Gender Equality: Problems, Strategies and Solutions › filearchive › gender-equality-problems...•Problems •Strategies •Solutions Institutt for samfunnsforskning The Principle

GENDER EQUALITY:

PROBLEMS, STRATEGIES AND

SOLUTIONS

Mari Teigen

Institute for Social Research

Bergen, 20. september 2012

Institutt for samfunnsforskning

www.samfunnsforskning.no

Outline

• Problems

• Strategies

• Solutions



The Principle of Gender

Equality

• Parity Participation / Everyones right to

participate on an equal footing

• Economical participation

• Cultural participation

• Political participation

• Multi-dimensionality



…. principle continues ……

• Multi-dimensionality

• Implications



Policy for Equality

• Government commission to report on

Norwegian gender equality policy ++

• White paper I: Structure for Equality

• White paper II: Policy for Equality



Four Areas of Priority

• Democracy

• Freedom of choice

• Redistribution

• Vulnerability

GENDER EQUALITY PROBLEMS



Upper Secondary School

Type of

secondary

education

Women Men

General studies 55 % 45 %

Vocational –

Health and Care

88 % 12 %

Vocational –

Electricity and

Construction

5 % 95 %



Higher education

0 %

10 %

20 %

30 %

40 %

50 %

60 %

70 %

80 %

90 %

100 %

Health&

Care

Pre-school p

ed

Socia

l su

bje

cts

Ped

agogy

Psycholo

gy

General teacher

Law

Med

icin

e

Bio

logy

Bu

sin

ess…

Physic

s&

Math

Math&

Stat

El&

Mec

IC

T

Men

Women



Employment

• Stability in horizontal gender segregated patterns

• Women dominate the public sector, men in the private

sector

70 percent in public sector are women

Less than 40 percent in private sector are women

• 40 percent of all employed women work part-time

• Mechanism of public sector attraction for women



Male-dominance in Norwegian

top-positions 2001 – 2011 (%)

63

70

76

80 81 84

93 94 96 100

59 59

75

65 64

77 77 78

87

96

0

20

40

60

80

100

2001

2011



Male-dominance in Norwegian top-positions, total and

research & higher education 2001 – 2011 (%)

83 80

75

65

0

20

40

60

80

100

Elite - Total Research & higher education

2001

2011

GENDER EQUALITY STRATEGIES



Family/Redistributive Policies

• Parental leave policies

• Kinder-gardens



Mainstreaming Policies

• Integration of equality promotion in day-to-day

work

• Lack of monitoring and authority

• Large variation in scope and consistency

Conclusion:

Mainstreaming means ad hoc, isolated and project driven equality

work – no accumulation of knowledge and method development



Positive Action Policies Field of society Types Adopted Procedures

Education

Preferential

treatment

Promoting

procedures

Upper secondary

education, 1982

Norwegian School of

Economics and Business

Administration, 1980

Norwegian University of

Science and Technology,

1981 (additional points)

1997 (earmarking

procedure)

Candidates of the

underrepresented gender

are given priority in cases

of equal qualifications

(same amount of school

points).

Additional school points

granted to applicants of

the underrepresented

gender; earmarking of

school/student places for

candidates of the

underrepresented gender,

with strict restrictions

according to

qualifications.

Employment

Preferential

treatment

State sector, 1981;

municipal sector, 1985

In recruitment and

promotions applicants of

the underrepresented

gender are given

preferential treatment

when qualifications are

equal or about equal.



Quota/Parity Policies Field of society Types Adopted Procedures

Politics

Minimum

representation

Liberal Party 1974;

Socialist Left Party 1975;

Center Party 1979; Labour

Party 1983; Christian

Democratic Party 1989

Quotas (at least 40 % of

each gender) regulate

party election lists and

appointments within

party organisations in five

out of the seven major

political parties

Organizations

Minimum

representation

The Norwegian

Confederation of Trade

Unions, 2005

Quotas (at least 40 % of

each gender) regulate

composition of decision-

making bodies, as far as it

is possible

Publicly appointed

boards, councils

etc.

Minimum

representation

1981, first regulation,

1988, 40 per cent of each

gender, included in the

local government act, 1995

Minimum 40 % of each

gender should be

represented in publicly

appointed boards,

councils and committees

Corporate boards

Minimum

representation

Adopted 2003,

implemented for new

companies 2006, full

implementation 2008

Minimum 40 % of each

gender should be

represented in the boards

of publicly owned

enterprises and large joint

stock companies in the

private sector.



Representation of women in boards of public

limited and private limited companies from 2002

- 2011

15 15 16

16

17 17 17 17 17

6 9 12

18

25

36

40 39 40

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2002 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Private limited companies (AS) Public limited companies (ASA)

GENDER EQUALITY SOLUTIONS



Educational System

• Counter gender stereotypes from kinder-garden

to university

• Additional school points

• Incentive system - scholarships



Labour Market

• Lack of public authority initiatives of systematic

and long-lasting initiatives to promote equality

in the labor market

• Three-partite cooperation on equality issues

• Activation of pro-active duties



Gender Equality «Directorate»

• Specification and clarification of pro-active

duties

• Structure to ensure implementation and

coordination of equality policy

• Regional structure



Documents

Gender Equality: Problems, Strategies and Solutions › filearchive › gender-equality-problems...•Problems •Strategies •Solutions Institutt for samfunnsforskning The Principle