--- title: "Intersectional discrimination" description: "Intersectional discrimination (Pay Transparency Directive): sex combined with racial or ethnic origin, religion, disability, age or sexual orientation." canonical: "https://gencompl.ai/glossary/intersectional-discrimination" language: "en-US" type: "Glossary term" published: "2026-10-14T18:20:57.956Z" modified: "2026-10-14T19:20:18.831Z" --- # Intersectional discrimination Discrimination based on a combination of sex and any other ground or grounds of discrimination protected under Directive 2000/43/EC or 2000/78/EC. Also known as: intersectionele discriminatie **What does "Intersectional discrimination" mean under the Pay Transparency Directive?** Defined in: [Pay Transparency](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/pay-transparency-directive) (32023L0970) [Home](https://gencompl.ai/) › [Glossary](https://gencompl.ai/glossary) › Intersectional discrimination > Discrimination based on a combination of sex and any other ground or grounds of discrimination protected under Directive 2000/43/EC or 2000/78/EC ## Defined in / by - [Pay Transparency Directive (32023L0970)](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/pay-transparency-directive), Article 3(2), point (e) Last updated: 14 October 2026. ## Sex combined with another ground Intersectional discrimination covers pay discrimination where sex combines with another protected ground: racial or ethnic origin under Directive 2000/43/EC, or religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation under Directive 2000/78/EC, as recital 25 of the Pay Transparency Directive lists them. The recital names women with disabilities, women of diverse racial and ethnic origin including Roma women, and young or elderly women among the groups who may face it, and says the clarification lets courts, equality bodies and other authorities take the combination into account to recognise discrimination, choose the comparator, assess proportionality and set compensation or penalties. The Directive does not create a separate claim. It counts intersectional discrimination as a form of discrimination for its purposes (Article 3(2)) and gives it weight at three points: compensation covers damage caused by other relevant factors, which may include intersectional discrimination (Article 16(3)); penalties take it into account as a possible aggravating factor (Article 23(3)); and the monitoring body raises awareness of it (Article 29(3), point (a)). Article 3(3) sets the limit for employers: the concept entails no additional obligation to gather data on protected grounds other than sex. Pay gap reports stay split by sex only. ### The Dutch bill The definitions the Dutch implementing bill (Kamerstuk 36949) adds to Article 1 of the Wet gelijke behandeling van mannen en vrouwen do not include intersectional discrimination. As at 13 October 2026 the bill is not yet law. > **What we could not establish** > > How a court weighs a combination of grounds in a pay claim is not settled by the definition, and the Directive prescribes no method. Employers are not required to collect data on grounds other than sex, so their own reports will not show intersectional gaps. This entry fixes the term. It does not decide whether the term catches your institution; counsel decides that. ## Questions and answers ### Do employers have to collect data on ethnicity or disability under the Pay Transparency Directive? No. Article 3(3) of Directive (EU) 2023/970 says intersectional discrimination does not entail additional obligations on employers to gather data on protected grounds of discrimination other than sex. ### Can intersectional discrimination increase penalties? It can. Article 23(3) of Directive (EU) 2023/970 requires penalties to take into account relevant aggravating or mitigating factors, which may include intersectional discrimination, and Article 16(3) lets compensation cover damage caused by it. ## Sources - [Directive (EU) 2023/970 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/970/oj/eng) (EUR-Lex · 17 May 2023) - [Kamerstuk 36949, nr. 2: Voorstel van wet (Wet implementatie Richtlijn loontransparantie mannen en vrouwen)](https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/kst-36949-2.html) (Officiële bekendmakingen · 20 May 2026) ## Related content ### Glossary term - [Equality body](https://gencompl.ai/glossary/equality-body-pay-transparency): The body or bodies designated pursuant to Article 20 of Directive 2006/54/EC. Directive (EU) 2024/1500 deleted that Article; references to it are read as references to the equality bodies designated under Article 2(1) of Directive (EU) 2024/1500. - [Indirect discrimination](https://gencompl.ai/glossary/indirect-discrimination-pay-transparency): The situation in which an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice would put persons of one sex at a particular disadvantage compared with persons of the other sex, unless that provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified on the basis of a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary. - [Direct discrimination](https://gencompl.ai/glossary/direct-discrimination-pay-transparency): The situation in which one person is treated less favourably on grounds of sex than another person is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation. ### Regulation - [Pay Transparency Directive (Loontransparantie)](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/pay-transparency-directive): The Pay Transparency Directive, Directive (EU) 2023/970, had to be transposed by 7 June 2026. The Dutch bill (Kamerstuk 36949) targets 1 January 2027 and has employers with 150 or more workers file a first pay gap report by 7 June 2028, on 2027. As at 13 October 2026 it awaits a vote in the Tweede Kamer.