Race
Refers to ancestry or physical or cultural characteristics associated with a certain group, such as skin color, hair texture or styles, or certain facial features. How individuals may self-identify as a certain ethnic and racial category (socio-political constructs) or as multi-racial.Protected Classes
As stated in the University Protected Class Nondiscrimination Policy, protected classes are defined as personal traits, characteristics, and/or beliefs (actual or perceived) that are defined by applicable law and are protected from discrimination and/or harassment. They include age, color, creed*, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, martial status, national origin or shared ancestry*, political affiliation, political philosophy, pregnancy or related conditions, race*, religion*, sex, sexual orientation, and veteran status.
Note*: The University construes antisemitism, Islamophobia, and caste to be included within the University’s current prohibitions on discrimination or harassment, which may be based on the protected classes of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry. All protected classes listed here encompass intersectional identities.
On the CU Denver and CU Anschutz campuses, the Nondiscrimination Policy applies to the following protected classes:
Color
Refers to the pigmentation of one's skin.National Origin or Shared Ancestry
Refers to a person's (or a person ancestors') place of origin or to the physical, cultural, or linguistic characteristics of an ethnic group.Sex
Refers to the labels of male, female, or intersex typically assigned at birth and based on anatomy and biology.Sexual Orientation
Refers to an individual’s physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction toward people. Examples include, but are not limited to: heterosexual, bisexual, gay, lesbian, pansexual, asexual, queer, demisexual, or questioning.Gender Identity
Refers to an innate sense of one's own gender, or an internal sense of who one is, which may be the same as or different from one's sex assigned at birth.Gender Expression
Refers to how a person represents or expresses their gender to others through external appearance, characteristics, or behaviors.Gender
Sex, gender identity, and gender expression including a person’s gender-related self-image, appearance, behavior, expression, or other gender-related characteristic, regardless of the sex assigned to that person at birth.Pregnancy or Related Conditions
Refers to (1) pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or lactation; (2) medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or lactation; or (3) recovery from pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, or related medical conditions.Age
Refers to the length of time a person has lived. An employee must be 40 years or older to fall within the protected category. Students are protected from age discrimination in academic situations like admissions decisions and residence hall assignments, regardless of their age.Religion
Refers to human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of special reverence. All aspects of religious observance, belief and practice. A person does not have to be a member or follower of a particular organized religion, sect or faith tradition to have a religion.Disability
Refers to a physical or mental condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities of an individual.Creed
Refers to all aspects of religious beliefs, observances, or practices, as well as sincerely-held moral and ethical beliefs as to what is right and wrong, and/or addresses ultimate ideas/questions regarding meaning of existence.Veteran Status
Refers to anyone who serves or who has served in any branch of the United States armed forces, including those in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Volunteers for military duty must be treated the same as those who are ordered to active duty.Political Philosophy
Refers to a person’s belief or endorsement of any system of thought pertaining to public policy or the administration of governmental functions.Political Affiliation
Refers to a person’s membership or association with others in commonality of political purpose and support.Marital Status
Refers to a relationship or a spousal status of an individual, including, but not limited to, being single, cohabitating, engaged, widowed, married, in a civil union, or legally separated, or a relationship or a spousal status of an individual who has had or is in the process of having a marriage or civil union dissolved or declared invalid.