FEMINIST LETTER NO 14
To all feminists
The last couple of months there have been several interesting reports on the state of gender equality in this country of ours. It doesn’t look too good!In the ”Social Security Year book 2004 (Dec 2004) published by the National Social Insurance Board the area under discussion was “Women, men and sick leave”. It was observed in this publication that women, in their struggle for equal rights, challenge the norm for what are the generally accepted limitations or opportunities that life offer. Equivalent changes in men’s behaviour and their normative system has not taken place. Instead men have maintained a position of superiority in relation to women, both at home and in the labour market. The circumstances in which women and men live their lives are still essentially different and the Director General of the Social Insurance Board, Anna Hedborg, states in the introduction to the report that “differences in conditions of life and lack of equal opportunity has in all probability contributed towards the high rate of sick leave and early retirement among women”.
A week ago researchers Hélène Sandmark and Monica Renstig presented a survey of the ways in which women who have been long term absent on sick leave differ from healthy women.(DN.debate 10 Feb.)Their study shows, for instance, how women are squeezed between a work life that expects maximum participation and domestic life where men evade their responsibilities of looking after the home and the children. When pressure mounts and the body reacts with stress-related illness, the health services stand feebly by, do not hear, or see or understand.
In the report from the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman about parenthood and the working life (Parenthood, report on the current situation with available facts and information Jan 2005) there is a survey over recent research, reports and studies within this field. The survey makes it clear that children turn men into “dads” and women into “parents”. While men can choose the level of involvement as a parent, parenthood is a non-negotiable commitment for women. While parental leave is self-evident for women, the very same parental leave is seen as a desirable choice in the eyes of society, an “enjoyable” and “instructive” opportunity to be encouraged, rewarded and appreciated. Men today take 18% of the total number of days for parental leave. As much as 60 % of the men do not take any parental leave at all during the child’s first year. Both the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman and the trade unions have documented that women are reporting that they are more frequently being asked during job interviews about possible planned pregnancies, that they have had to leave or interrupt probational posts because of pregnancy, that they have been transferred to another position or been dismissed during parental leave, are given less qualified work, are passed over for promotion, have their salaries reduced etc etc.
In December last year a report was also published by the committee charged with following up issues around legislation on violence against women ” Slag i luften”, (literally ”hitting the air” , figuratively an empty gesture or a waste of effort), an investigation into public authorities, men’s violence and power.”(SOU 2004:121). The committee members here come to the conclusion that the legislative measures against men’s violence adopted during the nineties, the most concentrated effort hitherto to deal with the issue, has hitherto been no more than “ hitting the air”. Men’s violence against women is still a concern with low priority and the authorities responsible for taking measures to deal with the issue diminish the magnitude of the problem. The authorities entrusted by the government in 1998 with the task of fighting the violence have generally done very little or nothing at all. Little money has been spent, training has been inadequate throughout and coordination between authorities has not worked. The work that nevertheless has been carried out has usually taken the form of projects and consequently faded out after the project has come to an end. The reluctance to accept the magnitude of the problem and its significance for society has resulted in the issue losing political precedence.
The same picture is given by Amnesty’s report ”The issue has not been given priority ”(an enquiry into the work of Swedish authorities in fighting men’s violence against women., Dec. 2004). It showed that the subject of men’s violence against women and children is still far down on the list of priorities of local authorities. Several local authorities lack plans of action, only a few have emergency centres, so that women’s centres around the country have to rely on voluntary efforts and voluntary financial support.
The myth about Sweden as a gender equal country is falling to pieces. As our understanding grows, it becomes increasingly clear that the rhetoric hides from view what is actually going on in practice. Facts tell us that with society being organised the way it is, neither private life nor working life functions particularly well; for women, i.e. for half of the population. The patriarchal order is both out of date and inhuman.
I myself have challenged ministers responsible to debate these issues, by asking questions in parliament, (these can be found in full on my home page, www.schyman.se) questions addressed to the prime minister, the minister of labour, the health minister and the minister of equal opportunities about how they look at the situation and what they intend to do. Since we have a government that says it will pursue feminist policies, I expect answers concerning such issues as public responsibility for financing women’s centres, vigorous efforts to increase understanding of gender power structures, better wages in service and caring sectors, a modern reform of working hours, individualised parental leave, a gender conscious health service and medical research etc, etc, etc.
High time, therefore, to debate these issues in every available arena, not forgetting the political ones!
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