How can we make it possible to live sustainably in the Nordic countries? How can we better understand how differences in lifestyle that affect sustainability arise? Sustainable production and consumption, Goal 12 of the 2030 Agenda, has been identified as one of the areas where the Nordic countries face the biggest challenges in their sustainable development work. This area is also the focus of the NIKK project Sustainability, lifestyles, and consumption from a gender perspective, which is part of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ programme Sustainable lifestyles in the Nordic region. 

The new research overview entitled Climate, gender and consumption – a research overview of gender perspectives on sustainable lifestyles summarises the state of international research in seven different areas: Food, Housing and energy, Clothing and consumer goods, Transport, Work and time use, Culture and tourism, and Activism and influence. The report aims to reveal and challenge gender stereotypes as they relate to consumption and lifestyles, and to contribute to a better understanding of how gender differences arise and are reinforced and reproduced in these areas. 

Ideals and norms have an impact on the climate

“At the group level, there are clear and not very surprising differences between men and women. For example, men eat more meat than women do, and meat consumption has a bigger impact on the climate than vegetarian foods do. But a more detailed analysis shows that the underlying factor in this is norms and ideals, rather than gender per se. For example, men who want to be perceived as ‘real men’ also eat more meat. Conversely, a traditional feminine body ideal leads to a more vegetarian diet, but this is not primarily a result of consideration for the climate,” says Jimmy Sand, author of the report and analyst at the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research, University of Gothenburg. 

Attitudes and behaviours are influenced by norms and ideals that relate to care and technology, and these areas are often associated with femininity and masculinity, respectively. All in all leading to a greater or lesser impact on the climate. 

“Generally, women are more inclined to change their behaviours, while men are more interested in technical solutions to the climate crisis, such as solar panels. Prejudices about technical expertise as being a masculine field can also deter women from engaging with matters that concern technology,” says Jimmy Sand. 

Care ideal promotes sustainable lifestyles – in both women and men

How unpaid domestic and care work is organised affects transport patterns, for example. Those who work part-time and who are responsible for dropping off and picking up children, and making the daily purchases for the household, travel in ways that are quite different to full-time workers who tend to travel more directly between home and work. 

Women as a group are more involved with sustainability issues and also more oriented towards care values than men as a group, the research overview shows. Based on the research carried out in this field, sustainability and consideration for the climate seem to be more important to individuals, regardless of gender, who are engaged in domestic and care work and see this work as important. 

“In studies where men are shown as driving sustainability, these are men who are taking the main care responsibilities in their households,” says Jimmy Sand. 

Key takeaways 

• Gender, understood as social norms, is often more important than sex as a statistical variable. Individuals oriented towards caregiving – an ideal often associated with femininity, regardless of sex – are more engaged with sustainability and show more sustainable behaviour patterns.  

• The uneven distribution of unpaid domestic and care work, for which women as a group take a greater share of the responsibility than men as a group, and the normative coding of technology as a male domain, have consequences for the different impacts of individuals on the climate; and consequently for what efforts should be made to reduce this impact.  

• Women as a group are ascribed a greater responsibility for the environment as consumers than men as a group due to social norms concerning fashion consumption, but also because women more often than men are responsible for cooking the meals in households and for washing and buying clothes for the family members.  

• Traffic planners, vehicle manufacturers, food producers, energy companies, the fashion industry, etc., all have great power to influence the climate impact in their spheres, and thus bear a great responsibility for the green transition. When responsibility is placed on consumers instead, it risks being individualised. Due to norms of femininity and masculinity, the unequal distribution of unpaid domestic and care work and the feminisation of consumption, where men’s behaviour patterns in this space are rendered invisible, may entail a particular burden of responsibility on women as a group. 

• If reducing working hours with associated changes in consumption is to be used as a strategy to achieve more sustainable lifestyles, it should be based on efforts to influence the preferences of men as a group, and to support the ideal of caring among men.  

An accessible online version can be found here

Projects granted funding by the Nordic Gender Equality Fund 2022

Read more about the projects on the project pages:

• West Nordic Feminist Network
• Gender-based health inequalities among migrant women during COVID-19 and public health responses in the Nordic countries
• Minority Stress – Interfem’s Nordic Network for Feminist Activism
• (In)equalities in combining academic knowledge work and care responsibilities
• Nordic Women Mediators Network Website
• Addressing the gender and diversity paradoxes in innovation – towards a more inclusive policy design (AGDA)

The Nordic Gender Equality Fund is administrated by NIKK on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Information about the call for proposals for 2023 will be available later on this year.

