Psychologists are calling for social class to be made a protected characteristic to tackle widening inequalities and make levelling up a reality across the UK. A person’s social class should be given the same legal protections as the nine characteristics covered by the 2010 Equality Act, such as age or race, the British Psychological Society (BPS) said.
The current law protects people from discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. However, potential discrimination on the basis of income, accent, education, or family background is not covered.
The body said adding class would “create an immediate and clear legal mandate for initiatives to reduce class-based discrimination”. This could lead to a medium to long term reduction in exclusion and discrimination, which could result in improved education, health and work outcomes and a reduction in psychological damage.
