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Promoting Gender Equality in the Nuad Thai Sector Across the Nordics


This project is a Nordic initiative led by ThaiWISE–Hela Människan i Malmö to promote gender equality, fair working conditions, and the integration of Thai women in the massage industry. Building on Sweden’s successful pilot model Nuad Thai Nordic (NTN), it aims to adapt and expand this approach in Norway and Finland through collaborative networks.

The project’s capacity-building activities include adapting and sharing training materials, supporting partner-led training, and promoting the NTN model to grow membership in Norway and Finland. Cross-border learning and study visits will strengthen collaboration and knowledge exchange. Ongoing policy engagement with Thai Embassies, Nordic institutions, and local stakeholders will support regional cooperation and advance gender equality.

The project strengthens regional collaboration on gender equality and labor rights by expanding the NTN model and fostering cooperation. It aims to empower Thai women, reduce exploitation, and develop tools and policies to improve working conditions and gender equality.

Women Investing in the Nordics: Overcoming Structural Barriers to Economic Participation & Decision making


The project is a Nordic research and policy initiative examining the social, psychological, structural, and institutional barriers that limit women’s participation as investors, with a focus on professional women in leadership and business roles. The project uses original Icelandic survey data and adapts the Public Leadership for Gender Equality framework to the Nordic financial and policy context.

Through cross-country collaboration in Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Denmark, the project combines applied research, comparative analysis, and stakeholder workshops to co-develop a Nordic framework for gender-responsive investing.

The desired outcome is peer-reviewed research, a practical leadership framework, and policy recommendations that strengthen women’s investment participation across the Nordic region, all openly available online for long-term use and adaptation.

A comparative mapping of gender equality in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish business


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.

Enhancing labour opportunities for Ukrainian women in rural Nordic communities


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 – Empowering women-led climate tech companies in the Arctic region


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.

Towards a gender-just transition – annual conference of the UN Global Compact Nordic networks


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

The conference was 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. Around 150 Nordic company representatives participated. The conference provided a platform for experienced practitioners to exchange knowledge and practical approaches regarding the effective implementation of actions.

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


REDO Lookout: Promoting Gender Equality and Inclusion in the Shipping Industry


REDO Lookout aims to foster gender equality and inclusion within the shipping industry through collaboration, awareness-raising, and knowledge-sharing initiatives from and within the Nordic region, with a specific focus on the shipping industry. By raising awareness, and establishing a network for ongoing advocacy, we seek to create lasting impact and equal opportunities for all genders in the maritime sector.

By addressing systemic barriers and fostering a more inclusive workplace culture through collaborative efforts with industry stakeholders in the region, the project aims to drive meaningful change, creating a more diverse and gender-balanced workforce that thrives on inclusiveness and fairness.

Expected outcomes are: increased awareness and understanding of gender equality issues among stakeholders within the Nordic shipping industry. Through key activities such as conferences, podcast series and the creation of a network, the project  aims to promote gender equality in the Nordic region.  

Trans, labour market, wallet


The project aims to produce equality data for trans people and people with trans experience, focusing on the situation in the labour market and personal finances. A study will be carried out in two stages: a large quantitative survey with a follow-up qualitative study to deepen the results. The study will also highlight variations within the group, which is often wrongly analysed as a more uniform group than it is.

By making visible the consequences of discrimination for transgender people at the societal level, actors who design and implement policies regarding the labour market, social measures and discrimination can have better opportunities to design targeted measures for transgender people.

The results of the study, including statistics and analyses, are presented in a report. It will be made available online to the public, researchers, authorities and other relevant stakeholders. The results are also disseminated at a final conference in 2024, which also serves as a basis for continued networking in the area between the collaborating NGOs.

Nordic-German trade union project on equal pay for equal work

The project started in 2023 aimed to give an overview on the existing gender pay inequalities and on the current strategies to reach pay equity in the five Nordic countries and Germany. By gathering actors at the Nordic level and with an international perspective from Germany the project aimed to gather relevant knowledge and competence and create a solid overview with a focus on what different actors involved in the labour market could do to achieve equal pay for equal work 

The project was planned as an interview study and case study with examples and resulted in a report. Based on identified good practice examples from the participating countries, the report also included recommendations on possible measures on how to support the work in achieving equal pay for equal work.  

The report was launched in autumn 2024 at a conference and spread to relevant Nordic, German and European target groups. The project seeked to inspire and presenting possible ways by showing how other countries are working on achieving equal pay for equal work. 

Women in Nordic ITS (WIN-ITS)


The transport and tech industries are two sectors that are currently unequal. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) is an umbrella term for information technologies used to improve and develop the transport system in a sustainable way. ITS services can be used across borders and facilitate the movement of people between countries. 

The development of physical and digital structures in the transport system creates conditions, both physical and mental, for the mobility of today’s travellers as well as future generations. Against this background, it is central to take a gender equality and sustainability approach to the development of the transport system. 

The main purpose of the project was to build a long-term cooperation between ITS organisations in the Nordic countries, which in turn aim to promote a gender-equal and sustainable transport system. Within the framework of the project, representation and the norms governing ITS in the Nordic countries were also studied. The results of the project will be used in a follow-on project called WIN-ITS 2.

Updated 28 October 2025