【讲座】10月17日 Gender equality in Sweden

Emma Melander Borg, Head of Gender Equality, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
Emma has a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Lund University. She has worked for almost 20 years with international development cooperation, predominantly with the post-soviet countries. Emma is a staff member of RWI since 2003 and works since 2016 with the efforts of the institute to advance gender equality and human rights of persons with disabilities.
Gender equality in Sweden – opportunities and challenges
Gender equality is a cornerstone in Swedish society. Political commitment to gender equality promotion remains high and the manifestation of this commitment can be seen in many areas within public control. The current government is the first in the world to call itself a feminist government, and it has made a commitment to the implementation of a so called feminist foreign policy. Despite this commitment, gender equality is however lagging behind when you start looking closer, in particular in the private sector and in people’s homes. Gender also continues to be a decisive factor in education – resulting in a highly segregated employment sector. Emma will outline the history of gender equality in Sweden, with a focus on the conceptual development: how has stereotypes changed over time, and how has policies been influenced by stereotypes? How is gender inequality addressed today on policy level in Sweden? How is gender equality addressed in practice for example at the level of the government and the municipality and in the education sector? What is meant by a feminist government and a feminist foreign policy? And ultimately - what are they key good practices and lessons learnt?