‘In the last 5–10 years, we haven’t seen any positive development,’ says Kristian Mørk Puggaard at DAMVAD Analytics, the company that carried out the study for the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The results of the study are presented in the report Piger i Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) – Kortlægning af udfordringer inden for køn, ligestilling og uddannelse i Norden, freely translated ‘girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – mapping of challenges in the areas of gender, gender equality and education in the Nordic region’.
The study is based on statistics on educational choices from Eurostat and a questionnaire survey of school children in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland. The questionnaire survey shows that girls to a larger extent than boys doubt their own abilities within the so-called STEM subjects. This is a big challenge for the schools, according to Mørk Puggaard.
‘The girls must be able to envision themselves in these occupations and feel they are qualified. Right now they really don’t,’ he says.

Parents educational backgrounds important

The study also included focus interviews with women who have chosen to pursue an education in technical disciplines. They reveal that teachers, study counsellors and parents have had a strong influence on their occupational choice. In particular their own parents’ attitudes and educational backgrounds are identified as important factors. Most informants who chose a STEM-related education had at least one parent who worked in a STEM domain.
‘In their families, they often talk about educational choices, and we can see that those discussions have been of great importance,’ says Mørk Puggaard.
The male dominance in the STEM subjects can be observed in all Nordic countries, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands, but some differences can also be noted. For example, significantly more women are studying mathematics in Finland than in Sweden and Iceland. Some countries also display a positive development in certain specific subject areas. For example, an increasing number of Ålandic women are working in construction and manufacturing. In Norway, a similar trend can be seen in some engineering programmes, yet the changes are small and the data generally shows that the number of women has stagnated at a low level in the Nordic countries, Mørk Puggaard points out.

Big challenge for the Nordic countries

Kira Appel, chief adviser at the Danish Ministry for Children, Education and Gender Equality, agrees that increasing the share of women who get a degree in a STEM subject is a big challenge for the Nordic countries.
‘It’s important at the societal level, for individual women and not least for the STEM sectors. There’s a shortage of labour in these fields and there is an untapped potential in the population. We also know that work environments where women and men work together are more innovative and overall effective,’ she says.
The assessment of the Nordic countries started last year during the Danish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Besides a description of the current situation, the report gives examples of Nordic initiatives that have been made to break away from the

male dominance. Mørk Puggaard warns that measures that target girls specifically can be counterproductive.
‘The study clearly shows that the girls don’t want that type of special treatment. They see it as stigmatising and believe it reinforces the view of girls as less able,’ he says.

Positive examples 

A positive example that targets all children is the House of Natural Sciences in Denmark, which is a centre created to get children and adolescents interested in science experiments. The centre also targets teachers by sharing advice on how teaching activities can be made more attractive to the children.
Mørk Puggaard thinks that teachers need to be more attentive to what they convey to the schoolchildren.
‘They need to encourage girls in the same way as they encourage boys. Otherwise we will never be able to change this pattern,’ he says.
For change to happen, the politicians need to take a comprehensive approach and engage both schools and employers, he points out.
‘Previous initiatives have been fragmented. We need to work holistically in order to change the notion of who can work and become successful in these areas,’ he says.
As a follow up to the report, the Nordic Council of Ministers will develop a handbook with advice on how to draw more young people to the STEM subjects. Appel thinks that the Nordic countries can learn a lot from projects completed elsewhere in the region.
‘We have similar challenges and goals. Instead of starting from scratch with new projects, we can keep building on each other’s experiences,’ she says.

When it comes to gender equality in the film industry, there is some variation across the Nordic countries. In some countries, such as Sweden, the issue has been on the agenda for a longer time and there are state interventions to divide the production support more equally between women and men. In contrast, in Denmark male filmmakers receive four times as much support as their female counterparts. All countries, however, share the same underlying problem. According to Jenni Koski, producer and project manager for WIFT Nordic, the problem cannot be solved without well-coordinated efforts. WIFT (Women in Film and Television) started in the U.S. in the 1970s. Today the organisation is represented in about 40 countries. WIFT in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark have a total of 700 members.

Can you describe the organisation’s work?

‘By sharing experiences, we can help each other bring attention to the issues in each country and put pressure on the policy makers. If one country takes the lead, the rest of us can use it as a good example. I’m for example thinking of the Swedish film agreement, which says that the national production support must be distributed equally between women and men. It must be split 50-50 between women and men in each of the three staff categories directors, screenwriters and producers. The agreement has been a great success and has contributed to more voices being heard. It’s a good example of how positive change can be accomplished at the political level. Iceland is about to implement a similar agreement. The other Nordic countries also need this type of reform.’

