Introduction: Nordic equality and anti-discrimination laws in the throes of change

• This book provides insights into the drive to achieve substantive gender equality in four Nordic countries: Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It draws a diverse and complex picture of the long, uneven, and unfinished process towards that goal. These countries’ systematic use of a combination of political and legal instruments has been described as the Nordic gender equality model. The overall aim of such an approach is to achieve substantive equality through a variety of measures that go beyond formal equality. Laws and policies on gender equality vary with the political, social and legal context in each of the Nordic countries, but the Nordic gender equality model may be understood as consisting of three key components. The first is an overarching gender equality policy. The second is welfare legislation that has an explicit or implicit impact on gender relations. The third component is what we refer to as ‘gender equality and anti-discrimination law regimes’: laws that prohibit gender discrimination and promote gender equality through proactive measures, in combination with low-threshold enforcement systems.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Juridik -- Juridik och samhälle (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Law -- Law and Society (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Juridik -- Juridik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Law -- Law (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Juridik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Law (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Genusstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Gender Studies (hsv//eng)

Keyword

overarching gender equality policy

welfare legislation that has an explicit or implicit impact on gender relations

gender equality and anti-discrimination law regimes

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)