1 French employee out of 4 discriminated in the workplace

PARIS – The French government’s human rights watchdog says one out of four employees has experienced discrimination at work because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, skin colour, gender, poor health or disability.

The study in collaboration with the International Labor Organization found similar results in both the public sector and in privately-owned companies.

The report released on Thursday states that discrimination against employees is often “minimized in working environments, especially when trying to be justified by humour.”

Among women aged 18 to 44 and “perceived as non-white,” 54 per cent said they have been victims of discriminatory speech or behaviour, while 40 per cent of bisexual or homosexual men said they experienced it.

The study was based on data from 5,117 people.