Which structures are obstructing the development of gender equality?

‘The film industry has been male dominated throughout its entire century-long history. It has always been easier and that’s exactly what we do in our network. At our meetings, everybody can share their ideas without being judged or criticised, and beginners can get professional support from the more experienced film workers. It’s about supporting each other, not competing. Together we’re strong.’

What events are you arranging this spring?

‘In 2015, we participated in eight festivals all over the Nordic region. In March, we were at BUFF, an international film festival for children and young people in Malmö, Sweden, where we had a workshop on female representation in film. Whose stories are told and what characters do we get to see – do the films we watch reflect reality? We have also been at Season Film Festival in Helsinki in late March, where we did a seminar on what it is like to be a woman and write comedies.’

for men to get funded and advance their careers. They are more likely to have a platform and the self-confidence to make their presence known and to make things happen. It’s a tough business with fierce competition, and you’re always being judged. Women have to work harder and perform better to make their voices heard. We see that women in the film industry need to be strengthened,

This is an article about one of the projects granted funding through the Nordic Gender Equality Fund.

’Most studies on online violence concern only the actual violence, but we have a different goal. We want to look at how the police and the legal system treat women who report these crimes,’ says Brynhildur Heiðar- og Ómarsdóttir. She is the executive manager of the Icelandic Women’s Rights Association, which is in charge of the new project together with the Women’s Council in Denmark and Norwegian KUN Center for Knowledge and Gender Equality.

What’s the purpose of the project?
‘Based on the interviews with violated women, we want to develop guidelines for the police and the Nordic governments. Technology has developed very fast, and as societies we’re still trying to figure out how to handle it. For example, many adolescents like to send nude photos to each other. It’s quite common, and it’s ok. It’s ok to share pictures with a partner. The problem is when pictures are shared without consent, and the justice system must be able to handle this.’

How can a victim of online violence seek justice?
‘Many victims don’t know what to do. And not even the police may know, because it may not be clear whether a crime has actually occurred. For example, online stalking is not illegal in Iceland, so it’s ok to send somebody 500 messages as long as they don’t contain explicit threats.’
‘A new law was recently proposed here in Iceland. It would ban so-called revenge porn, which is when somebody shares pictures or films of somebody else online without that person’s consent. It’s the first legislative proposal ever in the Nordic countries that directly addresses online violence. Unfortunately, the proposed law is pretty bad, but it still means a lot that the policy makers are acknowledging the issue.’

Why do you think the proposed law is bad?
‘It places these crimes under the law against pornography, and that’s misleading. Instead they should be covered by the law against sexual harassment, because that’s how we must view and understand this phenomenon. The proposal will hopefully be revised based on the feedback received. In other Nordic countries, these cases have been brought under privacy laws, but that’s not right either. This is sexual violence and it’s important that we treat it accordingly.’

What can the Nordic countries learn from each other?
’We have all just started, and I hope we’ll be able to share experiences and methods with each other. Here in Iceland we’re currently looking west, at the U.S. That’s where most studies are done. The Nordic countries are technologically advanced and there is a feminist momentum. We should lead the way and not trail our American colleagues.’

This is an article about one of the projects granted funding through the Nordic Gender Equality Fund.

1. What’s the most important feminist issue right now?
2. What needs to be done?
3. What role can the Nordic countries play?

Julia Gillard, the former Prime Minister of Australia and the Board Chair of the Global Partnership for Education

International Women’s Day presents us a powerful opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a girl or a woman worldwide. Sadly, for far too many girls and women, the picture remains grim. In 2016, I will be honing my focus on girls’ education, because 63 million girls are not in school across the world, and millions more are in school but not learning the basics of reading, writing and math. When we know that education is key to human development, this is simply unacceptable. And we know that educating girls in particular is a virtuous cycle: more educated women tend to be healthier, earn more income, have fewer children, and provide better health care and education to their own children, all of which can lift households out of poverty.

