The crisis has hit the Nordic countries and autonomous territories in different ways. The effects on women and men have also varied. For example, the crisis has made it difficult for youngsters, particularly young men, to gain a foothold on the labour market. The ministers gained valuable insights into the issue of gender and the economy at their meeting on Thursday.

"It is important to be aware that economic crises affect the genders differently. There is a great deal of evidence to suggest that it is young men in the Nordic Region who are facing the toughest time on the job market in the wake of the crisis. Getting them back out to work is a major challenge. A new type of gender policy will be needed," said the Icelandic minister, Árni Páll Árnason.

It is not just in terms of employment that the financial crisis has created different problems for men and for women. Pension savings losing their value, and house prices falling, combined with divorce and gender-related violence, are just some of the ways in which men and women experience the crisis differently.

The ministers also discussed human trafficking, and believe there is a need for co-ordination between different ministries in the campaign to combat this insidious trade. The equality ministers decided therefore to invite their colleagues responsible for social affairs, justice and the labour market in the Nordic and Baltic states to work together on the issue.

The Council of Ministers for Gender Equality also saw a preview of the results of the research project Gender and Power, which will be presented at a major Nordic conference in Reykjavik on 19 November.

Also present at the meeting on Thursday were the Norwegian Minister for Children, Equality and Integration, Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken, the Finnihs Minister of Culture and Sport, Stefan Wallin, the Swedish secretary of state, Christer Hallerby, and Director Marie Hansen from Denmark. The meeting was historic in the sense that three of the ministers present were men.