The experience and best practices of Nordic countries in successfully reaching the highest levels of gender equality worldwide.

1. "WHAT MAKES NORDIC COUNTRIES A
GENDER EQUALITY MODEL-
EFFECTS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
AND LEADERSHIP"
KEY-NOTE SPEECH BY DR ERATO KOZAKOU MARCOULLIS
FORMER MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF CYPRUS
AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON WOMEN ENTERPRENEURS AND LEADERS
UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA 23 SEPTEMBER 2016

3. ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION
AND OPPORTUNITIES
• All 5 Nordic Countries feature in the
top 20 of the Economic Participation
and Opportunities Subindex
• the labor force participation rates for
women are among the highest in the
world;
• salary gaps between women and men
are among the lowest in the world;
• and women have abundant
opportunities to rise to positions of
leadership.

4. POLITICAL
EMPOWERMENT
• Measures the gap between men and women at the
highest level of political decision-making through
the ratio of women to men in minister-level
position, the ratio of women to men in
parliamentary positions and women in leadership
• The Nordic Countries have achieved remarkable
successes with regards to policies aimed at
promoting women's political and economic
leadership
• The Nordic countries gained a head start by giving
women the right to vote before others did (Finland in
1906, Norway in 1913, Iceland and Denmark in 1915
and Sweden in 1919
• Today, Sweden has among the highest percentages of
women in parliament in the world (43.7 percent)
while the other Nordic countries are almost as
successful. Indeed, all the Nordic countries rank
among the top 20 in the world for the number of
women in parliament.

5. NORDIC FEMALE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT
ICELAND
PRESIDENT Vigdís Finnbogadóttir P.M. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir

6. NORDIC FEMALE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT
FINLAND
Tarja Kaarina Halonen P.M Anneli Jäätteenmäki P.M. Mari Kiviniemi

7. NORDIC FEMALE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT
DENMARK
P.M. Helle Thorning-Schmidt

8. NORDIC FEMALE HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT
NORWAY
P.M. Gro Harlem Brundtland P.M. Erna Solberg

9. THE 6 FEMALE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF SWEDEN

10. Nordic Council
of Ministers
• Promotes equal treatment
and gender equality
• Power and influence are
distributed equally between
genders
• Women and men have same
rights, duties and
opportunities
• An equal society requires a
society free from all types of
gender-related violence and
other forms of
discrimination.

11. FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT NORDIC GENDER EQUALITY
1. Between 75 and 80% of women aged 20-64 are employed
2. While average wage discrepancies still persist, they are on the decline.
3. Women’s equal educational opportunities. In fact, education is key to Nordic
countries’ achievements in gender equality and today more than 60 % of
University graduates are women.
4. In Nordic Political Assemblies women are well represented. For more than 20
years women have held 40% or more of the parliament seats.
5. Women also hold top political posts
6. Nordic women do not have to choose between career and family.
7. Gender education starts at the preschool age and runs up to University levels.
11

12. FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT NORDIC GENDER EQUALITY
8. All legal obstacles that excluded women from certain professions have long been removed.
9. Generous parental leave policies are perhaps the most important factor of the gender equality successes of all Nordic
countries. Parents get to share a total of 480 days of paid leave per child born or adopted, which leave must be claimed
before the child turns eight. Though in reality the bulk of parental leave is still taken by mothers, today fathers claim
about 20 percent or more of all parental leave. Each parent has 60-90 days of leave reserved specifically for him or her,
which are not transferable.
10. The Nordic Welfare Model provides for tax-financed basic social services, primarily health, childcare, education and
retirement benefits. This welfare model, which is based on a common set of basic values, of equal opportunities, social
solidarity and security for all, constitutes the backbone on which gender equality is based and has become successful.
11. Gender mainstreaming is prevalent and well budgeted in all Nordic countries.
12. Since the 1970’s, when the proportion of women in national Parliaments in the Nordic countries had already surpassed
20%, Political parties in nearly all Nordic countries had introduced voluntary gender quotas, which resulted in higher
numbers of female members of Parliament over the years.
13. In Finland the First Act on Gender Equality was introduced in 1986 and provides for gender balance in all state
committees and municipal boards.
14. In Norway, since 2003, publicly listed companies have been required to have 40 percent of each sex on their boards.
Other Nordic countries are adopting similar measures.

13. Representation of women
on boards of large publicly-listed companies in the EU, April 2014

14. European Commission
Directive on gender
balance on corporate
boards
• Targeting a 40%
representation of
women by 2020
• Adopted by European
Parliament in
November 2013
• Pending decision of
the European Council
,