2. The under-education of girls is one of the most pressing social issues of our time. We need to move beyond well-meaning but scattered advocacy and toward helping countries to build strong education systems that deliver quality education to all students. These systems need to be responsive and accountable to communities, and they must deliver quality education in line with global best practice.  We should demand nothing less for the world’s children.
3. The most successful countries in this mission have been committed to education and brought the political will to follow through on a clear plan. As an international community we can support developing countries by sharing research, help identifying gaps and solutions, and most importantly, by bringing additional funding. Our Nordic partners who are fervent supporters of education have been generous funders of global education and we hope they will continue. When we break it down, it costs just $1.18 USD a day to educate a child in a developing country. Surely every child is worth that.

Douce Namwezi Nibamba, journalist in Democratic Republic of the Congo and driving force behind AFEM-SK – an organization for women in media. 

Women’s political participation, at all levels, is the most important feminist issue In Democratic Republic of Congo. I know that if women are participating, their needs and issues will be addressed.

2. We need access to information on human rights, gender, good governance, democracy and women leadership. There is also a need of nomination of women in different decision making spheres and elections where women candidates gives opportunity to run. Two other important issues are the empowerment of girls and youth, and the fight against sexual and gender based violence.
3. The Nordic countries can get deeper involved in the fight against war crimes and blood minerals. They can also support youth women´s network at grassroot level, and overall, give technical and/or financial support to developing countries.

Viviane Teitelbaum, President of the European Women´s Lobby.

It is difficult to pinpoint one specific issue as everything is linked, I would say: ordinary sexism that leads to or tolerates violence against women, poverty and under representation in political, social and economic areas of decision-making

2. We need to strengthen our collective voice, to implement the aspects of cultural transformation, sexual rights, ending violence against women. But also tackle the labor market and raise awareness around feminist transformation of the economy.
3. Act as a role model for other European countries so we can strengthen our ways to engage for more equality, sustainable change and for …a feminist Europe, free of prostitution!

Londa Schiebinger, USA, Professor of History of Science, Stanford University.

Integrate sex & gender into science, health & medicine, engineering, and environmental research. Gendered Innovations add value to research and engineering by ensuring excellence and quality in outcomes and enhancing sustainability. They add value to society by making research more responsive to social needs, and to business by developing new ideas, patents, and technology.
Support the EU Horizon 2020 Gender Dimension in Research.

2. Integrating sex and gender analysis into medical education, and integrating sex and gender analysis into engineering education.
3. The Nordic countries can take leadership in this endeavor.

Nancy Sanchéz, Colombia, journalist, human right activist, the last ten years with the “Alliance Women Wavers of Life” from Putumayo.

Violence against women. In Colombia, there is another war- the war at home where women, girls, boys, and adolescents are violated in overwhelming proportions. According to official statistics, inter-personal violence is responsible for 47.71% of homicides, higher than the 14.40% of homicides attributable to the armed conflict.

In the country, the most dangerous place for a woman is her own home. Colombia is one of the countries with the highest assassination rates for women by partners or ex-partners. According to official data, a woman dies every three days at the hands of the man who supposedly loved her; they take place during domestic tasks as she complies with her role as housekeeper, wife, and mother. Generally there is a painful history of submission, domination, slavery, and physical and psychological violence preceding assassinations, which tend to be brutal, vicious, women burned alive, strangled, knifed, and beaten into disfiguration. The motive comes from jealousy, intolerance, and the belief that women are property.

2. Strengthening Justice is key for deterring violence against women. Special Units should be created in those institutions that investigate and sanction. Laws that protect women (Law 257 and Law on Feminicide) are a step forward but the reality remains the same. Working with women, especially those from the countryside, is crucial. The creation of solidarity networks, support, safe places, training, and economic empowerment are key if women are to overcome the submission which afflicts and degrades them.Working with men, boys, girls, and adolescents is likewise important. Although there is a significant process involving women’s organizations promoting women’s rights nationally and locally, much remains to be done with men, which is still incipient.
3. Provide support to national and local-level women’s organizations to strengthen their struggle against gender-based violence.Continue socializing Resolution 1325 as a key instrument for women’s participation in decision-making and peace processes.
   The Academy and Gender Institutes in Sweden could build strategic alliances with local organizations and institutions for broader research into the phenomenon of this type of violence and the formulation of gender-based public policies.

Dolly Anek Odwong, South Sudan, one of the founders of the network “Women’s Agenda for Peace and Sustainable Development in South Sudan”.

Gender-Based Violence threatens the social and economic well-being of women and girls around the world. Education is the tool to achieving women’s social and economic empowerment. It has always been my belief that the fight we face on the domestic front and the fight we face on the global front for women’s rights are not two separate battles: they are uniform. Women’s Rights are Human Rights.

