DO investigates Partille employer after African applicant was denied an interview

Sweden's Discrimination Ombudsman has opened an investigation into whether a Partille employer's recruitment process disadvantaged a woman of African background who applied for an English-speaking customer-relations role.

The applicant has English as her first language and studied in Scotland, England and Ireland, Partille Tidning reported. The company's rejection said it wanted a native English speaker, preferably from Britain.

The published advert asked for very good spoken and written English and at least two years of customer-service, support or sales experience. It did not state that applicants had to be British or native speakers.

"Despite my achievements, it comes down to my name and my race," the woman wrote in her complaint, according to Partille Tidning.

DO has asked the employer for applicant and interview numbers, a comparison of candidates' merits, its reason for not interviewing the woman and any corrective steps. Opening supervision is not a finding that discrimination occurred.

Under Sweden's discrimination rules, ethnicity covers national or ethnic origin and skin colour. DO says nearly 1,600 complaints in 2024 concerned ethnicity, the most frequently cited ground in workplace complaints. Its recruitment guidance advises employers to use objective, job-related criteria.

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