4. From Disparate Impact to Systemic Discrimination

Abstract

Disparate impact discrimination has been under fire in the United States since the landmark Ricci v. DeStefano case in 2009.¹ The debate is equally topical in France, where its supreme court, the Cour de Cassation, more recently handed down several rulings recognizing indirect sex discrimination,² in an effort to “flush out more subtle forms of discrimination.” European equality law distinguishes between direct discrimination, that is, intentionally treating a person less favorably because he or she has a protected characteristic, and indirect discrimination, which occurs when a general measure that seems to treat people equally on the surface has a disproportionately