2. I want to make a change in women´s lives in South Sudan and be a role model for them. It is a journey I started long time ago, during the past war in South Sudan. I think we should commit to empowering women and girls around the world. I would like to advocate for women and girls in South Sudan and around the world for funding of on UNSCR: 1325 Women’s Peace and Security.  With help and campaigns around the world to raise awareness of the issues, together we can work to stop these violations of human rights.
3. Nordic countries should continue to work for better conditions and opportunities for women. Women are still regularly denied the most basic human rights including freedom from violence.  Gender Based Violence occur all too often in South Sudan and around the world.

As women let us live our dreams to improve lives of women and girls around the world for a better world that women should belong to.  A country without women is not a country so we must be treated with Love, Respect and Dignity.

It is difficult to figure out exactly how much money is invested in gender equality research. A review of the research councils in Sweden, Finland and Norway reveals that a uniform system that allows for comparison across countries and sectors is currently lacking. Funding is typically not coded in a way that makes it possible to easily distinguish between gender equality and gender, diversity and equality more generally.
‘In order to come up with reliable statistics, we would have to analyse every single project in detail, which would be a massive undertaking,’ says Sini Uuttu, expert at Tekes – the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.
An attempt to trace research funding distributed by the Swedish research agency Fortes proves impossible for the same reason.
‘To identify projects that support gender equality research, you have to look for more than just gender equality. Labour market, drug and healthcare research are other research fields that can involve gender equality research,’ says Lars Wärngård, director of planning.

Research not always included

All research councils report that gender equality may be included in many of the projects they support. According to Sophia Ivarsson, programme director at Vinnova in Sweden, exact data is lacking because Vinnova rarely funds just research projects but instead collaboration projects where the public, private and non-profit sectors work together.
‘All projects granted funding in the programme titled Diversity Lab – Norm-Critical Innovation touches upon one or several of the protected grounds for discrimination. Gender is one of them. In the last two years, we have also allocated about SEK 20 million per year to projects with a focus on gender or gender equality but that have not necessarily involved research.’
The Swedish Research Council does not have any special grant programmes for gender equality. But this does not mean that gender equality researchers cannot be granted funding.
‘Since we ask the researchers to classify their own research, there may be projects dealing with welfare issues that also cover gender equality but that are categorised as sociology. Besides gender research, which often involves a great deal of gender equality research, there is probably also gender equality research that is not gender research, and vice versa,’ says Lucas Pettersson, head of the unit for follow-up.

Less than one per cent of the total funding

To get an idea of the amount of money granted in relation to the total allocated research funding, we need to look at a larger area and use the research councils’ subject classification systems.
The following example is for the Swedish Research Council, Formas and Vinnova: Last year, Formas granted almost SEK 9 million (a little less than 1 per cent) to projects related to either gender or gender equality. The Swedish Research Council gave SEK 18 million (0.32 per cent) to gender and gender equality as well as gender studies during the same period. Vinnova’s programme Gender and Diversity for Innovation received SEK 15 million (0.6 per cent). SEK 15 million of a yearly budget of SEK 2.5 billion should not be considered a drop in the ocean, Ivarsson points out.
‘My impression is that the research councils, at least in Sweden, are working intensely with gender equality. As a side note, there is a bit of an imbalance when it comes to male-dominated areas, but definitely not all of them. We have given out a great deal of funding for gender equality measures for example in the forestry industry.’

Researcher: Gender equality alone is not enough

Last autumn, the research consortium WeAll – Social and Economic Sustainability of Future Working Life received EUR 3 million from the Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland (5 per cent of the total funding set aside for strategic research in 2015). The project is part of the Equality in Society programme. The objective is to investigate for example the role of social categories such as age, ethnicity and gender in working life. In the last five years, the Academy of Finland has distributed almost EUR 6 million to eleven projects in the area of women’s and gender research, in which WeAll belongs.
‘There is an interest in gender equality. Yet the grants are small in relation to the total funding available,’ says Marjut Jyrkinen, Research Director at the University of Helsinki and project leader together with professor Anna-Maija Lämsä from the University of Jyväskylä.
‘The way I see it, it would not have been possible to only focus on gender equality. The gender equality we’re talking about needs to be broader and consider intersectionality. At the same time, we should focus on gender, which is one of the biggest sources of discrimination in all societies. It seems easier to talk about diversity, but then we risk missing that gender in itself is an important factor.’
Hannele Kurki, senior science adviser at the Academy of Finland, confirms that gender equality as a separate area is not prioritised.
‘We fund all types of top research according to the bottom-up principle. The reduction in public funding leads to increased competition for what’s left. On the other hand, the gender researchers have so far received high scores.’

