Ombudsman for Equality

Discrimination in recruitment

The Finnish Equality Act does not restrict employers’ right to choose the best person for a job. The Act only aims to prevent situations where a person is appointed unjustly on the basis of sex or gender when another candidate would have been more qualified. Similarly, the Act aims to prevent preferential treatment of either sex in cases where employees are allocated training placements or promoted to new positions internally. Discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy, childbirth, parenthood or family commitments is also prohibited.

Whenever applicants include both men and women, a comparison of merits must be carried out. If an applicant is pregnant or on parental leave, another person of the same sex can be used for the comparison. The comparison of merits is largely based on selection criteria established by employers before advertising positions. Attention is usually given to applicants’ qualifications, previous work experience, and any qualities, knowledge and skills that could prove useful in the job and that can therefore be considered additional merits.

Employers can – without being guilty of discrimination – choose a man or a woman for a specific job if they have a good, acceptable reason for doing so. Roles in theatre performances, for example, can be advertised for only the sex that the character depicts, and employment of a personal nature, such as caring for an elderly person in the person’s home, can also be advertised for just men or women. In principle, the most merited candidate can only be turned down for a generally acceptable reason.

The burden of proof for demonstrating that an acceptable reason exists rests with employers. Employers can base their decisions on the candidates’ suitability or some other personal characteristic, for example, and therefore choose a less merited person, but they must be able to demonstrate the justifiability and relevance of using such grounds for their decisions.