Nordic Countries Vow to Continue Working on Gender Equality

"The overarching goal is that all men and women have the same power to shape both society, and their own lives. 

To reach that goal, women’s financial freedom is crucial. 

I think the important thing is to never be too self-confident and to lean back, because these issues are very important to fight for, and to continue to fight for. Both to push back the pushbacks but also to push forward on these important issues." 
- Paulina Brandberg, Minister for Gender Equality and Working Life, Sweden

Equality ministers were present from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands and panelists of the Nordic program were a mix of civil society, governments, experts and policy makers. 

Panel discussions on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers were well attended and covered the financial empowerment of women, economic gender-based violence and how to pave the way to a gender-equal economy.  Other meetings were held with Executive Director of UN Women Sima Bahous, as well as bilateral meetings between Karen Ellemann, Secretary General of The Nordic Council of Ministers, with the European Union, International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF ) and young delegates from the She leads program. The goal is to share Nordic priorities and promote partnerships.

Meetings of this scale allow the Nordic countries to lead the way for a more gender-equal future, while still adressing our own persistant challenges such as the gender pay gap, sexual harassment at work, gender-based violence or un-equal distribution of care work. These issues resonate globally and are complex to solve. They demand a comprehensive approach and collaboration across borders and sectors.

The Nordic countries intend to keep working on advancing gender equality and LGBTI rights, at home and abroad. The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action remains the most comprehensive blueprint for advancing global gender equality globally and will celebrate its 30-year anniversary in 2025 -  a reminder that the job is not yet done and that we need a renewed global commitment.  This was the message the Nordic ministers brought collectively to UN Women in the days preceeding CSW68, giving assurance that we would stand by this commitment, and ask other countries to do so as well. 

Ministers Paulina Brandberg, Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson, Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, Marie Bjerre,Erlend Kaldestad Hanstveit, Sirið Stenberg and Naaja H. Nathanielsen.