Equality for Women – Sweden Shows How

It is easy to pay lip service to the idea of equality for women but in

practice this is often difficult to achieve. People’s attitudes do not change

overnight, and it takes time, as well as education and example, to remove

prejudice. In many countries women still have great difficulty entering

such professions as medicine and law, while the idea of woman truck-

driver or race-horse jockey would be unthinkable.

In Sweden, however, equality of the sexes has been carried far. One

reason for this is that there has been a shortage of labor in the country.

Unemployment has been low, the population has remained static, so

new jobs have had to be filled by women. Nowadays women comprise

about 40 per cent of the working population – a high percentage com-

pared with other countries. A second reason is that positive measures, in

the form of government action, education and propaganda, have been

used to bring about greater equality for women.

Campaigners for women’s rights argued convincingly that there were

two labour markets in Sweden, one for men and one for women. They

stressed that women were mainly gathered in the office, carrying and

service sectors of the economy.

Those sympathetic to women’s rights considered that the problem

was to persuade more women to work and, more specifically, to get

women to undertake traditionally masculine jobs.

The first significant step in Sweden was taken when women priests

were accepted in the official Lutheran church. Some years later another

step was taken. The principle of equal pay was recognized in a binding

agreement between trade unions and employers.

Then separate taxation for a husband and wife was allowed. This cre-

ated an incentive for women to go out to work. A scheme of ‘parents’ in-

surance was brought in. During the first seven months after the birth of a

child, either parent could stay away from work, and still collect about 90

per cent of normal pay. The idea was to encourage husbands to take part

of this time off. They would then develop closer contact with their chil-

dren, so it was thought, and take a more active role in child care later on.

Another related benefit was that parents of young children could take off

ten days each year to look after them if they were sick.

The most far-reaching measures were directed at tempting, even

pushing, women into traditionally masculine jobs. The purpose of this

is not only to produce more female lumberjacks, for example, but also

more male textile workers; also, employers who provide in-service train-

ing for workers in jobs normally held by the opposite sex get a subsidy

towards the cost of their wages. Local employment offices throughout

the country have taken on extra staff specializing in the problems of

women’s employment. Part of their brief is to ‘prevail upon employers

and job seekers to take an unconventional attitude’ about appropriate

work for their sex.

One programme in particular has attracted international interest.

A pilot scheme was introduced, in six of Sweden’s twenty-four coun-

tries, to persuade women to take on ‘masculine’ jobs. Areas were chosen

where there was a shortage of labour and many unemployed women. In-

vitations were sent out to all women in these areas, and those interested

in working were invited to attend an information day at chosen compa-

nies. They were thus given an opportunity to study the manufacturing

processes of the local industries. Next, they registered for a four-week

course consisting of practical orientation in a certain type of work. At

the end of this period many stayed on and were hired by the company.

This experimental programme proved highly successful. It was ex-

tended to other counties. It produced women painters, electricians’ ap-

prentices, lathe operators, even foundry workers.

Other measures are in the pipeline. It has been suggested that widows’

pensions should be abolished. Alimony payments have been reduced, on

the principle that a woman ought to go out and support herself rather

than depend on her former husband.

Of course, some problems have arisen. When a wife works a morning

shift and her husband an afternoon shift, then they may only really see

each other at weekends. Also, many husbands are still reluctant to do

their share of household chores even though their wives have full-time

jobs. Life can be tough in Sweden for the working woman.

PART I

Unit 1