Within the Nordic Council of Ministers’ program for sustainable lifestyles in the Nordics, NIKK has produced a research overview to make visible and challenge gender stereotypes in relation to consumption and lifestyle, and contribute to a better understanding of how differences arise, and how they are reinforced and reproduced.

Sustainable production and consumption, goal 12 in Agenda 2030, has been identified as one of the areas where the Nordic countries face the greatest challenges in the work for sustainable development. The overall international research situation regarding the climate impact of individuals’ consumption patterns shows, among other things, that socio-demographic factors such as gender, income and ethnicity have a great explanatory value. Research also shows that inequality itself, especially in high-income countries, leads to increased emissions from consumption.

Climate, Gender and Consumption: a research overview of gender perspectives on sustainable lifestyles

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Climate, Gender and Consumption: a research overview of gender perspectives on sustainable lifestyles (PDF print version)

Key takeaways from Climate, Gender and Consumption (PDF print version)

Nordic labour markets and the world of work are facing a variety of challeng­es, including challenges emanating from technological change, demo­graphic shifts and regional differences. How knowledge, learning and education, and the logics of governance are viewed have all changed. This knowledge base describes these changes and focuses on three challenges for a sustainable world of work:

• Lifelong learning: being schooled in readiness to change
• The significance of place: teleworking and work on site
• Forms of employment and working conditions: the gig economy and entrepreneurship as examples

By identifying the challenges from a gender perspective, one can problematize assumptions about technology-driven social develop­ment that have a bearing on the world of work and the supply of skills. They are also seen in relation to policy goals for sustainable economic, social and environmental development. What needs to be done to enable sustainable development based on human rights, gender equality and no one being left behind? In this knowledge base, opportunities and challenges are discussed.

In the Nordic countries, both education and the labour market are strongly gendersegregated. This segregation is both vertical and horizontal, meaning that women are found in different courses and study programmes and sectors of the labour market than men, and also find themselves in different positions in the hierarchies of education systems and working life. This gender segregation has consequences for study and working conditions, pay, and the distribution of power and resources.

Combating gender bias is one of the strategic areas of intervention in official Nordic cooperation in the area of gender equality. The Danish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2020 therefore initiated a project that shed light on gendered educational choices in the Nordic countries. The Nordic Council of Ministers cooperation body Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK), located at the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research, was commissioned to conduct a study focusing on gender segregation in VET in the Nordic countries.

The study provides an introduction to what we know about VET and gender as an area of knowledge, describes how VET in the Nordic countries is organised, and gives examples of how these countries have worked to break patterns of gender segregation and to retain pupils who belong to the under-represented sex. The study also includes a concluding analysis section which discusses the results of the survey conducted against the background of current knowledge in the field.

Vocational education and training in the Nordic countries – Knowledge and interventions to combat gender segregation

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Key points from the report Vocational education and training in the Nordic countries (print version)

Many LGBTI people in the Nordic countries today experience violence, hate speech, threats and harassment in various forms. This is serious, especially since these crimes are often motivated by hatred of individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. But the Nordic countries are also working to develop long-term policies to improve this situation.

As part of this work, the Nordic Council of Ministers initiated a project that focuses on hatred directed at LGBTI people in the Nordic countries. Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK), located at the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research, was commissioned to survey relevant strategies, actors and initiatives in the Nordic countries and present the results of this survey in a report.

This survey shows that the majority of countries are working proactively to prevent and identify hate crimes against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. This work often involves government agencies and authorities as well as civil society organisations.

The survey also highlights some of the challenges and differences in how the Nordic countries are working to combat hate crime against LGBTI people. Below is a summary of these countries’ initiatives related to hate crime in various areas.

Hate crimes targeting LGBTI people in the Nordic countries: A survey of strategies, methods and initiatives

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Despite the fact that life conditions of LGBTI persons in the Nordic countries have changed in the last seventy years, major public health surveys indicate that this group suffers from an increased amount of mental and physical health issues compared to the rest of the population.

Younger generations of LGBTI persons see their lives affected, too, by having a sexuality or gender identity that falls outside heteronormativity. Among other factors, this is due to the exposure to stress that LGBTI persons experience in daily life, so-called minority stress. This includes the risk of or actual harassment, vulnerability, and violence. Further, it includes facing prejudice and discrimination in everyday life, having to sometimes conceal your identity, and dealing with internalized homo- and transphobia, which in turn have detrimental effects on health.

The Nordic Council of Ministers, therefore, has initiated a project that aims to shed light on the well-being of young LGBTI persons. The purpose of the project is to promote knowledge and experiences in the region, in order to contribute to improved life conditions for young LGBTI persons in the Nordic countries. Nordic Information on Gender, NIKK, has carried out the project, which has resulted in the report at hand.

The report consists of two parts:

• A literature review describing the current state of research regarding the wellbeing of young LGBTI persons in the Nordic countries, and
• A survey, presenting a selection of efforts aimed to improve the well-being of young LGBTI persons in the Nordic countries.

Summaries of the report in Nordic languages

DK: Resumé af rapporten: Helbred, velvære og levevilkår blandt unge LGBTI-personer i Norden: En forskningsoversigt og kortlægning af initiativer

FI: Raportin yhteenveto: Nuorten LGBTI-henkilöiden terveys, hyvinvointi ja elinolot Pohjoismaissa: Tutkimuskatsaus ja aloitteiden kartoitus

IS: Samantekt af skýrslunni:Heilsa, líðan og lífsskilyrði ungs hinsegin fólks á Norðurlöndunum: Rannsóknaryfirlit og kortlagning aðgerða

NO: Oppsummering av rapporten: Helse, velvære og livsvilkår hos unge LGBTI-personer i Norden: En forskningsoversikt og kartlegging av tiltak

Health, well-being and life conditions of young LGBTI persons in the Nordic countries

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Health, well-being and life conditions of young LGBTI persons in the Nordic countries (PDF print version)

How are the Nordic countries handling the effects of COVID-19 on gender equality? The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting new challenges for gender equality, which has loomed large in Nordic gender equality co-operation since the outbreak of the pandemic. The risk of increased domestic violence when the community partially shuts down to reduce the spread of infection. Working life and the economy, unpaid care work and mental health issues are also areas that have been largely affected by the pandemic.

This publication summarises the knowledge produced thus far in the Nordic countries and brings together the gender equality initiatives and measures that the Nordic countries have initiated in relation to the pandemic. The publication aims to contribute to the sharing of knowledge and experience between the Nordic countries arising from the effects of the pandemic on gender equality. By learning from each other, the Nordic countries can decrease the risk for that the Corona crisis become a gender equality crisis.

The publication has been produced by Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK) and is based on data from the Nordic countries as well as interviews with researchers and experts.

This summary presents results from co-operation projects financed by the Fund that have contributed to gender equality in the workplace. The purpose of this summary is to share knowledge and experience from these projects in order to increase their impact so that they will benefit more people, and to inspire others to participate in Nordic co-operation projects.

The summary has been prepared by Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK), which is a co-operation body under the Nordic Council of Ministers. NIKK has the task of managing the Nordic Gender Equality Fund.

Sexual harassment is a major social problem in working life in the Nordic countries, which the #MeToo calls for action in autumn 2017 demonstrated in particular. This publication is a shorter version of the report Sexually harassed at work – An overview of the research in the Nordic countries. The report is based on a systematic review of the research literature from the Nordic countries in the period 2014–2019.

The purpose of this publication is to briefly present the current knowledge about sexual harassment in the workplace in the Nordic countries, while also making apparent key knowledge gaps where more research is needed. The publication is produced by NIKK, Nordic Information on Gender.