Viking Magazine - April 2020 - 38

Ambassador's Insights
Gender Equality = Smart Economics
BY AMBASSADOR KÅRE R. AAS
W
omen's empowerment lies at the
heart of Norway's economic
policies.
Gender equality means realizing
the potential of both halves of the
population. For Norway, women's
participation is a pillar of our welfare
state and has played a key role in
our economic growth. Our gender
equality act is now more than 40
years old. During those 40 years a lot
has changed.
When 8 out of 10 mothers with small
children work in Norway, it is a result
of sound, targeted policies and political
priorities. These include subsidized
day care, statutory rights to paid
leave to stay home with sick children,
and a right to work part time when
one's children are young. Elementary
schools are required to offer after
school programs for children through
the fourth grade. Parents also receive
monthly child benefits.
Parental leave is another policy
priority that deserves attention. Here
in the United States, Congress recently
passed legislation providing 12 weeks
of paid parental leave to all federal
workers. I believe this is a big step in the
right direction.
Norway has a generous parental
benefit system. To allow mothers and
fathers to combine work life and family,
Norway's parental leave system has
evolved continuously since the 1970s.
Today, Norwegian parents share
approximately one year of fully paid
leave when they have a child. One third
is reserved for the mother, one third is
for the father, and one third is for the
parents to use however they choose.
38 VIKING APRIL 2020
sonsofnorway.com
Same-sex parents receive the same
benefits.
All of these policies try to achieve
the same goal: To increase work
participation by making it easier for
anyone-both men and women-to
combine having a family with having
a job.
While we have come a long way,
we are not perfect. Norway still has a
gender gap, especially when it comes to
pay. A woman's monthly salary is on
average 87% of a man's. This is partly
due to the fact that women work part
time more often than men, but we also
see that women are simply underpaid
when performing the same work as men.
Even though Norway's prime
minister, foreign minister, president of
the parliament and chief justice are all
women, men are overrepresented in the
private sector and executive positions.
Only about 20% of the chief executives
in our 200 largest companies are
women.
Gender equality goes both ways.
Certain disparities disproportionally
affect men and boys. For example, boys
in Norway are overrepresented in high
school dropout rates and among those
requiring special needs education in
elementary school. More women obtain
university degrees.
Norway's natural resources, although
important for our economy, cannot
replace the workforce as our most
important asset. Since the 1970s the
labor participation rate of women has
risen from 44% to 76%, and is now
only 5% lower than that of men. In
comparison, the average participation
rate of women among the OECD
countries is 16% lower than that
of men.
If Norway's rate of women's
participation were reduced to the OECD
average, our national wealth would be
reduced by an amount equal to the value
of our total oil and gas resources.
The pursuit of gender equality is
an ongoing, far-reaching job for any
government. The Norwegian experience
with paid parental leave and other
family benefits is a positive one. It
empowers women, promotes nondiscrimination,
gives both parents time
to bond with their children, and boosts
the economy.
About the Author
Ambassador Kåre R.
Aas currently serves as
Norway's Ambassador
to the United States.
facebook.com/
NorwegianEmbassyinWashington/
@kareraas
PHOTO BY BECCA DILLEY
http://www.facebook.com/ http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - April 2020

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