The Swedish Approach to Fairness
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FACTS ABOUT SWEDEN | GENDER EQUALITY sweden.se PHOTO: MELKER DAHLSTRAND/IMAGEBANK.SWEDEN.SE PHOTO: The Swedish welfare system, which entitles both men and women to paid parental leave, has been central in promoting gender equality in Sweden. GENDER EQUALITY: THE SWEDISH APPROACH TO FAIRNESS Gender equality is one of the cornerstones of Swedish society. The aim of Sweden’s gender equality policies is to ensure that women and men enjoy the same opportunities, rights and obligations in all areas of life. The overarching principle is that every- areas of economics, politics, education school level onwards, with the aim of one, regardless of gender, has the right and health. Since the report’s inception, giving children the same opportunities to work and support themselves, to bal- Sweden has never finished lower than in life, regardless of their gender, by ance career and family life, and to live fourth in the Gender Gap rankings, which using teaching methods that counteract without the fear of abuse or violence. can be found at www.weforum.org. traditional gender patterns and gender Gender equality implies not only equal roles. distribution between men and women Gender equality at school Today, girls generally have better in all domains of society. It is also about Gender equality is strongly emphasised grades in Swedish schools than boys. the qualitative aspects, ensuring that in the Education Act, the law that gov- Girls also perform better in national the knowledge and experience of both erns all education in Sweden. It states tests, and a greater proportion of girls men and women are used to promote that gender equality should reach and complete upper secondary education. progress in all aspects of society. guide all levels of the Swedish educa- Whereas a few decades ago, the uni- In 2006, the World Economic Forum tional system. versity realm was dominated by men, introduced its annual Global Gender Gap The principles are increasingly being to day nearly two-thirds of all university Report, which measures equality in the incorporated into education from pre- de grees in Sweden are awarded to FACTS ABOUT SWEDEN | GENDER EQUALITY sweden.se PHOTO: SUSANNE WALSTRÖM/IMAGEBANK.SWEDEN.SE PHOTO: EQUALITY OMBUDSMAN The Equality Ombudsman (Diskrimin erings ombudsmannen, or DO) is a government agency that fights discrimination and protects equal rights and opportunities for everyone. The Equality Ombudsman reviews situations concerning gender equality in the workplace, the school system and other areas. It is also responsible for ensuring that the law regarding parental leave is followed and that parents who go on leave are not adversely affected at work. The Equality Ombudsman primarily oversees compliance with the Dis- crimination Act. This law prohibits discrimination related to gender, transgender identity or expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disabil- Fathers in Sweden average about one-fourth of the parental leave. ity, age, religion or other belief. www.do.se PHOTO: CECILIA LARSSON/IMAGEBANK.SWEDEN.SE PHOTO: women. Equal numbers of women and The remaining 90 days are paid at a flat men now take part in postgraduate and daily rate of SEK 180. Those who are not doctoral studies. in employment are also entitled to paid parental leave. Parental leave Sixty days of leave are allocated spe- An extensive welfare system that pro- cifically to each parent, and cannot be motes a healthy work-life balance has transferred to the other. In addition, one been an important factor in making of the parents of the new-born baby Sweden a gender-egalitarian leader. gets 10 extra days of leave in connection Parents are entitled to share 480 days of with the birth, or 20 days if they are twins. parental leave when a child is born or Parents who share the transferable adopted. This leave can be taken by the leave allowance equally get a SEK 50 month, week, day or even by the hour. tax-free daily bonus for a maximum of Women still use most of the days, with 270 days. men taking around one-fourth of the Adopting parents are entitled to a parental leave on average. total of 480 days between them from For 390 days, parents are entitled the day the child comes under their Swedish law prohibits gender dis- to nearly 80 per cent of their pay, up care. A single parent is entitled to the crimination in the workplace. to a maximum of SEK 946 per day. full 480 days. n A FEMALE ARCHBISHOP 3.0 BY JAN NORDEN/IKON/CC PHOTO: For centuries, the role of archbishop The Church of Sweden – separated has been held by men. In 2013, Sweden from the state in 2000 – promotes became one of few countries to break gender equality. Its highest decision- the trend when Antje Jackelén was making