Gender equality – a Nordic export

18.11.16 | News
The Nordic Region has again topped the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index in 2016. What examples of initiatives to promote gender equality are worth sharing with the rest of the world? Where is there room for improvement?

These will be the themes for a debate involving the Nordic labour ministers, the Deputy General-Director of the ILO and a number of experts on working life.

”Global Gender Dialogue” will be held in the Parliament Annex (Pikkuparlamenttii) Helsinki on 29 November. The meeting is open to the media 15:30–18:00 and there will be opportunities for interviews with the ministers and other members of the panel.

The global perspective is linked to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the UN Agenda 2030 – many of which would be a lot easier to achieve if women and men enjoyed equal opportunities in the labour market.

Gender quality is crucial to sustainable growth, creating decent jobs and reducing poverty and social inequality – which are all among the 17 goals.

Room for improvement

The Nordic Region has topped the rankings for decades, serving as an inspiring example to other countries. However, there is still room for improvement, e.g. narrowing the wage gap, promoting women into management positions and men taking responsibility for the home and children.

Although the ILO and the Nordic Council of Ministers decided to launch their global initiative on gender equality in working life in the Nordic Region precisely because equality is one of the pillars of the Nordic welfare models, there is no room for complacency. If it wants to lead from the front, the Region must make constant progress toward a society in which equality is not a theme but a matter of course.

The debate will include the following:

Journalists and photographers wishing to attend must contact andjam@norden.org by 11/25/2016.