On September 25, 2025, Dr. Raimonda Bublienė, a researcher at the Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, participated in the 4th International Conference on Discrimination, organized by the Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination (CEPDISC) at Aarhus University. The conference took place in the city of Horsens, Kingdom of Denmark.
In the session “Discrimination in Politics and Employment,” Dr. Bublienė delivered a presentation titled “Multiple Intersectional Discrimination Impact on Labour Income.” Currently, at the Law Institute, she is implementing a postdoctoral fellowship project funded by the Research Council of Lithuania, entitled “Multiple Discrimination and Labour Income: A Comparative Analysis of Legal Regulations in European Countries” (MEDALIC).
In her presentation, the researcher emphasized that multiple intersectional discrimination, where an individual is simultaneously discriminated against on the grounds of gender and one or more other characteristics—such as culture, ethnicity, religion, age, or migrant status—is a frequent and widespread phenomenon. This form of discrimination has been mostly studied by American scholars, yet, according to Dr. Bublienė, social and economic inequality remains a pressing issue in the European context as well. The European Commission’s 2015 report indicates that working women perform about three-quarters of household chores and two-thirds of childcare work.
In her talk, Dr. Bublienė presented examples of cases concerning women’s multiple discrimination that have been examined by the Court of Justice of the European Union, and she introduced an important instrument of EU gender equality policy – Directive (EU) 2023/970, which enshrines the principle of “equal pay for equal work or work of equal value.”
The researcher stressed that recognizing, studying, and legally regulating manifestations of multiple intersectional discrimination could effectively reduce the gender pay gap. Moreover, the problem could be addressed through transparent pay systems and compensation for damages suffered in the field of pay due to multiple intersectional discrimination.
The MEDALIC project is funded by the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT), contract No. S-PD-24-155.
All conference presentations can be found here.