Ombudsman for Equality

Discrimination in job and training course advertisements

Job and training course advertisements cannot discriminate on the basis of sex or gender. The basic premise is that job vacancies and training placements cannot be advertised as being open exclusively to men or women.

Advertisements can be targeted at just men or women only in exceptional circumstances where there is a weighty, acceptable reason arising from the nature of the work for employing only men or women. Roles in dance performances or plays, for example, can be advertised for just the sex that the character depicts. Employment of a personal nature, such as domestic work, can also be advertised for just men or women.

Job vacancies and training placements can also be advertised as being open exclusively to men or women in the case of temporary special measures that are based on a plan and that are in place for the purpose of promoting effective equality and aimed at implementing the objectives of the Finnish Equality Act. These kinds of measures are known as positive action which can be adopted under the Constitution of Finland and the laws of the European Union, for example.

If you suspect that you have been the victim of discrimination, please refer to
Suspected cases of discrimination in job and training course advertisements