Women in Politics

Equality and Empowerment

"If women are to have any say in the lives they lead, they must enter politics."Fernanda Nissen (1862-1920), Norwegian feminist and politician

Norwegian women gaining political ground

"It is in the interests of society as a whole that women's values and women's sense of justice be integrated into political life."

These words were spoken by Gro Harlem Brundtland, the Norwegian Prime Minister who attracted international attention in 1986 when she formed a Government in which nearly half of the members were women. The proportion of women in subsequent governments has remained relatively constant at between one third and one half. In the 1993 elections to the Storting, the Norwegian national assembly, three of the candidates for prime minister were women. Two more milestones were reached that same year: 39 per cent of the representatives elected to the Storting were women, and a woman was chosen to be President of the Storting, one of the highest positions in the public sector. This is the largest number of women ever to win seats in the Storting and the first time the position of President of the Storting has been held by a woman. Norwegian women have entered the realm of politics with a vengeance.

How has this come about? The following gives an account of the social and political framework needed for this development to take place. First, however, a look at some vital aspects of Norwegian history.

Equality and democracy

From an historical viewpoint, Norway is a young nation. For almost 400 years, Norway was a province of the kingdom of Denmark. When Denmark was forced to give Norway up in 1814, the country was ceded to Sweden. Norway and Sweden subsequently formed a union which lasted until 1905. Only then did Norway become an independent nation. Norway's constitution, one of the most democratic of its time, was drawn up in 1814. The time spent under Danish rule had served to strengthen and maintain democratic values in the minds of the Norwegian people. In fact, in comparison with other European countries, Norway has always been known as an egalitarian society in which differences between the classes have always been relatively minor. The rich are few in number, as are the poor.

After the Second World War, the principles of equality and democracy were further reinforced when social democracy was established as the form of government. Characteristic features of this type of government are a dynamic public sector which oversees the welfare of the nation's citizens, control over capital forces and, last but not least, the considerable influence exercised by employers' and employees' organizations. Conflicts between Labour and Capital are resolved by negotiations which to a great extent are conducted in an atmosphere of consensus and harmony.

Social democracy also has a tradition of viewing the State as a friend, not as an enemy. The State is regarded as open and accessible, willing to listen and to redress any imbalance in society. The Norwegian State has thus been considered to be sensitive to the situation of women. Since the 1970s, the Norwegian authorities, influenced by the new, radical women's movement, have consciously pursued a policy to integrate ideas on equality between the sexes into the government administration. With the State as its ally, the women's movement has regarded the recruitment of women into politics as an important political goal. Women needed to gain entry to the decision-making process and they needed to lay the basis for policies which would safeguard their interests themselves rather than be content to rely on men to do it for them.

The growth of the new womens' movement

The position Norwegian women now enjoy in politics is largely due to the new women's movement which emerged towards the end of the 1960s. The feminist ideas of the time had a major impact on society. The high level of political activity in the movement also revitalized the traditional women's organizations. Women began to stage protests and arrange demonstrations. The movement's objective was the liberation of women from their oppressed position in society. With the acknowledgement of female sexuality and the right to control reproduction, sexual liberation played a key role in the struggle for women's rights. Important demands included accessibility to and counselling on contraception and abortion. The right to education and to a job and rights for women working in the home were also issues included on the agenda. The demand for political representation gained importance.

Women learned to make their way in politics, all the while gaining self-confidence. Many joined political parties and are now to be found as representatives in the Storting.

Women in the work force, education and research

There have been two important "revolutions" which have had a decisive effect on the position of women in Norwegian society today. The first occurred in the 1960s and 1970s when large numbers of women entered the work force. In 1965, approximately nine out of ten mothers with small children worked in the home. Today, the situation is approaching the opposite, with nine out of ten mothers with small children employed outside the home. Participation of mothers in the work force increases with the age of the children. Statistics from 1993 show that 72 per cent of mothers with small children between the ages of 0 and 2 years are employed.

