the respondent to religious or sexual orientation grounds or to membership of the Traveller community are too low to allow for similar analysis.23 We attempt to further our understanding of
the significant ‘other’ ground in a separate Section 3.4 below.
23 In any case the sexual orientation of respondents was not asked and information on whether or not they are members of the Traveller community is not available due to small sample size.
Figure 3.6: Disability Status of Those Reporting Discrimination on the Grounds of Disability, and of Total Population
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Report Disability Discrimination All
Disabled Not Disabled
Note: Individual respondents could record multiple grounds.