WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Does legislation explicitly prohibit discrimination in hiring or recruitment on the basis of sex characteristics?

The term “sex characteristics” includes terms such as “sex characteristics”, “sexual characteristics”, “intersex characteristics”, “intersex status”, or “person with intersex variations”.

Hiring or recruitment includes explicit legislative prohibitions against discrimination during pre-employment, or the hiring or recruitment process.

No prohibition means that legislation does not take an explicit approach to prohibiting discrimination in hiring or recruitment on the basis of sex characteristics. This does not mean that legislation denies this guarantee.

General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment means that legislation prohibits discrimination in hiring or recruitment generally— for example, by prohibiting discrimination based on “any status” or stating no worker may be discriminated against. This general prohibition is not specifically extended on the basis of sex characteristics.

Broad prohibition of workplace discrimination based on sex characteristics means that legislation extends a prohibition of discrimination at the workplace on the basis of sex characteristics, but does not explicitly address discrimination in hiring nor recruitment on this basis. These broad prohibitions use language that could extend prohibition of discrimination across any aspect of work.

Yes, sex characteristics-based prohibition means that legislation either: a) extends an explicit sex characteristics-based prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment, or b) extends a broad prohibition of sex characteristics-based workplace discrimination alongside a general prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment to all workers.

Countries

Algeria - No prohibition

Antigua and Barbuda - No prohibition

Argentina - No prohibition

Austria - No prohibition

Azerbaijan - No prohibition

Bahamas - No prohibition

Bahrain - No prohibition

Bangladesh - No prohibition

Barbados - No prohibition

Belize - No prohibition

Benin - No prohibition

Bhutan - No prohibition

Botswana - No prohibition

Brunei - No prohibition

Bulgaria - No prohibition

Burundi - No prohibition

Cambodia - No prohibition

Cameroon - No prohibition

Canada - No prohibition

Central African Republic - No prohibition

Chad - No prohibition

Chile - No prohibition

Colombia - No prohibition

Comoros - No prohibition

Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Democratic Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Cote d'Ivoire - No prohibition

Cuba - No prohibition

Cyprus - No prohibition

Czech Republic - No prohibition

Djibouti - No prohibition

Dominica - No prohibition

Dominican Republic - No prohibition

Egypt - No prohibition

El Salvador - No prohibition

Equatorial Guinea - No prohibition

Eritrea - No prohibition

Estonia - No prohibition

Ethiopia - No prohibition

Fiji - No prohibition

France - No prohibition

The Gambia - No prohibition

Germany - No prohibition

Ghana - No prohibition

Greenland - No prohibition

Grenada - No prohibition

Guinea - No prohibition

Guinea-Bissau - No prohibition

Guyana - No prohibition

Haiti - No prohibition

Honduras - No prohibition

Indonesia - No prohibition

Iran - No prohibition

Ireland - No prohibition

Israel - No prohibition

Jamaica - No prohibition

Japan - No prohibition

Jordan - No prohibition

Kenya - No prohibition

Kiribati - No prohibition

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Kuwait - No prohibition

Kyrgyzstan - No prohibition

Laos - No prohibition

Lebanon - No prohibition

Lesotho - No prohibition

Liberia - No prohibition

Liechtenstein - No prohibition

Luxembourg - No prohibition

Madagascar - No prohibition

Malaysia - No prohibition

Maldives - No prohibition

Mali - No prohibition

Marshall Islands - No prohibition

Mauritania - No prohibition

Mauritius - No prohibition

Micronesia, Federated States of - No prohibition

Monaco - No prohibition

Mongolia - No prohibition

Morocco - No prohibition

Mozambique - No prohibition

Myanmar - No prohibition

Namibia - No prohibition

Nauru - No prohibition

Nepal - No prohibition

New Zealand - No prohibition

Nicaragua - No prohibition

Niger - No prohibition

Nigeria - No prohibition

Norway - No prohibition

Oman - No prohibition

Palau - No prohibition

Panama - No prohibition

Papua New Guinea - No prohibition

Paraguay - No prohibition

The Philippines - No prohibition

Poland - No prohibition

Qatar - No prohibition

Romania - No prohibition

Rwanda - No prohibition

Samoa - No prohibition

San Marino - No prohibition

Senegal - No prohibition

Seychelles - No prohibition

Sierra Leone - No prohibition

Singapore - No prohibition

Solomon Islands - No prohibition

Somalia - No prohibition

South Sudan - No prohibition

Sri Lanka - No prohibition

St. Kitts and Nevis - No prohibition

St. Lucia - No prohibition

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No prohibition

Sudan - No prohibition

Suriname - No prohibition

Eswatini - No prohibition

Sweden - No prohibition

Switzerland - No prohibition

Tajikistan - No prohibition

Tanzania - No prohibition

Thailand - No prohibition

Timor-Leste - No prohibition

Togo - No prohibition

Tonga - No prohibition

Trinidad and Tobago - No prohibition

Tunisia - No prohibition

Türkiye - No prohibition

Tuvalu - No prohibition

Uganda - No prohibition

United Arab Emirates - No prohibition

United Kingdom - No prohibition

United States of America - No prohibition

Uruguay - No prohibition

Vanuatu - No prohibition

Vietnam - No prohibition

Yemen - No prohibition

Zambia - No prohibition

Zimbabwe - No prohibition

Andorra - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Angola - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Armenia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Belarus - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Bolivia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Brazil - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Burkina Faso - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Cabo Verde - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

China - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Costa Rica - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Croatia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Ecuador - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Finland - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Gabon - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Georgia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Guatemala - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Hungary - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Iraq - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Italy - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Kazakhstan - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Latvia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Libya - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Lithuania - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

North Macedonia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Malawi - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Mexico - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Moldova - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Peru - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Portugal - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Russian Federation - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Sao Tome and Principe - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Saudi Arabia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Slovakia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Slovenia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

South Africa - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Syria - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Turkmenistan - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Ukraine - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Uzbekistan - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Venezuela - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Albania - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Australia - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Belgium - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Denmark - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Greece - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Iceland - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

India - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Malta - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Montenegro - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

The Netherlands - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Pakistan - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Serbia - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Spain - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition