Equality and Human Rights Commission

This section is about your right not to experience sex discrimination as a consumer of services provided by public bodies.

• For more information on consumer rights such as product guarantees and trading standards issues, visit the DirectGov website.
• For more on the responsibilities of public bodies to avoid discrimination, see Public sector duties.

What is sex discrimination in public services?

When goods or services are provided by a public body, they must be provided in a way that does not discriminate unfairly on the grounds of gender.

As well as this legal requirement not to discriminate, under the Gender Equality Duty public bodies have additional responsibilities to actively promote equality. See the Gender equality duty for more information.

Sex discrimination in services provided by public bodies could happen in areas such as:

• providing transport services
• providing treatment or medication to male and female patients and the availability of health services to men and women
• providing accommodation such as housing, refuges etc

The Sex Discrimination Act applies differently to public bodies when they provide a service that could not be provided by a private body (for example, deciding on custody of children in divorce cases). However, the Human Rights Act may still apply. See Sex discrimination in public services: what the law says for more information.

Direct sex discrimination

Examples may potentially include:

• Asking a woman questions about childcare in an interview which are not put to male candidates
• Treating a woman adversely because she is pregnant.

Indirect sex discrimination

Where a condition or requirement is applied equally to both women and men; but which adversely affects one sex and is not genuinely necessary, it may amount to indirect sex discrimination. Examples include:

• Applying a height restriction for a job
• Having a requirement that all employees must work full time.

More information

• Sex discrimination in public services: your rights
• Sex discrimination in public services: what the law says