Making women visible in the World of Work

LO
Norway’s Workshop on
Making women visible in the World of Work,
Sørmarka 7. – 9. May  2007

Opening ceremony;
Political Advicer Marthe Scharning Lund
Monday 7 May, kl.09.00.

 

Dear participants,

It is my pleasure and the honour to wish you all welcome you all to this conference. Many of you have travelled far to come here today. I am sure this wonderful place will contribute to a successful seminar.

We are here for two days to discuss how to “Make Women visible in the World of Work”. We will share our important experiences and get inspiration for our future work! Very crucial questions are on the agenda. Questions that are important for women, for the development of our societies and for our common future!

Women in different parts of the world faces discrimination, but the seriousness and the scale of problems and challenges vary. But women have some common experiences – women throughout the world have less power and income and are exposed for discrimination.

It is necessary to keep on fighting for women’s rights. But we will not reach gender equality unless men change their roles and behaviour, and unless men also join efforts for gender equality for all! Let us include men in the fight for justice and equal rights!

 

The situation in Norway – do we have gender equality in Norway?

As political advicer for gender equality, I will share with you Norwegian experiences on our way to gender equality - experiences that are more or less similar to the other Nordic countries.

Economic independence and paid work is basic for women’s empowerment.
This is not only a question of gender equality, but of using all human competence and capacity in society. No society can afford to waste the contribution from half of its inhabitants.

And in Norway we do have:
- high participation by women in paid work. Women today have almost the same work force participation as men, (Women’s employment has not always been high. In 1965 nine out of ten mothers with small children worked in the home. Today, 8 out of 10 mothers participate in the work force.)
- a social welfare system which promotes parental rights; extensive maternity leave rules and high economic benefits.
- More women than men take higher education  
- A Cabinet where 9 out of 19 ministers are women
- Kindergardens for all children 1 – 6 years

I will soon come back to our challenges.

 

How did women get economic and political empower

The increase in women’s employment did not come by itself. It came as a result of policy changes aimed at empowering women and giving women more equal opportunities. Legal changes and affirmative action have been implemented. 

In Norway we do have a quite high degree of organisation at the labour market - among workers as well as among employers. In improving the women’s rights in Norway the trade unions have been important allies for changes. In all work for gender equality the labour organisations have an important role to play and are important co-actors. 

I will pin point:

- effective networking and good dialogues;  between government and civil society / women NGO’s and trade unions and feminist research / political groups and parties
- strong trade unions (union). The role of trade unions (LO / fag) is an important ally.

 

Challenges for gender equality

Before giving you a few examples of what we do to increase gender equality, I will mention some challenges we still face:
- In the labour market women still earn less than men; 15 percent on an average per hour. 4 out of 10 women work part- time, but many part-time workers want full time work. Pregnant women are exposed to discrimination. 
- The situation in labour marked are closely related to the situation within the family.  Women in general both take and want more responsibility for care for children than men. This calls for change in attitudes both for women and men.
- In politics still the majority of members of parliament and municipal councils are men. And only 1 of 6 majors are women.
- Last but not least, violence against women, are still a serious problem

 

Examples of our work for gender equality

I want to give you a few examples of our national priorities in our work for gender equality.

Although the length of education is approximately the same for women and men today there has been no systematic reduction in the gap of hourly wage rates between women and men since mid 80’ies. Medium hourly wage rate for women is only 84 percent of men’s. That was our reason for appointing an Equal Pay Commission last year. The Commissions task is to investigate reasons for wage gap and elaborate on what can be done to narrow the wage gap. During its work the Commission will consult a reference group consisting of social partner organisations on both the employer and employee side.

As mentioned gender equality must not be a concern only for women. Men must join forces with women! Men should also increase their care potential – for their own families, and at the labour market. I will present a white paper for the Parliament next year in this regard.

In Norway we have a close link between development of family policy and gender equality policy. A good family policy is a cornerstone in our gender equality policy. This policy is based on the equal rights for both women and men to be able to have work and income - and at the same time to be able to raise and care for children. As part of this right is the father’s quota of six weeks which is reserved exclusively for fathers. By exclusively means that if the fathers choose not to take this leave – these weeks are deducted from the total period of the parental leave. The introduction of the father’s quota - has been an important tool in changing attitudes and behaviour regarding the sharing of work and family responsibilities.

