Behörighetslagen

Because women were suddenly employed in professions where their presence had previously been unknown, such as those of civil servant (5,000 by 1870 and 15,000 by 1890), clerks, telegraph-, post- and bank officials, secretaries and assistants, numerous problems aroused.

These professions had previously been de facto reserved for men, and women's employment in them often resulted in discrimination.

The most common problem was the fact that Paragraph 28 of the constitution demanded that application forms for positions within government institutions were phrased with the word "Swedish man", which made it impossible for women to apply for them.

While the Swedish Parliament did address these issues, they did so by removing the qualification restriction of Paragraph 28 from one profession at a time, which was a very slow method.

When the petition proved unsuccessful, Anna Ahlström formed the Akademiskt Bildade Kvinnors Förening or ABKF ('Society of Women Academics') to address the issue.

In 1909, the ABKF succeeded in their campaign and the gendered qualification of Paragraph 28 was finally removed from all application forms to state professions and government service.