Labour markets and the world of work are facing a variety of challenges, including challenges emanating from technological change, demographic shifts, and regional differences. This is happening at the same time as views on knowledge, learning and education, and the logics of governance are changing or have changed. NIKK’s new publication Towards a sustainable future world of work in the Nordic countries – The gender perspective on the opportunities and challenges describes these changes and focuses on three of the challenges:  

• Lifelong learning: being schooled in readiness to change  
• The significance of place: teleworking and work on site  
• Forms of employment and working conditions: the gig economy and entrepreneurship as examples. 

 
By identifying the challenges from a gender perspective, it becomes possible to problematize assumptions about technology-driven social development that have a bearing on the world of work and the supply of skills. They are also positioned in relation to policy goals for sustainable economic, social and environmental development.   

“Gender analyses indicate that prevailing norms and social structures assign women and men different roles, opportunities and responsibilities – and that these norms and social structures are limiting our opportunities to transition to a sustainable society,” says Fredrik Bondestam, Director of the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research where NIKK is located. 

The publication takes up examples where the different aspects of sustainability are somewhat at odds with each other. Economic interests and thus economic sustainability are often given priority over social and environmental sustainability. The examples also show how such unequal priorities reproduce inequalities based on gender, class, age and ethnicity. Intersectional analyses of how different systems of power interact are important to understanding gender and sustainability. 

“There are many opportunities to make the world of work in the future more sustainable, but for this to happen, power relationships must be taken into account. Because they do not automatically change as a result of technological or economic changes. They just find new, different, or additional expressions than previously,” says Fredrik Bondestam. 

Focus on changes in the workplace and education  

Why is the rise in teleworking increasing inequalities? Could it possibly get rural areas in the Nordic region to flourish? Who are the people working in the growing gig economy, where gigs are allocated via digital platforms, and what are the conditions like in this economy? What roles do sex and gender play in education when the role of education is strongly tied to the labour market’s need for employable labour? The three challenges highlighted in this publication in various ways show how the workplace, and education and training systems related to the workplace, have changed in a variety of different ways. These changes are due to technological development, deregulation and different governance logics. 

“New ways of organising work and the demand for a more flexible workforce also challenge previous norms that work is attached to a fixed place and is something where there is a clear employer responsibility. The examples in the publication illustrate how this can manifest itself. Highlighting these changes from a gender perspective is absolutely key to achieving sustainable development,” says Fredrik Bondestam.  

For each of the three challenges, the publication presents a number of central messages as takeaways for future discussions on possible ways forward. These discussions are essential for achieving the 2030 Agenda goals, and for creating a sustainable world of work where nobody is left behind.   

As a Nordic Council of Ministers cooperation body, NIKK – Nordic Information on Gender – contributes to realising the Council’s Vision 2030. NIKK’s areas of activity all deal with one or other of the major challenges of our time, and are based on the global sustainable development goals. By highlighting the gender perspective on pressing issues, NIKK strives to make a contribution to sustainable solutions for social development in the Nordic countries. 

The Fund is a part of the Nordic co-operation on improving conditions for LGBTI people. NIKK administers the Fund on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers. It opens for applications for funding on 1 September 2022.

The Fund finances projects in which at least three organisations from at least three of the Nordic countries will co-operate to promote equal rights and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic countries. Projects that aim to respond in various ways to promote equal rights for LGBTI people, contribute new knowledge and promote exchanges of experience or which manifest and develop Nordic co-operation can apply for grants from the Fund.

All information about the Fund is now gathered in a message available in English, Finnish, Icelandic, and Swedish.

Read the message in

• English
• Finnish
• Icelandic
• Swedish

*LGBTI is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex. Although the abbreviations used in the various Nordic countries may differ, LGBTI is the acronym used in all official Nordic co-operation as it is equivalent to what is used in other international organisations.

In January, representatives of business, authorities and civil society gathered at a roundtable discussion in Oslo. The aim was to help build alliances to boost awareness of the connection between climate and gender equality policy ­­— one of several priority areas for the Nordic Ministers for Gender Equality and LGBTI (MR-JÄM). The Nordic Co-Operation Programme on Gender Equality and its supplement for the LGBTI area lays particular emphasis on the importance of involving multiple sectors, to provide more perspectives on complex issues and create a broad base, so that results and knowledge summaries from all the projects reach more recipients in the community.

“Gender equality policy doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Instead, it’s vital for our efforts to be made in collaboration with important sectors of society, such as the areas of education and healthcare, in the world of work and in the legal system. Only through goal-oriented, long-term and systematic cooperation will we achieve lasting results,” says Siw Ellefsen, section head at the Ministry of Culture and Gender Equality in Norway, and member of the Nordic Committee of Senior Officials for Gender Equality and LGBTI (ÄK-JÄM).

