Hong Kong Ordinances

SEX DISCRIMINATION ORDINANCE - SECT 12

Exception where sex is genuine occupational qualification

(1) In relation to sex discrimination-

   (a)  section 11(1)(a) or (c) shall not apply to any employment where being
        a man is a genuine occupational qualification for the job;

   (b)  section 11(2)(a) shall not apply to opportunities for promotion or
        transfer to, or training for, such employment.

(2) Being a man is a genuine occupational qualification for a job only where-

   (a)  the essential nature of the job calls for a man for reasons of
        physiology (excluding physical strength or stamina) or, in dramatic
        performances or other entertainment, for reasons of authenticity, so
        that the essential nature of the job would be materially different if
        carried out by a woman;

   (b)  the job needs to be held by a man to preserve decency or privacy
        because-

        (i)    it is likely to involve physical contact with men in
               circumstances where they might reasonably object to its being
               carried out by a woman; or

        (ii)   the holder of the job is likely to do his work in circumstances
               where men might reasonably object to the presence of a woman
               because they are in a state of undress or are using sanitary
               facilities;

   (c)  the job is likely to involve the holder of the job doing his work, or
        living, in a private home and needs to be held by a man because
        objection might reasonably be taken to allowing to a woman-

        (i)    the degree of physical or social contact with a person living
               in the home; or

        (ii)   the knowledge of intimate details of such a person's life,
               which is likely, because of the nature or circumstances of the
               job or of the home, to be allowed to, or available to, the
               holder of the job;

   (d)  the nature or location of the establishment makes it impracticable for
        the holder of the job to live elsewhere than in premises provided by
        the employer, and-

        (i)    the only such premises which are available for persons holding
               that kind of job are lived in, or normally lived in, by men and
               are not equipped with separate sleeping accommodation for women
               and sanitary facilities which could be used by women in privacy
               from men; and

        (ii)   it is not reasonable to expect the employer to equip those
               premises with such accommodation and facilities or to provide
               other premises for women;

   (e)  the nature of the establishment, or of the part of it within which the
        work is done, requires the job to be held by a man because-

        (i)    it is, or is part of, a hospital, prison or other establishment
               for persons requiring special care, supervision or attention;

        (ii)   those persons are all men (disregarding any woman whose
               presence is exceptional); and

        (iii)  it is reasonable, having regard to the essential character of
               the establishment or that part, that the job should not be held
               by a woman;

   (f)  the holder of the job provides individuals with personal services
        promoting their welfare or education, or similar personal services,
        and those services can most effectively be provided by a man;

   (g)  the job needs to be held by a man because of restrictions imposed by a
        provision specified in Schedule 3;

   (h)  the job needs to be held by a man because it is likely to involve the
        performance of duties outside Hong Kong in a place the laws or customs
        of which are such that the duties could not, or could not effectively,
        be performed by a woman; or

   (i)  the job is one of 2 to be held by a married couple.

(3) Subsection (2) applies where some only of the duties of the job fall
within any paragraph of that subsection (except paragraph (i)) as well as
where all of them do.

(4) Paragraph (a), (b), (d), (e), (f), (g) or (h) of subsection (2) shall not
apply in relation to the filling of a vacancy at a time when the employer
already has male employees-

   (a)  who are capable of carrying out the duties falling within that
        paragraph;

   (b)  whom it would be reasonable to employ on those duties; and

   (c)  whose numbers are sufficient to meet the employer's likely
        requirements in respect of those duties without undue inconvenience.
        (Enacted 1995)