Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
Women in politics in the Nordic countries - Statistics & Facts
Concerning gender equality, Scandinavia is often praised for leading the way towards greater equality between women and men in different fields. Historically, the Nordic countries consisting of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland, were indeed the vanguard of representing women in political institutions. To this day, most of the Nordics continue to dominate rankings on gender equality. As of 2023, Iceland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden were leading the global gender gap index together with New Zealand, an index which takes national gender gaps on political, economic, educational and health-based criteria into consideration.
While the Nordic countries generally perform well when measuring gender equality in politics, they differ on some interesting touchpoints. As of August 2023, two out of five prime ministers in the Nordic countries were women. When Finland's previous prime minister Sanna Marin took office in 2019, she was the youngest prime minister in the world at 34. Moreover, over 40 percent of the parliamentarians in all five Nordic countries are women. However, none of them have managed to reach the 50 percent mark yet.
Even though the gender pay gap in the Nordic countries is around the EU average, the gender pay gap is almost non-existent among politicians in the Nordic countries. For instance, women in central government positions in Sweden and Iceland earn roughly the same as men in the same positions. Furthermore, the Nordic countries are considered the best to work in for women in the world, with Sweden ranking highest. Female unemployment rates are also low in the Nordic countries.
While the Nordic countries generally perform well when measuring gender equality in politics, they differ on some interesting touchpoints. As of August 2023, two out of five prime ministers in the Nordic countries were women. When Finland's previous prime minister Sanna Marin took office in 2019, she was the youngest prime minister in the world at 34. Moreover, over 40 percent of the parliamentarians in all five Nordic countries are women. However, none of them have managed to reach the 50 percent mark yet.
Denmark as an outlier
Apart from not making the top-five on the global gender gap index, Denmark falls behind on other important parameters. Up until the election in 2022, Denmark was the only Nordic country which had never had more than 40 percent of women in parliament. Moreover, with around 38 percent, the share of female candidates in parliamentary elections continues to be lower than in other Nordic countries. Hence, Denmark continues having a gender gap in politics, although it seems to be decreasing. According to Danish politicians, the extent of harassment and threats are more common among women. During the 2022 election campaign, nearly 20 percent of the female politicians in the country experienced sexual harassment, and three in four experienced unwanted inquires or hateful comments. This is, unfortunately, unlikely to be a particular phenomenon for Denmark, though, as women tend to be overrepresented on similar statistics.Gender (in)equality in the Nordics
When compared to other European countries, sexual harassment against women is not uncommon in Scandinavia. To the contrary, women in Sweden and Denmark actually experience some of the highest levels of sexual harassment in Europe. Many experts believe that this is connected to a lower threshold of reporting in the Nordic countries compared to several other European countries. However, it has also been suggested that the high levels of sexual violence in the Nordic countries is related to gender emancipation, the theory being that this leads to higher conflict levels between pairs. The high levels of sexual violence in the Nordic countries in spite of their status as gender equal countries has been called the Nordic paradox.Even though the gender pay gap in the Nordic countries is around the EU average, the gender pay gap is almost non-existent among politicians in the Nordic countries. For instance, women in central government positions in Sweden and Iceland earn roughly the same as men in the same positions. Furthermore, the Nordic countries are considered the best to work in for women in the world, with Sweden ranking highest. Female unemployment rates are also low in the Nordic countries.
