FEMINIST LETTER NO 10
To all Feminists
The opening of Parliament took place with customary pomp and circumstance on Sept 14th. Between two musical contributions, one called “Granddad’s waltz”(everyone knows what playing a waltz means) – (in Swedish: leading someone a dance) and the other “Bon Soir”(which in popular French can imply –well, yes, here’s the usual old tune, but …)the Prime Minister presented his government declaration, an 11 page document consisting of about 365 lines of which (eight) focused on gender equality. The first two of these lines read as follows: ”For ten years Sweden has had a gender equal government. Many of us eagerly await a corresponding development within the Swedish economic sector.“ Taking it for granted that in politics the goal has been achieved!The fact that possibly everything is not quite satisfactory became evident in the following 6 lines. The government promised to make efforts to achieve gender equal nursery schools, or preschools, to put an end to the dismissal of employees on parental leave, to prevent the spreading of pictures with sexual connotations, and to put forward a programme of action against prostitution and trafficking in women and children.
Awareness of the fact that these various phenomena are the result of one and the same power structure, namely patriarchy, was conspicuously absent.
The theme throughout was “Economic growth for welfare” and the ministers called upon to participate represented the ministries of Culture, of Education, Trade and Industry and of Finance. In answer to my questions why the Minister responsible for Gender Equality was not present, and was not
the lack of gender equality an obstacle to economic growth, the government itself having pointed out in its report entitled Always Equal* that “The gender system limits democracy and hampers economic growth”, I was told that unless the whole population was employed , half of the population being women, stagnation would result in Sweden .(?!?)Further it was said that gender equality very probably was an important factor in economic growth, but that we had come a long way in Sweden. We still have a long way to go, and that we in the government are proud, but not content!
*( a play on words, the Swedish title also being a Swedish expression meaning constantly /all the time )
Speaking time is twice one minute, so any deeper discussion is out of the question, but it is striking how government policy constantly focuses on equal representation (equal number of women and men = gender equality) and on the labour market.
The budget presented in Parliament two weeks ago by the minister of finance, has been widely publicised in the media. A report that has not been accorded the same degree of attention is an off-print of appendix nr 4 to the budget “The distribution of economic resources between women and men”. Here we find an analysis of how house work , gainful employment , wages, allowances and subsidies, incomes and capital are distributed between women and men. Also the way in which income, wages and allowances etc are combined and allocated is accounted for. Here we learn that the following is still valid:
that
- the wage gap between women and men is significant. Women earn on an average 92% of men’s wages
- part - time employment is more common among women than men
- women are employed just about equally in the public and the private sector, whereas 80% men are employed in the private sector
- the labour market is strongly segregated according to sex, women and men have different professions, men being more often in better paid jobs and in higher positions
- women have throughout their lives lower income than men
- women have consistently lower allowances in social security systems than men
- welfare systems help up to a point to redistribute economic resources from men to women , but
- there is a risk at the same time that these welfare systems provide obstacles to a gender equal labour market in that they preserve traditional gender patterns involving
unpaid work in the home
- parenthood is “expensive” (lower income) over a 10-year period, costing 304 000 Skr for women and 10 000 for men.
- pensions, consequently, are 50 000 Skr less for women, and 1000 less for men
- the legal right to part time work (every parent’s right) is practically not exercised by men at all, and that consequently
- women pay a higher financial price as parents than men
Under the heading “Parental allowance” we learn that women claim 82% and men 18%, a fact that has its consequences. I quote: ”The uneven claim on parental allowance means that women more often than men are absent from the labour market for certain periods of time and for much longer periods of time than men. According to an appendix to the Long-Term Planning Commission this reflects on wages. Women are regarded by employers as a high risk group and pay a penalty accordingly where wages are concerned whether they intend to have children or not. If they do have children they pay an additional penalty. Men pay a penalty only if they take longer parental leave, thereby signalling to the employer that they belong to the high-risk group.”
These were just a few examples. There is a lot more to read, lots of texts and tables that all go to prove that the patriarchal power structures are still firmly rooted in our society. For those of us who want a change, this basic data is invaluable. Order it from the information department at the ministry of Finance, tel: 08-405 40 40 or by e-mail: info@finance.ministry.se), read it and above all – spread the message!
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