To feel I'm being discriminated against?

[FairfaxAikman]

My employer has a number of offices in different regions.
I've worked with the company for seven years but came back part time following mat leave in February.
A colleague in my office, who started around seven months ago requested a move to HQ as it was closer to his home and it was granted.
Recently I became aware of a colleague in the office closest to my home is leaving. Working from this location would massively cut my monthly fuel bill and mean o would get home earlier so I requested a move (I had made it clear at my return to work interview that if the opportunity arose I wanted to move there) only for my boss to tell me I needed to apply.

The company is the kind of place where many posts are filled by moving/promoting people and the post never gets advertised.

AIBU to be annoyed that my (male) colleague only has to ask for a move but I have to apply for one, and feel I'm being discriminated against?

Do you know exactly what happened and that he didnt have to apply? Are you applying for a different role?

How do you know the other guy didn't apply?

Are you in a union? I’d have a conversation with them.

You might not have the full story but it’s worth asking some more questions

Same role and he said he'd been "bending their ear about it for a while". His new post hasn't been advertised at all.

You definitely don't have the full picture. bending their ear probably means made an application and then persistently followed it up.

The post was never advertised, nor was the post the person he's replacing is being moved to.

I don’t think it’s discrimination just because you are female and he is male. There are probably reasonable reasons rather than you coming straight to that conclusion. You are two different people , doesn’t matter your gender.

I think the problem often in workplaces is men are more bolshy in trying to get their way than women. Which is also a big part in why they also often end up being paid more than us.

There’s not really enough info to know whether you’ve been discriminated against but it’s certainly worth challenging your boss and asking why you’d have to apply when you understand that xxx was just able to move without doing so.

Could someone else have requested a move as well so they feel it's only fair to ask you both to apply?