The law provides for equal opportunities in terms of working conditions concerning ethnicity/race (WoL, V2)
| Quick info | |
|---|---|
| Data type | Numeric |
| Scale | Metric |
| Value labels | not applicable |
| Technical name | labor_discr_equ_cond_rac |
| Category | Labour and labour market |
| Label | Law provides for equal working conditions concerning ethnicity/race |
| Related indicators |
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Measures the extent and strength of the legal equalisation of ethnically or racially disadvantaged people in terms of working conditions.
The unequal treatment based on the construction of race and ethnic differences that has developed, especially in the context of slavery, colonialism, and imperialism, cannot be overcome by simply banning unequal treatment. To end this tradition of discrimination and unequal treatment, antidiscrimination law has been introduced, with racial discrimination being among the first to be addressed. This variable exclusively covers legislation concerning working conditions, although general antidiscrimination norms covering both access to work and working conditions are to be considered as well.
V.2 has been modified to make developments visible and better represent the complex development of antidiscrimination legislation concerning gender. From a general prohibition of discrimination, a differentiation between direct and indirect discrimination has been developed, among others. Since individual complaints will seldom be made against the employer in an ongoing employment relationship, the law may provide for collective bodies to engage in defence and on behalf of employees and foresee special procedures. Short time limits to complain against discrimination may frustrate activities to engage against discrimination and thus reduce the effects of the law.
Race is not the only factor that can make it more difficult for women to enter and remain in the labour market. In many cases, racial or ethnic criteria interact with other factors such as gender, social class, disability, sexual orientation, etc. These factors can be additive, but they can also be inextricably linked (intersectional discrimination). The strength of legal provisions for active equality can therefore be seen from whether the law merely prescribes simple equality measures or whether it prescribes more complex measures, such as preferential treatment or even the targeted active combating of multiple, including intersectional, discrimination.
Coding rules
Equals 1 if legal provisions in employment or other ordinary legislation guarantee non-discrimination for racial/ethnic reasons in terms of general working conditions; equals 0 if no such guarantee exists. Scope for further gradations between 0 and 1 to reflect limited coverage and changes in the strength of the statutory law.
For detailed coding rules, please consult Fechner/Carlino 2025.
Bibliographic info
Citation: Fechner, Heiner and Marina Carlino (2025). Worlds of Labour (WoL) Leximetric Dataset. University of Bremen.
Related publications:- Mückenberger, Ulrich, 1985. "Die Krise des Normalarbeitsverhältnisses - Hat das Arbeitsrecht noch Zukunft?" Zeitschrift für Sozialreform 31: 415-434; 457-475
- Mückenberger, Ulrich, and Simon Deakin. 1989. "From Deregulation to a European Floor of Rights: Labour Law, Flexibilisation and the European Single Market." Zeitschrift Für Ausländisches Und Internationales Arbeits- Und Sozialrecht 3: 153–207.
- Carlino, M., Fechner, H., & Schäfer, A. (2024). Using leximetrics for coding legal segmentation in employment law: The development and potential of the Worlds of Labour database. In I. Dingeldey, H. Fechner, & U. Mückenberger (Eds.), Constructing Worlds of Labour. Coverage and Generosity of Labour Law as Outcomes of Regulatory Social Policy. Palgrave Macmillan.
Misc
Project manager(s):
Responsible for data coding: Heiner Fechner (2018-2025)
Responsible for data editing and entry: Heiner Fechner (2024-2025), Andrea Schäfer (2021-2025), Jean-Yves Gerlitz (2018-2020)
Principal Investigators: Irene Dingeldey, Ulrich Mückenberger
Student assistants (2018-2025): Julia Bode, Jessica Bonn, Daniel Euler, Maxime Fischer, Jan-Christopher Floren, Jennifer Götte, Désirée Hoppe, Irina Kyburz, Alexandra Kojnow, Tarek Mahmalat, Karolin Meyer, Johanna Nold, Tanusha Pali, Johannes Ramsauer, Max Sudhoff, Kristina Walter, Caroline Zambiasi.
- Version 0.001: Initial release
Revisions: No revisions yet.
This is the first version of the dataset of the thoroughly revised Version 2 WoL template; for the first time, all variables including those originally stemming from CBR-LRI have been coded/revised under WoL criteria. A preliminary version with compiled data (CBR-LRI and WoL) has been published in WeSIS marked by "CBR-LRI-based" and "WoL, V1".
Sources
Own coding.
Fechner, Heiner, and Marina Carlino (2025). Coding Legal Segmentation in Employment Law. The Worlds of Labour (WoL) Dataset. SFB 1342 Technical Paper Series, 22. Bremen: SFB 1342. https://doi.org/10.26092/elib/4191
