Affirmative Action For Disabled People

7. The Russian Federation

Affirmative Action and the Law analyses the practical application of affirmative action measures and their efficacy in achieving substantive equality through the lenses of the United Nations human rights machinery and the legal regime and policies implemented in China, India, Central and South America, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The product of a joint research project involving academics from the Brazil, Chile, Mexico, India, Spain and the United Kingdom, the findings identify and reflect on trends emerging from State practice across the world in eradicating structural inequality through special measures for certain designated groups. The book seeks to provide a coherent and systematic approach to the analysis of special measures in the targeted countries. It also comprises two case-studies with in-depth insights on gender diversity on the boards of public listed companies in the UK and the European Union and the access of persons with disabilities to higher education in Brazil. The book will be a valuable resource for students and academics in the field of human rights, law, sociology and politics. It will also provide a source of good practice for states and policy makers in the framing of responses to increased inequality at national and international level; and for civil society actors seeking to explore meaningful interaction with a highly controversial topic in society.

There is great diversity of definitions, causes and consequences of discrimination against persons with disabilities, yet there are fundamental themes uniting countries in their pursuit of human rights policies to improve the social and economic status of those with disabilities. In this volume are twenty-five important articles examining historical, contemporary and comparative issues crucial to the advancement of disability rights. The volume foreshadows the future of disability rights as a medium for ensuring that those living with disabilities participate as equal citizens of the world.