International contribution to gender equality

The roundtable discussion on green transition in Oslo was a pre-meeting for the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York, where the Nordic ministers for gender equality and LGBTI joined a ministerial panel with the same theme. The ministers also presented a declaration of their commitment to joining in the endeavour to bring about a green, gender-equal Nordic region that was handed over to UN Women’s Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous.

“The Nordic Council of Ministers is an outstanding platform for cooperation, knowledge exchange and communication vis-à-vis a global public as well. UN Women and Bahous have called for a greater Nordic commitment to promote gender equality internationally. The Nordic region has assumed this responsibility, and we’re prepared to make our contribution over the coming years,” Ellefsen says.

Investigating health and social care for LGBTI elderly

The current programme period for Nordic co-operation in the areas of gender equality will continue until year-end 2024. LGBTI issues are integral to long-term efforts for equality of opportunity in the Nordic region. This year, a project will be launched to enhance openness and improve the quality of life for older LGBTI people, with a special focus on health and care work.

“Surveys clearly indicate that for LGBTI, the quality of life is lower than for the rest of the population. In the Nordic setting, we have focused on children and young LGBTI people. However, there’s abundant evidence that it’s tough being older, openly queer and in need of public healthcare services,” Ellefsen says.

The Living Conditions and Quality of Life for Older LGBTI People project is to be implemented in collaboration with the Nordic Council of Ministers for Health and Social Affairs (MR-S). Nordic Information for Gender (NIKK) has been commissioned to run the project, and the results will be presented during a final conference in Iceland, in 2023.

Several other projects are due to start during the Norwegian Presidency. Examples include one on gender equality in fisheries and marine aquaculture and a conference on workplace gender equality to be held in Oslo on 27 September. The research initiative on sexual harassment in working life continues and, with a focus on young men’s mental ill health, a research overview will be compiled by 2023. NIKK is administering and producing knowledge overviews in several of the projects. Read more about the NIKK projects during Norway’s Presidency in 2022.

The work to improve the living conditions of LGBTI people is an important part of Nordic co-operation and of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ vision of becoming the world’s most sustainable and integrated region. Since 2020, the Nordic Council of Ministers has been co-operating to promote equal rights and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic region. One part of this work is the Nordic LGBTI Fund, which is administrated by NIKK on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers. This autumn, the Fund opens up for applications for the second year in a row. 

Who can apply for funding? 

Dialogue and co-operation are one of the cornerstones of Nordic collaboration. The Nordic LGBTI Fund provides the opportunity for this. The Fund finances projects where at least three organisations, from at least three Nordic countries, collaborate. The call is open to various activities and organisations, such as voluntary organisations, authorities and companies. 

Projects that contribute to Nordic interests and work for equal rights and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic countries can apply for financing from the Fund. A total of approx. 1,5 million DKK will be distributed. 

The activities should start during 2022 and are to be carried out within two years. The funding can be used to develop common methods and new knowledge, and to hold conferences and build networks, etc. 

• Read the guidelines for the Nordic LGBTI Fund 
• Read about the projects granted funding in 2021 
  

Important dates for the Nordic LGBTI Fund 

You need to apply via a form, which will be available from nikk.no during the application period. 

• 1 September – the call opens 
• 30 September – deadline for applications 
• November/December – decisions notified to applicants 
• December – contracts will be signed  
  

Upcoming events within Nordic LGBTI co-operation 

In addition to the work with the Fund, NIKK also contributes to the collaboration by gathering and spreading knowledge. In May, several events within the Nordic co-operation for strengthened LGBTI rights will be arranged. 

On 20–22 May, a conference aiming to enable the exchange of experience and knowledge between Nordic LGBTI organisations will take place in Oslo. The conference is organised by the project Enhancing Nordic LGBT+ organisations capacities amidst an international backlash against LGBT+ rights, financed by the Nordic LGBTI Fund. NIKK will be participating as an observer, to inform about the possibilities with the Fund, and highlight the Nordic LGBTI co-operation. 

On 20 May, NIKK will arrange a network meeting in Oslo for the projects granted funding in 2021. The meeting will give participants the opportunity to present their projects and discuss Nordic co-operation within the LGBTI area. 

*LGBTI is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex. Although the abbreviations used in the various Nordic countries may differ, LGBTI is the acronym used in all official Nordic co-operation as it is equivalent to what is used in other international organisations. 

Working life in the Nordic countries has many similarities in terms of overall structures and regulations, but also in terms of usual practice and procedures. Yet we know little about the importance of these structures for understanding or preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. 

