The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (c. 65) was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

which protected

men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...

and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status. The Act concerned employment,

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, harassment, the provision of goods and services, and the disposal of premises. The Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999, The Gender Recognition Act 2004 and The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2008 amended parts of this Act to apply to those who "intend to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment". Other amendments were introduced by the Sex Discrimination Act 1986, the Employment Act 1989, the Equality Act 2006, and other legislation such as rulings by the European Court of Justice. The Act did not apply in Northern Ireland, however The Sex Discrimination Gender Reassignment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 does. The Act was repealed in full by the

Equality Act 2010 The Equality Act 2010 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the Brown ministry with the primary purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and Regulations, that formed the basis of anti-d ...

.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents The Equality Act (2010)

The Equal Opportunities Commission

The Act established the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) whose main duties were to work towards the elimination of discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity between sexes and to keep under review the workings of the Sex Discrimination Act and the

Equal Pay Act 1970 The Equal Pay Act 1970 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibited any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. The Act was proposed by the then Labour government, and wa ...

. The EOC helped individuals bring cases to Employment Tribunals and to the courts. The EOC is now subsumed into the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). ‘Sex Discrimination’, as it is referred to in employment law, was introduced in the 1970s alongside equal pay legislation.

Powers of the Commission

The EHRC was empowered to do the following: *Bring proceedings in respect of certain provisions and seek a

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

injunction to restrain the repetition of an unlawful act *Commence a claim before an

employment tribunal Employment tribunals are tribunal public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, red ...

on behalf of an individual. *Give practical guidance and advice to persons who appear to have a complaint under the Acts.

References

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External links

Sex Discrimination Act 1975
as originally passed The Act
with later amendments (404 as of 23/6/2009)-->
The Equal Opportunities Commission
now subsumed into the Commission for Equality and Human Rights
Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1975 Anti-discrimination law in the United Kingdom Sexism Gender in the United Kingdom Transgender law in the United Kingdom November 1975 events in the United Kingdom 1975 in LGBT history

The Equal Opportunities Commission

Powers of the Commission

See also

References

External links