Ombudsman for Equality

Employer's duty to promote gender equality

The general obligation of employers to promote gender equality applies to all employers in both the public and private sectors.

Firstly, employers shall attempt to ensure that job vacancies attract applications from both women and men. In job advertisements, the employer may encourage representatives of the minority gender to apply for the job. All the various jobs and tasks shall be examined from the point of view whether they include elements that prevent either gender from doing the job.

The employer must act in such a way that there will be no gendered division of work. This may mean encountering resistance or opposing attitudes of either people at the workplace or those outside it. The employer cannot reject the obligation to promote gender equality by, for instance, referring to customers' expectations of the gender of employees or to the resistance of personnel.

All employees shall have opportunities for career advancement that are based on their individual abilities. Gender must not be a defining factor for access to training, for instance.

The employer shall promote equality between women and men in the terms of employment, especially regarding pay.

The employer is obliged to develop working conditions so that they are suitable for both women and men. Thus the employer shall, for example, make sure that there are adequate social premises for both women and men. Similarly, different work places, working methods and equipment can be developed with a view to making them more suitable for both sexes.

Furthermore, the employer has the obligation to facilitate reconciliation of work and family life and to attempt, without prejudice, to provide both women and men with equal opportunities to experience parenthood. This may sometimes require individual solutions, such as arranging special shifts for single parents, or other working time arrangements. Fathers, too, have the right to take care of a sick child at home and to take parental or child-care leave. Men, in particular, should be encouraged to exercise their right to take family leave.

Because the employer is obliged to prevent sexual and gender-based discrimination, the employer shall, with due regard to the resources available, protect the employees from becoming victims of harassment. It is advisable that instructions on dealing with harassment are drawn up at the workplace.