Bedeutung, Auslegung und Realisierung des Konzepts der positiven Maßnahmen nach § 5 AGG im unionsrechtlichen Kontext

The concept of positive action was introduced into German labour law by the Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz) in 2006. Although positive action measures which aim to prevent or compensate for disadvantages in employment emanating for instance from an employee’s disability, are in fact possible for all protected criteria, the concept is still predominantly associated with the so-called quota for women.
In this book, the concept of positive action is examined from a normative perspective by taking into account the respective (European) legal provisions. The author establishes a typology not only for positive action as regards sex/gender but also with respect to disability and age. To broaden the perspective, she adds a comparative element to the analysis by looking at Italian law. Given that the Italian Constitution has set the objective of substantive equality already in 1948 – long before the EU Equality Law and German Basic Law (Grundgesetz) – the author reflects upon whether and how this starting point has influenced the concept of positive action in EU law.