The 2019 NORA – Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research – conference on critical feminist cross-disciplinary research and activities relying on contemporary and/or historical perspectives was held at the University of Iceland, 22-24 May.

It focused on the theme of material and symbolic borders in a period of nationalist revival. What explains the return to territoriality? What kind of political, cultural, and social boundaries are being constructed or reproduced? How are border regimes in the present and the past shaping and gendering relations? How are new or redefined boundaries affecting work for social justice and equality as well as intersectional, gender, queer and feminist research? And how can feminist resistance be organized against paternalistic modes that reinstate and reinforce relations of inequality?

The conference was co-hosted by RIKK – Institute for Gender, Equality and Difference, the EDDA Research Center and the United Nations University Gender Studies and Training Programme at the University of Iceland.

This project researched Nordic models of fatherhood and gender equality as hotbeds of welfare innovation and explores to what extent some countries are trying to ‘import’ similar models. Specifically, the project focused on countries that had attempted to follow Nordic models of parental leave with father quotas namely Germany, Japan and Slovenia.

The project compiled research on motivators, forces (actors) and outcomes (take-up) of father quotas in Iceland, Norway and Sweden and investigate to what extent, if any these dimensions are transformed when applied elsewhere. The obvious example was how gender equality motivations might be exchanged for fertility concerns outside Nordic countries. The project initiated a framing of how policies are spread between countries, in particular how Nordic parental leave policies are perceived and used as examples elsewhere.

The project resulted in an article The Nordic Model of Father Quotas in Leave Policies: A Case of Policy Transfer? published in Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 2021

According to ideals about gender equality, both men and women are presumed to take part in labour market activities and caring for the family, but we know very little about how such ideals are negotiated in areas with restricted employment opportunities. This project compared three relatively isolated areas in the Nordic region: Narsaq in South Greenland (pop. 1,600); Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands (pop. 4,600) and Læsø in Denmark (pop. 1,800). The project aimed at understanding local strategies and gender roles among men and women living in relatively isolated areas in terms of making a living, maintaining ties to the local community, and potentially achieve gender equality.

Findings differ among the three locations due to different geographic realities as well as different historic, economic and demographic trajectories. Nevertheless, the comparison provide valuable new insights, as knowledge gained from such research can contribute to planning of sustainable demographic and economic development, and deepen our understanding of the role of place in such developments.

Find out more in the report Equality in Isolated Labour Markets

The primary purpose of the project was to develop a network to promote dialogue on gender-specific structural inequality in the reindeer herder communities. The participants contributed to the gathering of existing knowledge on the current situation of Sámi women in reindeer herding communities, in order to develop an understanding of the variation of roles of men and women in the communities. The project identified concerns and challenges that exist within the reindeer herding communities, related to gender inequality. The promotion of knowledge is aimed at developing recommendations for possible concrete actions in order to promote gender equality in the reindeer herder Sámi communities and in the Sámi community as a whole.

The overarching questions this project highlighted include: how structural inequality is perceived amongst Sámi reindeer herding communities, in particular of the Sámi inhabiting regions of the three Nordic countries (Finland, Norway and Sweden); what kind of gender-specific effects structural inequality may have in reindeer herding activities; how does structural inequality hinder, or negatively influence, the equal access to herding as livelihood practices for women; and how such practices provide implications for the enjoyment of human rights for the Sámi women.

The project resulted in a tool kit and a book Indigenous Peoples and Gender Equality with Special Reference to Sámi Reindeer Herding.

The project brought together a diverse set of stakeholders in three Nordic countries to participate in an exploratory co-creative workshop combining three interrelated topics: T1 Gender-influenced educational choices by young people, T2 Problems due to norms of masculinity in leadership, T3 Gendered organizational norms.

After a initial period of methodology development between the three partner teams, three workshops will took place in succession in three Nordic locations, namely Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen. The workshops included business and academic leaders, educators, managers, students, volunteers, NGOs, educational institutions, and youth/student organisations, allowing them to discuss the topics in one shared forum as well as co-create solutions to these issues. Using the workshops as data, the research team analysed the insights to synthesize outcomes, i.e. policy and action strategies, and methods for addressing such organizational challenges in a Nordic context.

Read more about GenderLab at kvinfo.dk

As recently evidenced by the metoo movement, women and girls as well as LGBTIQ, continue to experience sexism and violations in the public space, also in the Nordic countries. With this project we wanted to ensure that youth protect each other and respect their own and others’ rights and boundaries in relation to gender, body and sexuality. We therefore developed a Nordic model for youth-driven prevention of sexual harassment and violations.

Strengthening the engagement of youth in the prevention of sexual harassment and violations will contribute to the well-being of this generation and transformative change. It will also contribute to the formation of new champions who can take the agenda forward in new ways and maintain the position of the Nordic countries as front-runners in the advancement of gender equality globally. Building on the joint experience and knowledge of the Family Planning Associations of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the project developed a scalable model campaign to reach and engage young people to this end, which can be replicated or adapted to the context of additional Nordic countries and beyond.

Sexual harassment is a major problem in the hotel and restaurant industry. Studies of experienced sexual harassment amongst members of the Norwegian Commonwealth Association and the Danish Federation of Professional Associations 3F show that 21 percent in Norway and 24 percent in Denmark have experienced sexual harassment in employment. In Sweden, approximately 13 percent of female employees in the hotel and restaurant industry have experienced sexual harassment from customers, and 6 percent say they have experienced sexual harassment from managers or colleagues.

This project conducted a study to gain more knowledge about effective handling of cases of harassment and sexual harassment in the workplace. Part of this work was to investigate the relationship between sexual harassment and harassment on other grounds. The study and work against harassment was the theme of a seminar in the fall of 2018. Target groups included persons with experience of the hotel and restaurant industry and/or workplace harassment. 

This collaborative project between two gender equality centres and two universities looked at the underrepresentation of men in nursing in the Nordic countries. Men make up only 2 % of nurses in Iceland, 3,5 % in Denmark, and 9 % in Norway 2018. To advance gender equality in work life, it is important to increase the number of men in caring professions.

The project partners mapped institutional practices and interview faculty, administration, and students at selected nursing programs in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. Based on the findings, we developed recommendations for recruiting and retaining men in nursing education. The results were shared in a report and journal article in 2018.

The uneven distribution of women’s and men’s paid and unpaid work is one explanation for inequality in working life, and in society at large. Parental insurance is crucial to women’s wage levels, but as long as women take a greater responsibility for children, equality in the working life cannot be achieved.

This project researches the systems for parental insurance in the Nordic countries to see how they affect women’s work and men’s withdrawal of parental benefit. The results are compiled in a report where suggestions were given on how the systems can be improved to increase equality. The results were presented to Nordic decision makers at a launch in Stockholm and disseminated through campaign work in Sweden, Norway and Iceland.

The project wants to influence decision-makers in the Nordic countries to drive the development forward in terms of equal parenting, and to help achieve the goals of equal opportunities for care, power and influence for women and men in the Nordic countries.

Many young people still choose their occupation by gender. One way to support young people to dare to choose and pursue an untraditional career choice is to support their early contact with working life. For most, the contact occurs during vocational education in workplace-based learning. Workplace supervisors need support to pay attention to uneven structures. Teachers in school need to prepare students for what they may meet in working life and give them strategies to navigate.

The purpose of this project was to highlight good examples, identify success factors, and provide tools for change to schools and workplaces. Equality in workplace-based learning was a Nordic idea and experience exchange. The project charts the methods we already used, shared them in networking meetings, and documented experiences on the web. The aim was to provide tools that could be used in gender equality work in education.