Equality under pressure – how the Nordics are fighting back

The Nordic Information on Gender, NIKK, is a Nordic cooperation body under the Nordic Council of Ministers, with offices at the University of Gothenburg. Much has happened in terms of gender equality in the past 50 years, yet there are still challenges, confirms Elin Engström, manager of NIKK. 

The Nordic Council of Ministers launched a new cooperation programme on gender equality and LGBTI in 2024, identifying new goals for 2025 to 2030.

It reads: "It is important to protect the common Nordic values that we build our societies on. When some question equality and equal rights for LGBTI people across the world, we in the Nordic region defend equality, fairness and the equal worth of all people. These human rights cannot be taken for granted; we must continue to defend the progress we have made in the Nordic region.”

Increased resistance is a key issue for the cooperation.

“It’s important to remember that this is not only a global phenomenon but something that is also happening in the Nordics. NIKK plays an important role in keeping these issues high on the agenda and in making sure debates and discussions are based on facts and not opinions,” says Engström. 

Status in the Nordic region

She feels it is difficult to say anything in general about the status of gender equality in the Nordics. But the region still stands out in a positive way internationally, for instance when it comes to parental leave and women’s participation in the labour market. Yet there are challenges. 

“There are still wage differences between women and men despite this having been priorities in our work with gender equality for a long time. There is still clear gender segregation both in educational choices and in the labour market,” she says.

Women also take on most of the caregiving responsibilities, which often mean economic disadvantages. There are also significant differences within groups of women and men depending on factors like age, social class and education.

“We have come far in many areas in the Nordics, but at the same time, there are considerable inequalities in the Nordic societies," says Elin Engström. 

Ending major project on pay

The cooperation programme on gender equality and LGBTI forms the basis for what NIKK will work with in the coming years. 

But right now, a project that has been running since March 2023 is entering its final stages. It has focused on pay; the project “Towards pay equity” aims to help reduce the pay gap between women and men in the Nordics through dialogue between the countries and the social partners. It builds on existing measures, experiences and knowledge to find efficient solutions.

The Confederation of Unions for Professionals Unio marks "Equal Pay Day" on 18 November every year. Equal pay is about equal pay for equal work and about equal pay for work of equal value, the organisation underlines in their campaigns. (Illustration: Unio)

One key question has been whether the focus should be extended from “equal pay for equal work” to equal pay for work of equal value”, taking into account different occupations with similar skill requirements, responsibility and effort. 

Three reports

The first report was published in October last year and mapped national initiatives and ongoing work on pay gaps.

The two final reports are ready and will soon be published, says Jimmy Sand at NIKK. 

Report number 2 looks at how public statistics can be used to measure wage differences between women and men in equivalent jobs in the Nordic region. The pilot study focuses in particular on Finland, Norway and Sweden and highlights challenges related to different vocational qualifications and the definition of wages in the different countries. 

Traditional conflicts of interest

Jimmy Sand is the author of the third and final report: "Paths to equal pay for equal work: Explanations to the undervaluation of women’s work in the Nordic Region”. It looks at why women’s work is often undervalued and maps the reasons why through a survey of authorities, employers, trade unions and researchers.

Many point to the fact that there is gender segregation in the labour market:

• Women and men often work in different trades and sectors.
• Female-dominated occupations, especially in the care and education sectors, are systematically paid less than male-dominated occupations with equivalent requirements.
• Wage differences are evident both between the public and private sectors and within the public sector.   

Other factors that impact wages are also identified:

• Women take more responsibility for unpaid care work, which impacts career development and pay.
• Women’s starting salaries are often lower and traditional wage negotiation systems can amplify existing inequalities.

As expected, the responses to the survey show clear conflicts of interest between different occupations and trades, as well as contradictions between employers and trade unions, points out Jimmy Sand.

“The most common explanation – especially among employers – is that more women should choose male-dominated occupations, like technical jobs with higher wage levels. 

“The trade unions, however, are more critical to this solution, because it only changes the statistics without solving the underlying problem: continued low wages in the care and health sector,” says Sand.

The answers show – and this is not surprising – that there are different views and conflicts of interest on the issues which are difficult to agree on, and this might explain why more is not happening in this area, he says. 

Activities in 2025

The results from the salary project will now be distributed and discussed. It is not yet clear which fora will be used for this.

Trans people’s working conditions are also high on the agenda in the Nordic cooperation. A seminar on this will be held in Copenhagen on 23 May. Four Nordic research groups are also currently cooperating on a research project on resilience within welfare systems in the face of future crises in the Nordic region. 

Finland’s Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers has also prioritised men and masculinity as a theme, with three webinars planned for this spring in cooperation with the Finnish Council for Gender Equality, TANE.

A fund for common use

NIKK administers the Nordic Gender Equality Fund and the Nordic LGBTI Fund on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Each year, around three million and one million Danish kroner respectively are allocated to joint Nordic projects (€402,000 and €134,000).

“These funds represent an important resource for us – they create knowledge, networks, and methods that we can build on in our work. It is also essential to communicate the results and facilitate synergy effects, which is an important part of the Nordic cooperation,” says Elin Engström.

The Nordic Gender Equality Fund was announced for the first time in 2013, while the LGBTI fund was set up in 2021. Successful applicants receive between 50,000 and 500,000 Danish kroner (€6,700 and €67,000).