In Brussels, many people continue to experience discrimination when looking for housing or employment. Recent figures show that these two areas account for a large proportion of the reports received by Unia in 2024.
To remind people that racism is a crime and not an opinion, the City of Brussels is launching an awareness campaign focusing on 2 key themes: housing and work.
These visuals will be displayed in public spaces for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. They call on everyone to recognise discrimination and reject its trivialisation.
In 2024, discrimination in the housing market remains widespread. The cases handled reveal a harsh reality: in most cases, the discrimination is blatantly obvious. The criteria that recur time and again?
- Origin or skin colour
- Disability
- Socio-economic situation
The shortage of affordable housing opens the door to abuse: some landlords exclude candidates without any reason. The result: fewer opportunities, long-term exclusion and increasingly fragile access to housing for people who are already vulnerable.
Several levers are essential to reverse this trend:
- A significant increase in the supply of public and social housing
- A strengthening of the role of municipalities and public social welfare centres (CPAS-OCMW), including through practical tests
- Mandatory anti-discrimination training for all real estate professionals
The workplace accounts for the highest number of reports in Brussels. People from different ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities or people belonging to a religious minority are particularly at risk of discrimination.
Discrimination occurs at every stage:
- Recruitment
- Terms of employment
- Professional development
- Requests for reasonable accommodation
Unconscious biases play an important role here: stereotypes, unconscious assumptions, implicit preferences,...
Unia has developed a specific tool to promote objective and neutral job interviews. Discover it here:
External siteTool for neutral recruitment (in French and Dutch)
Since 2019, the City of Brussels has been developing an action plan against racism and antisemitism, in line with the 2022-2025 regional action plan and the 2021 regional Assizes.
The plan aims to take local action, within the City authorities and across the territory, with an emphasis on education and awareness-raising in order to bring about lasting change.
This version is a first step in a long-term process to make Brussels a more just society with a genuine commitment to the fight against racism.
