Is it illegal to discriminate against individuals based on their gender or marital status?

Discrimination based on gender or marital status is indeed illegal in the UK, and this is rooted in a series of equality laws designed to ensure fair treatment for everyone. The key piece of legislation here is the Equality Act 2010. This Act consolidated various anti-discrimination laws into one comprehensive framework. Before 2010, there were separate laws covering sex discrimination, race discrimination, and so on. The Equality Act brought these together and expanded the protections. It specifically prohibits discrimination in areas like employment, education, and the provision of goods and services. Gender, meaning whether someone is male or female, and marital status, whether someone is single, married, divorced, or widowed, are both protected characteristics under the Act. This means employers, service providers, and others cannot treat someone unfairly because of their gender or marital status. So, if an employer refuses to hire a qualified woman simply because of her gender, or if a landlord refuses to rent to a single person because they prefer married couples, they are breaking the law. It's all about ensuring equal opportunities and fair treatment for everyone, regardless of these personal characteristics.