Positive Discrimination definition

Policies specifically introduced by a company to benefit an underrepresented group, such as increasing their chances of being hired for a role. In the UK, positive discrimination is illegal but positive action is legal. The difference lies in the motives of the company – they must not offer a job to someone from an underrepresented group just to improve the company’s ratio of employees. They can only hire someone from an underrepresented group if their skills are equal to those of a candidate not sharing the same underrepresented characteristic. In the UK, these rights and rules are codified in the Equality Act 2010.