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a complex area that touches on many different areas of knowledge and fields of research. Research into violence, into sexual harassment, and into other forms of harassment in the workplace are some of the cornerstones that can provide a better picture of the problem, make it more likely that prevention will work, and assist in developing effective intervention methods. 

In light of this, the Nordic Council of Ministers decided to support a Nordic research initiative, with two Open Calls, in co-operation between several sectors within the Nordic collaboration. Sectors involved include gender equality, culture, working life and the Nordic Committee for Children and Young People.  
 

Granted research projects in Open Call 2 

Open Call 2 was aimed at researchers and practitioners who intend to initiate practice-based research activities in collaboration. This call focuses mainly on preventative measures and methods for intervention through industry studies and comparative studies of different industries. The proposals are to be developed in partnership between several Nordic countries. 

Applications that met the criteria was assessed by external academic reviewers. Decisions were made after consulting the cross-sectoral reference group appointed by the Nordic Council of Ministers in connection with this initiative. The following research projects have been granted funds in Open Call 2:  

• Speak Up!”:  A practice-oriented research project on the prevention of Sexual Harassment (SUSH) 

• Sexual Harassment in Tourism and Hospitality: Using the past and present to inform the future  

• Power Plays: Preventing sexual harassment through memory work & forum theater in workplaces of care 

NIKK is administering the research initiative and will also disseminate information about and knowledge from the projects that are awarded grants in the two Open Calls.

Read more about the research initiative and the two Open Calls here.

Women and men are found in different courses and study programmes and sectors of the labour market, and also end up in different positions in the hierarchies of both the education systems and working life. This gender segregation has consequences for study and working conditions, pay, and the distribution of power and resources. VET programmes involve many practices where sex and gender have significance, and where gender segregation is particularly apparent. 

Tasked by the Nordic Council of Ministers, NIKK has produced the report “Vocational education and training in the Nordic countries – Knowledge and interventions to combat gender segregation”. The report describes the current state of knowledge and the education systems in the Nordic countries. It also provides examples of existing interventions aiming to break patterns of gender segregation in VET programmes in the Nordic countries. The final part of the report analyses each of its parts and presents recommendations and overall reflections on what needs to be taken into account in future work for change.  

Few interventions focus on gender coding 

In the Nordic countries, interventions to reduce gender imbalances in working life and education are largely implemented as part of overall policy strategies. Some interventions target specific sectors. The report shows that many of these interventions to counter gender segregation aim to encourage the under-represented sex to choose differently. However, few of them focus on the gender coding that exists and is reproduced in VET programmes and in the workplaces associated with them.  

“Gender coding is closely tied to how work is valued. Traditions, tasks and cultures in these occupations and in VET are associated with masculinity or femininity. This does not automatically change when the proportion of women or men in a particular sector changes,” says Angelica Simonsson, PhD in education and senior analyst at the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research, who wrote the report.  

Many similarities and differences in the Nordic countries’ education systems  

The education systems in the Nordic countries have many fundamental similarities, but also many differences, especially when it comes to the way in which VET programmes are organised. All these education systems have in common that they have always had the fundamental idea that social disparities can be addressed through education. Common to all the Nordic countries is that they have a universal education system where all pupils attend compulsory school together. When pupils are roughly 15-16 years old, they transition to upper secondary school. There, they can choose between a stream that leads to university studies or a VET stream, or a combination of both. One of the major differences between the countries is how strong the divide is between these two streams, and being able to study for entry to university studies for those who choose a VET programme.  

“This is linked in part to the countries’ different ways of dealing with the issue of social inclusion and equity,” continues Angelica Simonsson.  

One of the most striking similarities in VET in the Nordic countries is the numbers of boys and girls studying in different VET areas. The report presents statistics which show great similarities in the areas where boys dominate and where girls dominate, and that boys generally exhibit a greater dominance. At the same time, the subject areas involve different things in the different countries and are therefore not entirely comparable. Overall however, it can be said that there is an almost total dominance of boys in the energy, industry, building and construction sectors. Girls instead dominate in the area of health and social care. In sectors such as service and administration, there is a greater gender balance. 

A more comprehensive focus on norms is needed  

There are several explanatory models for why gender segregation in VET occurs. What is clear is that sex, gender, VET and work are interlinked. The explanations form a complex fabric in which the individual level and societal level interact; in which policy, governance and labour market forces interact; and in which the individual’s choices are constrained and curtailed both directly and indirectly. A focus on individuals alone within the under-represented group in a particular sector appears to be a poor solution to the problem. 

“Instead, a more comprehensive and distributed focus on norms and attitudes is needed, targeting actors and practices at a number of levels in the labour market and in these countries’ education systems,” says Angelica Simonsson.  

An accessible version of the publication(in English) can be found here.