Focus on work and the labour market in this year’s fund projects
How can the integration of migrant women be improved in the labour market? Why are men underrepresented in the health and care sector in the Nordic countries? And how does the design of the parental insurance systems affect the way women and men use them? These are the focus areas of some of the projects that are receiving funding from the Nordic Gender Equality Fund this year.

This year, seven projects have been granted funding from the Nordic gender equality Fund to collaborate on issues related to gender equality. The projects will result in new knowledge about the gender-segregated labour market, utilisation of the public parental insurance and harassment in the workplace.
All projects focus on gender equality in the workplace and the labour market – a theme also prioritised by the Norwegian Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
‘The Nordic countries have long worked actively to promote equal opportunities to participate in the labour market between women and men. We have come a long way, but several challenges remain. This year’s Fund projects focusing on work and labour market will hopefully inform future efforts in this area,’ says Elin Engström, head of operations at Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK).
This year’s projects span across a wide range of themes. The one titled Enhancing Labour Opportunities for Women in the Nordic Countries will carry out a comparative study of three medium-sized Nordic communities in order to identify and share experiences of improving the integration of women in the labour market.
‘The project will examine policies and practices in three communities in three Nordic countries, Finland, Sweden and Iceland. The goal is to identify policies and practices that affect migrant women’s employment,’ says Markus Meckl from the University of Akureyri.
The discrimination ombudsmen in Sweden, Denmark and Norway will carry out a study to learn more about how sexual harassment in the workplace is handled.
Another project focuses on the health and care sector and will investigate the status of work in this domain in light of the neoliberal turn in policy and explore its relevance for gender equality.
Every year, NIKK administers funding for initiatives and collaborations in the area of gender equality in the Nordic countries on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Nordic Gender Equality Fund was initiated by the Nordic gender equality ministers with an aim to stimulate Nordic cooperation.
- Text: NIKK
- Categories: Gender equality and welfare policy
- Published: 2017-09-19

This year’s Fund projects
Learn more about this year’s Fund projects here.