body, the General Synod, elected by the Church of Sweden as its has 125 women and 126 men on its first female archbishop. Jackelén for 2014–2017 board. mally became Archbishop of Uppsala Since 1960, women have been or dained in June 2014 and therefore Primate of as priests within the Swedish church the Church of Sweden. and today some 45 per cent of all or- German-born Jackelén was ordained dained priests are women. A closer look, priest in Sweden in 1980. She received however, reveals that pay inequalities her doctorate from Lund University in for the same job are common within 1999 and was bishop in Lund diocese be- the church, with women making less fore moving on to her current position. money than their male counterparts. Archbishop Antje Jackelén. 2 | FACTS ABOUT SWEDEN | GENDER EQUALITY sweden.se PHOTO: MELKER DAHLSTRAND/RIKSDAGEN.SE PHOTO: LEGISLATION THE ABORTION ACT Since 1975, women in Sweden have the legal right to an abortion during the first 18 weeks of preg- nancy. This means that a woman can decide for herself whether to have an abortion through the 18th week of pregnancy without having to give a reason. After week 18, an abortion may be performed if there are special reasons for doing so, up to week 22. In such cases, an investigation is conduct- ed before the National Board of Health decides whether to allow the abortion. THE ACT ON VIOLENCE Sweden has one of the world’s highest representations of women in parliament. AGAINST WOMEN The Act on Violence against Women came into force in 1998. WOMEN AND MEN AT WORK The law states that the violence and abuse to which a woman is Sweden has come a long way in making sure that women and subjected, for instance by a man in a close relationship, is assessed men are treated equally in the workplace. But pay differences cumulatively. Each blow and/or in- remain, and in the Swedish private sector the proportion of stance of sexual and psychological degradation against the woman women in top positions remains weak. is taken into account. The maxi- mum sentence for a gross violation of a woman’s integrity is six years’ Two main sections of the Discrimination differentials are most pronounced in the imprisonment. Act deal with gender equality at work. county councils. The smallest difference First, there is the requirement that all is among blue-collar workers. PROHIBITING employers must actively pursue specific According to Statistics Sweden’s bi- THE PURCHASE OF goals to promote equality between men annual report on gender equality, pub- SEXUAL SERVICES and women. lished in 2014, only one in ten CEO Second, the law prohibits discrimination positions for the largest 1,050 companies In 1999, Sweden introduced its Act and obliges employers to investigate and were filled by women, while three in ten Prohibiting the Purchase of Sexual Services, the first of its kind. The take measures against any harassment. executive positions were filled by women. act made it illegal to buy sexual Also, employers must not unfairly treat In listed companies, only 5 per cent of services in Sweden – along with any employee or job applicant who is, board chairpersons and 24 per cent of procurement, which was already has been or will be taking parental leave. board members were women. forbidden – without punishing the The Swedish government strives to Across all sectors, the report had 35.6 prostitute. In 2005, the offence was incorporated into the general ensure that power and resources are per cent of mid- to high level managers criminal code. Sweden’s legal ap- distributed fairly between the sexes, as women, who have traditionally had proach of tar geting the purchasers and to create the conditions that give stronger representation in the public rather than the sex workers has women and men the same power and sector. been adopted by Norway, Iceland, opportunities. In 2015, 82 women and 90 men were Canada and Northern Ireland to date. heads of Sweden’s top government Economic and political power agencies – positions appointed by the Pay differentials between men and government, which also sets the salaries women can largely be explained for these. Of the ten highest-paid, by differences in profession, sector, however, only two were women. position, work experience and age. Sweden has one of the world’s highest Some, however, cannot be explained representations of women in parliament. this way and may be attributable to After the 2014 election, 43.6 per cent gender. On average, women’s monthly (152) of the 349 seats were taken by PHOTO: JOHNÉR salaries in Sweden are currently just women. Nevertheless, it was a drop under 87 per cent of men’s – 95 per cent from 45 per cent in the 2010 elections. Swedish law targets the sex when differences in choice of profession At present, 12 of the 24 government buyer, not the prostitute.