Degrees of discrimination

Discrimination is typically understood as a binary phenomenon: an act is either discriminatory or it is not. In this paper, we move beyond this view by arguing that discrimination comes in degrees. More specifically, we make two contributions. First, we show that existing normative accounts struggle to explain why some instances of discrimination are morally worse than others because they rely on a descriptive account that treats discrimination as an all-or-nothing phenomenon. Second, we propose a refined account that conceptualizes discrimination as a graded phenomenon. We draw on insights from the philosophy of explanation, and we show how the account extends to indirect, mixed-motive, and intersectional discrimination. By recognizing that protected traits can play a greater or lesser role in producing discriminatory treatment, our account offers a more precise way of capturing variations in moral severity and helps existing normative accounts by providing a descriptive framework that better tracks morally relevant considerations.