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

United Arab Emirates - No prohibition

Antigua and Barbuda - No prohibition

Argentina - No prohibition

Austria - No prohibition

Azerbaijan - No prohibition

Barbados - No prohibition

Bangladesh - No prohibition

Bulgaria - No prohibition

Bahrain - No prohibition

Burundi - No prohibition

Benin - No prohibition

Brunei - No prohibition

Bahamas - No prohibition

Bhutan - No prohibition

Botswana - No prohibition

Belize - No prohibition

Canada - No prohibition

Democratic Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Central African Republic - No prohibition

Republic of the Congo - No prohibition

Switzerland - No prohibition

Cote d'Ivoire - No prohibition

Chile - No prohibition

Cameroon - No prohibition

Colombia - No prohibition

Cyprus - No prohibition

Czech Republic - No prohibition

Germany - No prohibition

Djibouti - No prohibition

Dominica - No prohibition

Dominican Republic - No prohibition

Algeria - No prohibition

Estonia - No prohibition

Egypt - No prohibition

Eritrea - No prohibition

Ethiopia - No prohibition

Fiji - No prohibition

Micronesia, Federated States of - No prohibition

France - No prohibition

United Kingdom - No prohibition

Grenada - No prohibition

Ghana - No prohibition

Greenland - No prohibition

The Gambia - No prohibition

Guinea - No prohibition

Equatorial Guinea - No prohibition

Guinea-Bissau - No prohibition

Guyana - No prohibition

Honduras - No prohibition

Haiti - No prohibition

Indonesia - No prohibition

Ireland - No prohibition

Israel - No prohibition

Iran - No prohibition

Jamaica - No prohibition

Jordan - No prohibition

Japan - No prohibition

Kenya - No prohibition

Kyrgyzstan - No prohibition

Cambodia - No prohibition

Kiribati - No prohibition

Comoros - No prohibition

St. Kitts and Nevis - No prohibition

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Republic of Korea - No prohibition

Kuwait - No prohibition

Laos - No prohibition

Lebanon - No prohibition

St. Lucia - No prohibition

Liechtenstein - No prohibition

Sri Lanka - No prohibition

Liberia - No prohibition

Lesotho - No prohibition

Luxembourg - No prohibition

Morocco - No prohibition

Monaco - No prohibition

Madagascar - No prohibition

Marshall Islands - No prohibition

Mali - No prohibition

Myanmar - No prohibition

Mongolia - No prohibition

Mauritania - No prohibition

Mauritius - No prohibition

Maldives - No prohibition

Malaysia - No prohibition

Mozambique - No prohibition

Namibia - No prohibition

Niger - No prohibition

Nigeria - No prohibition

Nicaragua - No prohibition

Norway - No prohibition

Nepal - No prohibition

Nauru - No prohibition

New Zealand - No prohibition

Oman - No prohibition

Panama - No prohibition

Papua New Guinea - No prohibition

The Philippines - No prohibition

Poland - No prohibition

Palau - No prohibition

Paraguay - No prohibition

Qatar - No prohibition

Romania - No prohibition

Rwanda - No prohibition

Solomon Islands - No prohibition

Seychelles - No prohibition

Sudan - No prohibition

Sweden - No prohibition

Singapore - No prohibition

Sierra Leone - No prohibition

San Marino - No prohibition

Senegal - No prohibition

Somalia - No prohibition

Suriname - No prohibition

South Sudan - No prohibition

El Salvador - No prohibition

Eswatini - No prohibition

Chad - No prohibition

Togo - No prohibition

Thailand - No prohibition

Tajikistan - No prohibition

Timor-Leste - No prohibition

Tunisia - No prohibition

Tonga - No prohibition

Türkiye - No prohibition

Trinidad and Tobago - No prohibition

Tuvalu - No prohibition

Tanzania - No prohibition

Uganda - No prohibition

United States of America - No prohibition

Uruguay - No prohibition

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No prohibition

Vietnam - No prohibition

Vanuatu - No prohibition

Samoa - No prohibition

Yemen - No prohibition

Zambia - No prohibition

Zimbabwe - No prohibition

Andorra - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Armenia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Angola - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Burkina Faso - 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

Belarus - 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

Cuba - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Cabo Verde - 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

Croatia - 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

Lithuania - 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

Moldova - 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

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

Saudi Arabia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Slovenia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Slovakia - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Sao Tome and Principe - 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

South Africa - General prohibition of discrimination in hiring or recruitment

Albania - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Australia - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Belgium - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Denmark - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Spain - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Greece - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

India - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Iceland - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Montenegro - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Malta - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

The Netherlands - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Pakistan - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition

Serbia - Yes, sex characteristics-specific prohibition