The Equal Opportunities Commission won a landmark battle yesterday when a court ruled a newspaper had broken new sex discrimination laws by recruiting 'beautiful female reporters'.
The Apple Daily advertisement was deemed illegal because it discriminated against men.
Hong Kong's first challenge to the anti-discrimination laws ended when the appeal court overturned a District Court ruling in favour of the publication.
Representatives of the paper had claimed the offending advertisement could be read in two ways, only one of which was discriminatory.
But the Court of Appeal rejected that argument.
'Apple Daily 's construction would enable employers who wish to employ only one gender to advertise freely by simply including an ambiguity,' Mr Justice Gerald Nazareth said.
Mr Justice Nazareth, Mr Justice Benjamin Liu Tsz-ming and Mr Justice Arthur Leong Shiu-chung allowed the commission's appeal and set aside the lower court's ruling.