Different situation in Norway

In Norway, almost all ministries administer and grant research funding in their respective areas, which sets the premises for the research council’s programmes and calls for proposals.
Mari Teigen, director of CORE – Centre for Research on Gender Equality, agrees that not enough funding is allocated to gender equality research.
‘But it would be more correct to compare how the funding is distributed within for example the humanities and social sciences than across the disciplines.’
Lise Christensen, special adviser at the Research Council of Norway who offers expert knowledge and lobbies for various research topics, would like to see more research on gender equality.
‘There’s an emphasis on gender. In the past we have focused on research on gender and on equal treatment as praxis. But there’s also a need for development of knowledge on equal treatment in order to advance the work of change.’

EU initiative lends legitimacy

Lotta Strandberg, senior adviser at NordForsk, supports an expanded focus.
‘Gender equality always occurs in a context. Instead of more money channelled to gender equality research, I’d like to see the gender perspective be integrated into all research.’
According to Strandberg, it is difficult to compare the granted amounts due to the significant variation in allocation models and assignments carried out by the research councils.
‘One thing we can ponder over is what type of research is being conducted, what gender equality means in these programmes. The funding needs to be transparent and the priorities clear.’
Sophia Ivarsson has noticed a change in attitude in the last five years. In 2013, the Swedish government asked Vinnova to distribute SEK 33 million to needs-driven research for gender equality. She believes we will see more of that type of initiative.
‘The fact that the European Commission is putting its finger on gender equality makes it more legitimate for the national research councils to do the same.’
Fortes’ new action plan stresses that all research projects that are granted funding must involve a gender equality perspective.
‘Starting this year, all applicants in our biggest annual call for proposals have to explain how, if at all, their research relates to gender and diversity of which gender equality is part,’ says Wärngård.

History offers many examples of how women are bundled back to their traditional roles as homemakers after participating in revolutionary processes, but this has not happened in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, according to Drude Dahlerup, professor of political science at Stockholm University.
‘There has been a strong awareness of this risk and the women’s movements, in particular in Egypt and Tunisia, have put up a lot of resistance. That was noticeable already during the Tahrir Square protests,’ she says.
The demonstrations began almost exactly five years ago. Many women were sexually harassed in connection with the protests in Cairo in the winter of 2011.
‘But they still refused to go home. They would not leave that square. Instead they organised demonstrations against the harassment,’ says Dahlerup.

Women’s rights moving forward 

She has just finished a project titled New Avenues for Political Influence for Women in the Arab Region?, funded by the Swedish Research Council. The project lasted from 2012 to 2015 and was carried out in partnership with Women in Politics Research Network, WIP, at Stockholm University and Center for Arab Women Training and Research, CAWTAR, in Tunis.
‘I saw that the gender research was popping up everywhere at universities in the Arab world. That’s what gave me inspiration for the project,’ says Dahlerup.
While the project has moved forward, the hopes for democracy have evaporated in many of the Arab countries. Yet at the same time, Dahlerup is seeing important signs of progress in the area of women’s rights. For example, both Egypt and Tunisia have introduced quotas for women’s representation in the national parliaments. The upswing observed for gender research and the growing numbers of female researchers are other signs of this development, she says. The breakthrough for gender research is particularly noticeable in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia, but research is also starting to come out of Algeria, Palestine and Yemen.

A shared platform

The Arab-Nordic project has given researchers from the Arab and the Nordic countries a shared platform for collaboration and exchange. Activities arranged within the framework of the project include a course for doctoral students studying women’s presence in the public space. The participating doctoral students came from different Arab and Nordic countries.‘That was probably the best thing that came out of the project. Everybody was so enthusiastic,’ says Dahlerup.As part of the project, she and a researcher from CAWTAR also wrote progress reports for gender research in the two regions. The assessment of the Nordic countries shows that the number of books and articles written in English has increased dramatically in recent decades.‘One reason for this is that the number of gender researchers has increased, but I also believe we have become more international,’ says Dahlerup.She thinks very positively of the ongoing internationalisation process.‘Gender research is growing globally and I think it’s important that we can compare things with each other. Looking at the situation in other countries can help open our eyes to our own structures,’ she says.
She hopes that the networks that have been established through the Arab-Nordic project will lead to new collaborations between researchers in the different countries.‘Now we know each other. I hope we have started something that can continue to grow,’ she says.

