Height requirements for Spain's National Police to be scrapped
The previous height requirements had been labelled discriminatory by several professional organisations and unions
MELCHOR SÁIZ-PARDO
Tuesday, 15 February 2022, 17:43
Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has announced that minimum height requirements to join the National Police Corps will be scrapped. Under the new rules men shorter than 1.65 metres and women shorter than 1.6 metres will be able to apply, although some units will be allowed to keep the height requirement because “size affects the operability of the specific police work they carry out," Grande-Marlaska said.
The height requirements were previously labelled discriminatory by several professional organisations and unions.
The next selection round is expected in2023. Grande-Marlaska said the height requirements were a “glass ceiling for women” and across Europe many countries have already done away with them, including France, Ireland, the UK, Italy and Slovakia.
The minimum height requirement of 16 metres for women was "especially discriminatory" because statistically in Spain there are many more women below this range than men below 1.65 metres.
“The current regulation is more restrictive for women. Its limit is only two centimetres below the average height of women, while in the case of men the margin reaches up to nine centimetres,” added the Interior Minister.