International challenges and women’s situation in poor countries is also an area of priority for the Norwegian government. A new and ambitious Strategy for women’s rights and for gender equality in the development co-operation policy (2007-2009) was launched march 8th  this year. Many of the experiences we have learned in our national work, can be applied in our development co-operation. Powerty reduction and improvement of human rights can not take place unless women’s rights and gender equality is in focus.

The new Plan of Action complements the Norwegian plan of action for follow-up to the United Nation Security Council Resolution 1325 (thirteen twentyfive) on Women, peace and security, that was launched 8th March 2006.

Trafficking in human beings is a modern form of slavery, and a most serious human rights violation. Economic independence for all through paid work is in my view a prerequisite to eradicate trafficking. Norway has a plan of action against trafficking with national as well as international measures.

Violence against women in all its forms is also a high priority for the government. We will revise our present plan of action against domestic violence and will also prepare new plans against female gender mutilation and against forced marriages. And we have a Strategic plan to combat Sexual and Physical Abuse of Children (2005 – 2009). Several ministries cooperate in this work.

Rape poses a special problem for the legal system and health services. The frequency of reported rapes and the number of rapes that culminates in a conviction is low. A broad-based public committee appointed in 2006 will propose measures and strategies to rectify this situation. 

Gender equality pays off!

I want you to bring home a strong message from Norway. 

If you look at international statistics (UN’s Human development indicators) - the Nordic countries are always among the top ten. This includes high rating for gender equality as well as for economic development. The Nordic countries also have top rating in the World Economic Forums competitiveness report. Why?

We do have a system of extensive worker’s protection, a public and universal social security system is not seen as en economic liability. This is seen as a competitive advantage in those reports.

It pays to give women work opportunities and implement gender equality measures! Several economic institutions have elaborated on and even quantified the cost of not reducing gender inequality.

According to a Global Economics Paper by Goldman Sachs (No:154 (2007),
 “Reducing gender inequality could play a key role in adressing the twin problems of population ageing and pension stability. In countries where it is relatively easy for women to work and have children, female employment and fertility both tend to be higher.”

And he also said that “Closing the gap between male and female employment would have huge economic implications for the global economy.

Similarly The Economist of April 21st ,states the following, in an article called “Womenomics revisited”: “ A report ...by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific concludes that sex discrimination costs the region $ 42 billion –47 billion a year by restricting women’s job opportunities. The poor state of girl’s education costs a further $ 16-30 billion.
 
The World Bank presented the new strategy of “Gender Equality as Smart Economics” last August and is already in the making of several actions come true.

The economic perspective on gender equality was also taken by our prime minister Jens Stoltenberg argued in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in June last year; “the greatest gains countries can achieve, economically as well politically, come with empowering women, ensuring equal opportunity, health care, and increasing the ratio of women’s active participation in working life.” 

Our prime minister also came with the assumption that:
- empowering women is a competitive advantage
- building kindergardens is a competitive advantage
- improving women’s educational opportunity is a competitive advantage

He also underlined the reasons why Norway has developed the way we have. He assumed that we have achieved what we have (our economic welfare) because we have invested in greatly extended maternity rules and in greatly improved maternity benefits. Together with kindergardens and day-care centers, these policies allows women to choose both to have family and children and professional lives and income as well.

He concluded that those countries are most competitive and yield the best economic performance which offer women most equal opportunity. And I want you to bring this message with you: those countries who manage to overcome cultural resistance to such policies are going to grow and prosper!

It is thanks to women’s full participation in all areas of society that Norway has reached its position. Women have joined efforts to prepare the ground for the Norwegian welfare society. The full and equal participation of women has been decisive for Norway’s social and economic development. 

My message to you is that full and equal participation of women in all areas of the society is crucial for how a society will develop. To bring a country out of poverty is about getting women into paid work / the labour market!

I wish you all a fruitful discussions and a successful seminar!

Thank you!