“Act prepares the way for local agreements on positive action and preferential treatment (Teigen, 1999). This is the legal basis for the general agreement between employers and employees within the Norwegian public sector, which includes preferential treatment. The preferential treatment procedure formally regulates recruitment and promotions in all public sector organisations. Preferential treatment should be invoked only when women constitute less than 40% on the position level in question and when the quali” cations of two or more candidates are roughly equal.”