Gender equality turns governments EU-sceptical
According to expert, governments become more EU-sceptical than their citizens whenever EU gender equality policies interfere with Nordic labour market traditions. The Nordic countries, in turn, want the EU to do more for men. Read more
Column by Stefan Wallin: A worthwhile investment
Gender equality is a worthwhile investment, as it is a vital factor in the success and wellbeing of a nation; perhaps even the precondition for it, writes Minister of Gender Equality Affairs in Finland Stefan Wallin. Read more
When Nordic gender equality originates in Brussels
Even though Nordic women voters have a reputation for being more EU-sceptical than their male counterparts, they really have the EU to thank for several drastic gender equality-promoting measures. At the moment, EU threats to make gender quotas on executive boards mandatory are creating a stir. Read more
Gender, Citizenship and Social Justice in the Nordic Welfare States: A View from the Outside
To what extent have the Nordic welfare states been successful in promoting a women-friendly, gender-inclusive model of citizenship? What are the biggest challenges for the Nordic model? Read more
Russian Women in Grey Zones of Nordic Welfare
In Europe, the term "new migration" refers to te mass movement of people for Eastern to Western Europe after the dissolution of socialist rule and the eastward enlargement of the European Union. Along the northernmost borders in the Barents region, on their way to the Nordic countries migrants cross the deepest welfare divide on the globe. While the Nordic states are celebrated for their inclusiveness both in social and gender terms, many immigrant women find their agency being restricted due to discriminating institutional boundaries, time lines and the construction of degrading social categories (1). Read more
Interview
A Nordic Bridge-Builder
The Scandinavian women’s movement is in a slump and the Nordic ‘gradualism’ is been challenged by fast track countries in the Third World. There are certainly plenty of issues to address: the pornification of the public arena, gift-wrapped silicone breasts, male dominance in leadership positions and the steady wagegap . “But there’s little spark to ignite a women’s movement”. So says Stockholm University’s Professor Drude Dahlerup, who is also well-known in the Nordic countries as a bridge-builder between the women’s movement and women’s studies. Read more
Towards a Family Equality Policy? The abandonment of the male bread winner family model
How have welfare policies in the Nordic countries been influenced by developments in the European Union? How have changes in the division of paid and unpaid labour between the sexes influenced welfare and family policy and led to changes in family formation? A team of researchers has analysed trends and changes in employment and family issues in eight northern European countries. Read more
Scandinavian Democracies: Disintegrating or in Good Health?
This autumn saw the conclusion of several years’ extensive work in both Norway and Denmark on analyses of power and democracy. Despite the many similarities between these two Scandinavian societies the two government initiated studies have arrived at conclusions which differ widely from each other. Whilst three of the five researchers in charge of the Norwegian study conclude that democracy is disintegrating, the unanimous conclusion of the Danish research team is that their democracy is healthy and efficient. This variance in the final diagnoses demonstrates how important it is that power research states its points of reference and gives an account of its premises and perspectives. Even the grand diagnostic ambition of power research when initiated as an official study might profit from problematisation. Read more
The Universe of Gender Quotas
The manner in which gender and quotas is discussed in the political debate on gender equality can largely be sorted into two main stances; the discourse of rights, and the utilitarian discourse. This article discusses the Norwegian discourse in relation to the gender equality discourses in other European countries. Read more
Social Consequences of Gender Discourses
Is it possible and desirable for Danish gender scholars to give their support to and work for an improvement in the present-day equal-opportunities situation? Is it possible within a Danish ‘power-mobilisation’ discourse to generate concrete political proposals? These are among the questions raised in this article with reference to a recent discussion between Swedish and Danish feminist scholars on the social consequences of the different gender discourses in the two Nordic countries. A comparative textual analysis of Danish and Swedish neo-feminist anthologies is linked up with this discussion. Read more