Nordic Information on Gender has opened for applications for funding of Nordic cooperation in the area of gender equality. As in previous years, at least three Nordic countries must be involved in each application. The funding can for example be used to develop joint methods, build new knowledge, arrange conferences and create networks.

The so-called funding scheme was initiated by the Nordic gender equality ministers to stimulate Nordic cooperation. The activities must begin in autumn 2016 and be completed before the end of 2017. The application form is available at nikk.no.

Applications can be submitted until 31 March.

For more information, please contact Elin Engström, Head of Operations, Nordic Information on Gender, 46(0)766 22 92 39, elin.engstrom@genus.gu.se

In Norway, about 50 per cent of all rape victims are younger than 18. The same is true for the perpetrators. Sexual violence among young people, often between partners, is common. Yet the problem is not given much attention, and there is not much knowledge about it. In response to this, the Norwegian organisation Reform – Resource Centre for Men has launched a project together with organisations within the MenEngage movement in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. The purpose of the initiative is to gather experiences and best practise from the different Nordic countries.
‘We assume that the situation looks about the same in all Nordic countries, although right now nobody really knows. The project is a way to explore this issue and identify what research and knowledge can be found in the Nordic countries,’ says Saastad.
On 15 April, the organisations will arrange the first Nordic expert conference on the topic.

What can be done to stop the gender-related violence among young people?
‘Reform has a project in place called Stopp kjærestevolden (stop partner violence). It targets 14–15 year olds and revolves around issues related to gender norms and ideals. We tried to collaborate with the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, but it didn’t go very well. Now we have instead teamed up with the Church of Norway. We talk to the kids during their confirmation programme. It has worked out great. It’s our experience that it’s important to approach young people early, before they start drinking alcohol and getting involved romantically.’

Can you describe the links between young men’s violence, masculinity norms and gender roles?
A common denominator is that many teenagers don’t know what a good relationship with the opposite sex looks like. In school, they only get to hear about the purely sexual aspects. Nobody helps them define a healthy relationship. Our observations also show that there is very little focus on the culture of violence often seen among boys. There’s a strong heteronormative view of what boys are supposed to be like, and sex, violence and action are important elements. It’s hard to be a boy and break away from these macho norms.’

What are the benefits of Nordic cooperation around these issues?
‘The problem looks very much the same in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Yet we have dealt with it in different ways. We want to gather experts and good examples of how we can work with these issues. The goal of the conference is to develop joint recommendations and guidelines, with a particular focus on how the violence among young couples affects both the victim and the perpetrator. The intention is to make this material useful to organisations and government agencies across the Nordic region.’

This is an article about one of the projects granted funding through the Nordic Gender Equality Fund.

The Nordic Council of Ministers is in the process of gender mainstreaming its work. The goal is for all Nordic committees of senior officials to work with gender equality issues within their respective domains. The new report, written by Carita Peltonen, is one part of this work. The report gives examples of how the Nordic Committee on Health and Social Affairs (EK-S) can integrate the gender equality perspective in its field. Peltonen for example proposes a Nordic men’s week to bring attention to men’s health and overall situation. A corresponding national week is arranged in Denmark every year.
‘I think it’s a good way to bring attention to these issues. We know that men have a shorter life expectancy than women, and that they are less likely to seek medical attention,’ she says.
She also sees a need to acknowledge different types of family constellations in order to meet the needs of different types of families.
‘The nuclear family tends to set the norm, even though in real life families can be structured in many different ways,’ she explains.

Requesting data on crisis management

The report describes how all Nordic countries have experienced various crises in recent years. Denmark, Finland and Iceland have faced economic crises. A major terror attack occurred in Norway. Finland has experienced several school shootings. Deadly shootings also took place in Copenhagen last year, and Sweden too has witnessed serious acts of violence.
‘Data on how women and men perceive and act in various types of crises could be compiled using the databases that are available in the Nordic countries. Such a project could give society better tools to understand and respond to the insecurity and stress that citizens experience in connection with crises. For example, how does a terror attack or an economic crisis affect people’s health? Does it make women and men experience more stress, and do women and men experience the same type of stress?’ says Peltonen.
Besides suggestions for projects, the report gives a review of the Nordic governments’ policy documents. Peltonen has also conducted a literature review of Nordic gender equality research in the focus domain of EK-S. More exactly, she has looked at dissertations with a gender perspective on healthcare and social issues published 1995–2015.

