LGBTI research in the Nordic countries is strong and multi-faceted but has to a large degree been conducted within different research disciplines.

The aim of the Nordic Network for LGBTI Research on Health and Living Conditions is to consolidate the Nordic LGBTI research on health and living conditions in a wider sense across the Nordic region, to share research results, and facilitate conferences, workshops and network meetings to further support this field of study across disciplines. To achieve this, we will establish regular meetings and activities that facilitate the sharing of research results and ideas.

The planned activities are one network meeting per year in the coming two years. The meetings, taking place in different countries, will be organized to provide space for sharing results and planning future research collaborations, including an international conference on LGBTI research.

LGBT+ individuals in the Nordic region face significant online harassment, hate and violence, often targeted with derogatory comments, threats and cyberbullying, leading to severe psychological distress. Anti-gender ideologies exacerbate these issues by promoting harmful stereotypes and misinformation, undermining the LGBT+ movement.

With the Safer Queer Cities Program we aim to address these issues and build a safer Nordic region for LGBT+ people. Using Reykjavik City as a pilot case, we unite researchers, politicians, analysts, civil society, policymakers and local stakeholders from across the Nordic region to create a local action plan for a safer city.

The Safer Queer Cities Program aim to enhance the safety and resilience of LGBT+ individuals by equipping municipalities and organizations in Reykjavik with up-to-date knowledge and tools to combat online and offline threats and harassment. Building on this work we aim to create an report with concrete recommendations and actions to be shared with all Nordic cities to create safer Nordic cities for queers.

The project focuses on higher education for human services professionals by developing a multilingual Nordic digital curriculum to enhance LGBTQIA+ competencies within social work and healthcare. Research has highlighted the limited and inadequate coverage of these topics in existing social and healthcare education programs.

There are challenges that include inadequate training about encountering LGBTQIA+ populations, professional’s possible biases to encounter LGBTQIA+ people and heteronormativity in social work practice. These issues negatively impact LGBTQIA+ individuals  and increase their unequal position in social and healthcare settings.

The project uses a co-creation approach involving students, NGOs, and experts to create a digital curriculum accessible in Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, and English. The curriculum includes modules covering sexual and gender diversity, life course perspectives, and LGBTQIA+ issues in social work and healthcare. The curriculum will be hosted on a digital platform and made openly available for students, professionals, and educators.

The project aims to produce and make available statistics on the distribution between men and women in leading positions in Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish listed companies, and to map and evaluate laws and other measures taken to increase the representation of women in management groups and boards in these countries.

The method is a comparative survey of representation on the boards and management teams of Swedish, Norwegian and Danish listed companies. The project will also compare legislation and other measures to increase gender equality in the countries concerned, and, via surveys, examine employees’ and managers’ perceptions of career opportunities from a gender equality perspective. This knowledge, together with previous research, will be used to identify possible shortcomings and success factors in the measures taken by the different countries and to develop recommendations.

The project also aims to produce new and increased knowledge that can form the basis for developing policies and other initiatives in the Nordic region.

Ukrainian women have fled to the Nordic countries in large numbers since the war broke out in February 2022. This is a unique group as many of them come without a partner and with children and benefit from some policies. We want to explore in a comparative study in three Nordic countries; Iceland, Norway and Sweden, how they have integrated in the labour market. 

By examining this through focus group interviews with Ukrainian women, and interviews with experts working in labour and immigration, the consortium intends to identify enablers and obstacles to labour market integration for this particular group. Furthermore, the project will suggest measures to support their labour market integration to create equal opportunities in the labour market. The project will additionally gather examples of good practice in labour market integration. The results will be used to inform policy to help improve the integration of Ukrainian women and wider migrant/refugee groups.   

TUNDRA is an innovative initiative aimed at empowering women-led growth-stage climate-tech companies through tailored access to experts, funding, and partnerships, particularly those in the Arctic region.

Women-led Climate tech ventures in the Arctic region face unique scalability challenges as a result of limited access to role models, networks and funding. While early-stage ventures receive support through different initiatives, there is a gap in assistance for later-stage companies.

Through events that provide opportunities for networking and access to expertise, the program will offer a support system for women-led climate tech ventures in the Arctic region.

The project aims to support participating companies to grow their business by expanding their market reach, and finding funding opportunities. Additionally, the program aims to raise awareness about the challenges faced by women founders and strengthen the role of women leaders in the ecosystem. The tangible outcome of the project will be a comprehensive report providing data about gender equality in entrepreneurship in the Arctic region, with a specific focus on climate tech.

The conference examines linkages between gender equality and the ongoing climate crisis in the Nordic business context. The main objectives are to strengthen collaboration, accelerate change, and encourage businesses to set ambitious targets to deliver on the SDGs (5, 8, 10, 13).

The conference is organized in two parts: a high-level plenary on the first day, followed by a series of workshop style deep-dive sessions and roundtables covering the topical themes of a gender-just transition. We expect at least 150 Nordic company representatives to participate. The conference provides a platform for experienced practitioners to exchange knowledge and practical approaches regarding the effective implementation of actions.

A summary report will be compiled to communicate the overall messaging, identified challenges, key take-away actions and next steps. The report will be disseminated in the Nordic networks’ events, learning programs and peer learning groups.