unequal treatment
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unequal treatment
The act of treating people or groups differently without an objective reason, which is often perceived as unfair or discriminatory.
Die Mitarbeiterinnen beschwerten sich über die Ungleichbehandlung bei der Beförderung.
The female employees complained about unequal treatment in promotions.
The word is clearly structured: 'Un-' (not) + 'gleich' (equal) + 'Behandlung' (treatment). So it literally describes treatment that is not the same for everyone. The ending '-ung' makes the word feminine.
Eine Ungleichbehandlung von Bewerbern ist gesetzlich verboten.
Unequal treatment of applicants is prohibited by law.
This noun is often combined with verbs that express protest or legal action. Typical phrases are 'sich über Ungleichbehandlung beschweren' (to complain about unequal treatment), 'gegen Ungleichbehandlung kämpfen' (to fight against unequal treatment), or 'Ungleichbehandlung erfahren' (to experience unequal treatment).
Viele Frauen kämpfen gegen die Ungleichbehandlung im Berufsleben.
Many women fight against unequal treatment in professional life.
To specify the context, certain prepositions are used: 'Ungleichbehandlung von' (unequal treatment of—who is disadvantaged?), 'bei' (in which situation?), or 'wegen' (for what reason?).
Die Studie untersucht die Ungleichbehandlung von Frauen bei der Gehaltsverhandlung.
The study examines the unequal treatment of women in salary negotiations.
discrimination
Both words can refer to different treatment that is not justified by objective reasons. Diskriminierung especially emphasizes unfairly disadvantaging someone because of a characteristic and is more strongly evaluative. Ungleichbehandlung describes more generally that comparable people are treated differently without an objective reason.
Unterschiedlicher Lohn für dieselbe Arbeit ohne sachlichen Grund ist eine Ungleichbehandlung.
Different pay for the same work without an objective reason is unequal treatment.
Wenn eine Frau wegen ihres Geschlechts weniger Lohn erhält, ist das Diskriminierung.
If a woman earns less because of her gender, that is discrimination.
