In Focus
Women in the labyrinths of working life and power
Women are not fighting a glass ceiling which can be broken once and for all, says Torild Skard who has studied how women gain power. It is more like a labyrinth, where women must take detours, turn back and go down partly hidden paths. The Nordic Labour Journal examines how gender equality can be improved in the labour market. There are major consequences - a man’s life earnings is two million Swedish kronor (€241.000) more than a woman’s, according to the new Swedish gender equality survey. Many countries are very reluctant to introduce quotas, but Nordic women did at least increase their power somewhat over the past year, according to the NLJ’s gender equality barometer.
The crisis drives people north hunting for jobs
Is the Nordic region facing a wave of labour immigrants from crisis stricken Mediterranean EU countries? The Nordic Labour Journal has spoken to job centres, ambassadors, labour immigrants like Iro and her brother Dimitris and looked at statistics. But is the Nordic region attractive compared to other countries for the type of labour employers want? Migration policies represent a balancing act between different interests. But the common European labour market is a saving grace for many.
Nordic countries: conflicting views on social dumping
The Nordic countries have chosen different strategies for how to fight social dumping. In Norway a Supreme Court judgement on working conditions in the shipbuilding industry has strengthened the trade unions’ roll. The Danish and Swedish governments are increasing workplaces controls. But there are always two sides to the coin. In Finland people are starting to wonder whether emigration from the Baltics in the long run will undermine the Baltic countries.