Varying focus in Nordic research

The literature review shows that researchers in the different Nordic countries have partly focused on different areas.
‘Denmark has a lot of research on socially vulnerable groups such as homeless people and people struggling with addictions. In Norway, there has been a great deal of research on masculinity, and Icelandic researchers are leading the way in the areas of fatherhood, parental benefit and paternal leave,’ says Peltonen.
Research on fatherhood and the role of fathers can be found also in Finland, in particular in relation to World War II, she continues.
‘A large number of fathers died and many children grew up without a father.’

A need for more knowledge about older people

All in all, she thinks that the literature review shows that a lot of knowledge exists regarding the situation of women and men in relation to health and social issues, but she also sees a gap.
‘Not much research has been done on the health of older women and men. Most of the research that exists today concerns the workers in elderly care. There is a need for more knowledge about the needs of older people from a gender equality perspective,’ she says.
According to Kai Koivumäki, senior advisor at EK-S, the report addresses several interesting topics. He believes it will be useful in the continued work with gender equality issues within EK-S.
‘I hope it will be easier to move forward now that we have a clear view of the situation,’ he says.

The proposed new projects will be discussed at the next meeting of EK-S, which will be held 24–25 February.

The Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers rotates between the five Nordic countries on an annual basis. 2016 is Finland’s year, and the project ”Enough, now! Nordic models to end domestic and intimate partnership violence”´is part of its ambition to put an end to gender-related violence.
‘It’s important to work proactively against the violence and to offer the victims support and whatever help they need,’ says Juha Rehula, Finland’s Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services and in charge of the country’s gender equality policy.
‘We need to look for ways to encourage the perpetrators, whether they are men or women, to stop their destructive behaviour and therefore also the devastating cycle of violence.’
The project will culminate in a report describing, comparing and analysing the models in use across the Nordic region. A conference for knowledge sharing will be held in autumn 2016. Two other conferences on the theme of violence will also be held around the same time: one addressing human trafficking and one at which the work against genital mutilation of girls and women will be discussed.

Gender discrimination in the media

The Nordic gender equality cooperation has for some time emphasised the need to discuss the issue of gender equality in the public space. In 2016, the Finnish Presidency will explore the possibilities of legislating against sexist advertising as well as the current state of gender equality in television, radio and other conventional media.
‘One thing that can be observed is that sexualisation of the public space and gender-based hate speech are limiting the participation of women in particular. Thus, such tendencies must be clamped down on, and a gender equal and pluralistic media landscape must be actively encouraged,’ says Rehula.
The issues of hate speech and how to work against sexism will be raised for example in an expert panel arranged by the Nordic Council of Ministers at the meeting of the UN women’s commission in New York.
‘Both women and men have a right to use the public space and to be recognised and influence the society they live in. By looking at and comparing situations and good practices in the Nordic countries, we can stimulate the public discussion and develop better national and Nordic measures,’ says Rehula.

Health and gender equality

The connection between health and gender equality will also be addressed in several ways during Finland’s Presidency. The issue of health was discussed already in January at a conference titled How Are You Feeling, Nordic Region? held in Turku, Finland. The conference marked the beginning of a 3-year project led by the Finnish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and aimed to support cooperation in relation to the Nordic welfare model.
‘Since gender equality is a central aspect of the Nordic welfare model, it seems both natural and necessary to integrate a gender equality perspective in the project,’ says Rehula. ‘Cooperation with other sectors is also very important in the field of gender equality policy. In this project, we’re joining forces with the social, employment, cultural and educational sectors. The bureaucratic red tape can be a headache, but the work is definitely very important and interesting.’
‘The gender equality ministers will also consider the inquiry report on men and gender equality they ordered this year, and we can start deciding on future cooperation on this theme,’ says Rehula.
How do you feel about the Nordic gender equality cooperation? Can it yield benefits that an individual Nordic country would not be able to achieve alone?
‘As the Nordic countries are very similar, it can be of great benefit to compare their different approaches and policy measures. Since none of them have achieved full gender equality, they all have something to learn. The Nordic countries also have a lot to offer in the European and international gender equality discussion. For example, the final report of the project ”Enough, now!” is published in English to make it accessible to people and organisations in other countries.’