Equinet – the European Network of Equality Bodies – held on 3-4 June 2024 an in-person training in Vilnius about using discrimination tests – such as situation and correspondence testing – to examine and proof discrimination. Prof. Pieter-Paul Verhaeghe had the honour of organizing and delivering this training session.
In total, 35 members of the Equinet Working Groups on Research and Data Collection as well as Policy Formation participated in the training. The participants came from 14 countries in Europe, representing a good geographical balance.
The general goals of the training were to teach participants how they could apply discrimination tests and to exchange best practices between the participating countries. During the training, these tests were discussed in relation to several discrimination grounds, including race, ethnic origin, sex,(trans)gender, disability, age and sexual orientation. More specifically, the training had five objectives, divided over five sessions.
1. To shed light on the different types of discrimination tests, their multiple purposes and their advantages and disadvantages.
2. To teach participants how they could design sound discrimination tests, ranging from operationalizing the discrimination ground, over contacting the alleged perpetrators, to finding similar profiles or composing comparable CVs.
3. To inform participants about the methodological, statistical, and practical challenges to conducting discrimination tests for research or awareness-raising purposes.
4. To discuss how discrimination tests could be applied for legal purposes, together with their legal pitfalls.
5. To share thoughts about the ethical, financial and political reasons why discrimination tests aren’t used more often.
These five objectives were determined based on the trainer’s experience, the strategic plans of the Equinet organizers, and a needs assessment of the participants during the preparation of the training.
Read the full summary of the training here (807.65 KB) "pdf".
