Sweden adopted a new anti-discrimination legislation 2009, DiskL, which aim to prevent direct and indirect discrimination in matters of employment and occupation.

According to directives and practices from EU, pregnant workers are entitled a special protection from discrimination during employment situations. The purpose of this essay is to study the legal protection for pregnant workers in employment situations and also analyze whether male workers have similar protection when they plan parental leave. Both regulations from the EU-law and the Swedish law are presented and discussed. This because Swedish discrimination legislation is largely influenced by the EU-law.

The study confirms that pregnant workers have a strong legal protection against discrimination through directives from the EU and DiskL. Employers must include this protection in employment situations. If hiring a pregnant worker implicates costs for employers, it is still not an accepted reason not to follow the regulation. The protection for a pregnant worker is always considered more important than an employer's financial loss, independent if the employment is fixed-term or permanent.

The study also shows that male workers are protected against unfair treatment in employment situations according to 16 § föräldraledighetslagen. However, the protection of male workers is not as strong as the protection from discrimination of pregnant workers in employment situations.