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In England, Scotland and Wales, the Equality Act protects individuals from unlawful discrimination on the basis of nine ‘protected characteristics’: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation. In Northern Ireland, these characteristics are protected under individual anti-discrimination legislation.

The Act includes a public sector equality duty which requires public bodies, including higher education institutions (HEIs), to have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other prohibited conduct
• advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
• foster good relations between persons who share a protected characteristic and those who do not

To advance equality of opportunity, institutions will need to:

• remove or minimise disadvantages suffered by people from protected groups
• take steps to meet the needs of those people
• encourage those people to participate in public life

To foster good relations, institutions will need to:

• tackle prejudice
• promote understanding between people from different groups

The UK is also covered by The Human Rights Act 1998 and The Public Order Act, and there are some differences in Northern Ireland.