The Norwegian Model for Gender Equality

1
The Norwegian Model for Gender Equality

• Mona Larsen-Asp
• Deputy Director,
• the Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud

2
How many countries voted against the inclusion of
womens cross-country skiing as an Olympic event
in 1952?More than 10 countries?4 countries?1
country?

3
The first skiing competitions were certainly not
good advertising for women. The newpapers had
pictures of girls laying all worn out on the ski
track with soup and sweat flowing in their faces,
even their hair was messy the pictures were,
all in all, made as gloomy as possible.
Aftenposten, daily
newspaper, 1952

4

• I can guarantee that no women will be competing
  on the ski flying hill in Vikersund in the
  beginning of March.
• Head of the ski jump committee, Torbjørn Yggeseth
  to VG 17th February 2004

5
Gender Equality

• Gender Equality is all about unveiling
  conzervative ways of thinking and acting, and
  doing something concrete when men and women are
  not afforded the same opportunities.

6
History

• 1959 Norway ratified ILO convention no. 100 on
  equal pay. The Equal Pay Council was established
  by the Government.
• 1972 The Equal Pay Council was reorganised to
  Gender Equality Council.
• 1979 The Gender Equality Act. Ombud.
• 2006 The Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud

7
Grounds for discrimination

8
Preconditions

• Economic independence.
• Norway have achieved formal equality with one
  exeption the Act on Military Service.
• Equal opportunities we cant all become
  leaders.
• And to live a life free for sexual abuse and
  violence.

9
The importance of the 1970s

• The decade of Equality in Norway.
• Womens research.
• Womens movement.
• Women entering the labour market.
• Women taking higher education.
• Building of Public Kinder gartens.

10
Promotion of Equality

• Enforcement of the law is not sufficient to gain
  equal opportunities or to make use of equal
  rights.
• A wide range of tasks and target groups requires
  a wide range of policies.
• Solid documentation is required like statistics
  and scientific research.

11
Only in the Gender Equality Act

• Duty to promote gender equality and to report on
  it in annual reports.
• Special protection of women when pregnant.
• Equal pay for work of equal value.
• Sexual harassment.

12
The Public Machinery

• Parliamentary Committee on Equality issues.
• The Ministry of Children and Equality is policy
  maker. The Ministry was renamed in 2005 for
  the first time with Equality as part of the
  official name.
• Committee of State secretaries on Equality.

13
A duty to promote Equality

• All the Ministries have a responsibility to
  promote equality.
• All 430 municipalities and 19 counties have the
  same responsibility.
• The official Norway are obliged by law to promote
  equality.

14
The labour market

• 50,3 of the population in Norway is women.
• 84 men and 77 women between 25 and 66 years
  old are part of the labour force.
• Public sector 69 women
• Private sector 37 women
• Gender segregated labour market.
• Part time Full time.

15
men and women in work force

16
Women in power?

• Stortinget (Parliament) 38
• Government, cabinet ministers 47
• Government appointed committees 47
• Municipal councils 38
• Mayors (Municipalities) 23
• Professors 18

17
In other words

• 62 men in the Parliament
• 53 men in the cabinet
• 62 men in the municipalities
• 77 of the mayors are men

18
Its rainingmen

• 82 of the Chief Municipal Officers are men.
• 83 of Top Executives are men.
• 60 of board members, listed companies men.
• 82 of the professors - men

19
Equal Pay! When?

• 1959 Equal Pay Council.
• 1961 The women tariff is abolished.
• 2008 still not equal pay in Norway.
• The Equl Pay Commission presented a report to the
  Parliament in February this year.
• Next year in 2009 50 years with public focus
  on the issue Still not solved.

20
Concrete measures

• Fathers quota.
• Act on gender representation for 100 per cent
  state owned companies and privately owned public
  limited companies.

21
State leadership

• Women Men
• Total 38 62
• Defence 21 79
• Culture 25 75
• Oil 27 73
• Equality 62 38

22
Private boards, publiclimited companies

• Board Chairpersons Women Men
• 2008 7 93
• Board members
• 2008 40 60
• 2007 25 75
• 2006 18 82

23
The demands

• Boards with 2-3 members
• -both sexes must be represented
• Boards with 4-5 members
• -both sexes must be represented with at least 2
  persons
• Boards with 6-8 members
• -both sexes must be represented with at least 3
  persons
• Boards with 9 members
• -both sexes must be represented with at least
  4 persons
• Boards with 10 members or more
• -both sexes must be represented with a min. of
  40

24

• Decisions taken by people with different point
  of view and different background and experiences
  have a tendency to be of higher quality then
  decisions taken by people who have the same
  opinion of the world.
• PR Adviser Hans Geelmuyden

25
All power to short people

• Picture a society where all the power is given
  to people who are short.
• In this society you have to be 1,60 meters or
  less in order to be taken seriously.
• The question is how to create equality between
  the short and the tall people.

26
All power to short people

• Change the tall ones.
• Create equal opportunities.
• The quality of the tall ones can be given value.
• Change the culture.

27

• Thank you
• for your kind attention!
• www.LDO.no