Meritvärdering och rekrytering : Kandidatuppsats om användandet av begreppet personlig lämplighet utifrån ett genusperspektiv

Recruitment processes includes evaluation of candidates qualifications and employers have the opportunity to found recruitment decisions on candidate personal suitability. What falls under the term personal suitability though, has during the years been a bit unclear. The first purpose of this study is therefor to examine the evaluation of qualifications, the term personal suitability and also employer’s possibilities to use the term in a non-discriminatory way in a recruitment process, this through the legal dogmatic method. The second and third purposes are further to put the evaluation of qualifications and the concept personal suitability in a social context and observe possible risks associated to the recruitment process from a genus perspective. Those purposes and questions are answered through the socio-legal method. The study is a literature study and it is limited to only concern direct discrimination because of gender. The result shows that employers can use the term personal suitability in recruitment processes if the candidate’s educational qualifications and work- and profession experience are equivalent. The employer has to be able show reasons for the decision though, explain why the personal suitability’s were needed and how they are connected to the actual work to make sure that the decision does not constitutes discrimination because of gender. The result also shows several risks associated to the evaluation of qualifications and the term personal suitability. The risks might be caused by the social norms society creates, norms that further creates expectations about how women and men are or should be as employees, leaders and colleagues. These social norms create risks if they affect references, interviewers, employers and recruiters to the extent that one gender becomes mistreated. Social norms are created all over and will most likely continue to exist. They may also be one reason why our labour market is gender segregated and why women in general are given less favorable opportunities and possibilities. The study shows that it is of importance that references, interviewers, employers and recruiters don’t get affected and perceive jobseekers personal suitability based on out-dated and discriminatory norms.