Gleichstellungspolitik in Nordeuropa: Quotenregelungen für Eltern und Führungskräfte

This article focuses on four of the five Nordic countries (we do not include Iceland) and two different yet distinctive Nordic gender equality policy innovations: childcare policies, including “daddy quotas” in parental leave, and corporate board quotas. We demonstrate that although the Nordic countries to some extent have adopted similar policies, they are also characterized by significant variations, and we question the idea of a common Nordic model of gender equality and welfare. The countries may be ranked together, when gender equality is measured in terms of employment, or politics, but they differ in relation to specific policies and discourses, and they have followed different trajectories. The official Nordic self-representation often interprets gender equality as a Nordic specialty. In general, childcare policies and gender quota policies have contributed to the promotion of gender equality. Our article shows that the redistributive welfare policies have generated far-reaching gender equality. The success can be seen especially in the integration of women in education and work, whereby women have gained greater economic autonomy. However, we argue that considerable gender inequalities continue to persist, which pose ongoing challenges for gender equality policies in the Nordic countries.