Today, women in the Nordics are among the most active labour market participants in the world, but the goal of equal conditions in the labour market is far from being achieved. One of the clearest indicators of this are pay differentials between women and men. To help reduce the pay differentials the Nordic Council of Ministers has initiated a project on pay equity, which, among other things, has resulted in this publication.

This publication discusses various explanations for the undervaluation of women’s work in a gender-segregated labour market, based on a survey of social partners and other key stakeholders in the Nordic countries. A background review of various statistics of gender pay gaps is provided with the aim of illustrating the underlying factors. Various aspects of the survey highlighted by the respondents are also discussed, drawing on relevant research.

Towards pay equity: Explaining the undervaluation of women’s work in the Nordic countries

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Within the framework of NIKK’s project Pay Equity in the Nordic Region, the report Paths to Equal Pay for Equal Work – An Exploratory Study of National Statistics in the Nordic Region has now been published. The report highlights what national statistics can be used to analyse pay differences between women and men in work of equal value at national level.  It is hoped that the report will make an important contribution to efforts to reduce the gender pay gap in the Nordic region.

Towards Pay Equity: An Exploratory Study of National Statistics in the Nordic Region

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Today, women in the Nordics are among the most active labour market participants in the world, but the goal of equal conditions and pay equity in the labour market is far from being achieved. One of the clearest indicators of this are pay differentials between women and men. The Nordic Council of Ministers has therefore commissioned the publication of Pathways to Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value: Regulation, Reporting and Practice in the Nordic Region.

The report is written by the lawyer Eberhard Stüber. He has worked as, among other things, an analyst at the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman (JämO), and as a senior investigator at the Swedish Gender Equality Agency, both in Sweden.

The publication describes legislation and policy initiatives in the Nordic countries, including a discussion about the implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive with focus on the issue of pay equity. The report also provides a brief overview of Nordic labour market models and highlights differences for possibilities to advance work towards equal pay for equal work and work of equal value. Special attention is paid to the interaction between legislation, collective wage agreements and requirements for reporting wage statistics related to the ISCO standard.

This publication is the first in a series of reports from the project on pay equity in the Nordics. The second report in the series examines how available public statistics can be used to measure wage differences between women and men in equivalent work at national level in the Nordic countries, with in-depth study of Finland, Norway, and Denmark. The third report discusses various explanatory approaches regarding the undervaluation of women’s work in a gender-segregated labor market, based on a survey of the labor market partners and other key actors in the Nordic countries. The second and third reports will be published in the winter of 2024/2025.

Towards Pay Equity: Regulation, Reporting and Practice in the Nordic Region

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Towards Pay Equity: Regulation, Reporting and Practice in the Nordic Region (PDF print version)

Every year, the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) brings together UN member states to set goals for global gender equality and develop measures to promote gender equality. For 2024, the theme is economic vulnerability and how it can be addressed to empower women and girls.

The Nordic countries have worked together for over 40 years to promote gender equality in all areas of society and have important knowledge to contribute. This knowledge base highlights a range of relevant areas for the 2024 theme: it describes economic vulnerability through all phases of life and shows the conditions of different groups through intersectional perspectives. It also addresses economic violence in different forms, the consequences for victims and the need for support structures, as well as summarising a number of key messages.

Economic vulnerability in different stages of life

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Economic vulnerability in different stages of life (PDF print version)