The other "revolution" started in the early 1980s as young women poured into the education system. There has been enormous growth at both middle and higher education levels in Norway since 1975, largely due to the rising number of women seeking education. Women account for 52 and 55 per cent of the total number of students enrolled at Norwegian universities and colleges today. Although the Norwegian education sector and labour market remain strongly divided by gender, it is clear that women are gaining a stronger foothold in many educational programmes. Women have penetrated "male bastions" such as medicine, law and economics, and one woman researcher predicts that within ten years all the courses of study available in Norway will have been feminized.(1) This trend can be expected to have an impact on traditional gender divisions in the labour market, increasing the number of women in jobs traditionally dominated by men.

Higher education makes it possible for women to enter into research. Although the percentage of women recruited into research is still small, women are starting to make headway. In 1991, women comprised 38 per cent of the new researchers hired at institutions. In 1980, only 10 per cent of those pursuing a doctoral degree were women, whereas by 1991 this figure had increased to 21 per cent. However, in the past 10-20 years, many women have achieved positions of high status in the research community, in women's studies and many other fields.

The importance of gaining political power has been emphasised not only by the women's movement but also by the research community. Political power would enable women to break free from their subordinate position and play an active role in changing society in such a way as to promote women's interests. This is the reason why many prominent women engaged in social research became politically active, either in the women's movement or parties on the political left, or both.

We have given a brief account of the historical and social background for the strong and increasing presence of women in Norwegian politics. We will now go on to consider similarly relevant aspects of the Norwegian political system.

The Party System

Egalitarian values hold a strong position in Norwegian society and as a result the members of the Norwegian national assembly are drawn from all aspects of soceity.(2) This system of broad recruitment is crucial to the political representation of women, and takes place by means of political selection processes in a party system. The party system is the power base of political life. The political parties compete for votes and control the nomination of candidates to important political appointments. In other words, political recruitment and activity are channelled through the party system so that the voters actually vote for parties, not individuals. This kind of selection process provides a good basis for women seeking political power.

Campaigns and quotas

However, experience has shown that the proportion of women in political institutions does not increase unless special measures and methods are employed. Campaigns and gender quotas have been the methods most commonly utilized.

Campaigns have primarily been run prior to local elections where a much greater effect may be achieved than at general elections. The campaigns have encouraged voters and parties to cumulate women candidates. By means of cumulation, voters may enter the name of a candidate several times or put a mark beside his or her name. Parties may also cumulate in advance by entering the name of a candidate twice. The first campaign was launched by various women's organizations prior to the 1967 local elections. An intensive media campaign was run to create public support for an increase in the number of women in the municipal councils. One of the slogans was "Don't cross out a woman candidate because she's a woman". After these elections, the proportion of women municipal council members rose from 6 to 9.5 per cent.

But the real impact was felt in the 1971 local elections. As a result of voter cumulation, the proportion of women municipal council members rose from 9.5 to 15 per cent. On three municipal councils, including that of the capital, Oslo, women were in the majority. There was an outcry. The newspapers carried headlines like "Women win in knock-out at this year's elections" and "Political amazons storm the town hall". Prior to the local elections of 1975, the Year of the Woman, there were no campaigns. This resulted in an increase in women representatives of only 0.6 per cent, proving the necessity of campaigns. Since then, campaigns have been run at every election.

In the past few years, the campaigns prior to municipal and county elections have been organized jointly by the Equal Status Council and women's organizations and funded by the public authorities.

Quotas have proved an effective means of achieving a more equal distribution of women and men in political insitutions. The use of quotas in political institutions was a controversial issue when first introduced in the 1970s by the Socialist Left Party and the Liberal Party. Today, four of the six major Norwegian parties apply a gender quota system when appointments are made to party insitutions and electoral lists compiled. The Labour Party introduced gender quotas at all political levels in 1983. This resulted in what became known as the "women's Government" when the Labour Party, headed by Gro Harlem Brundtland, came to power in 1986.

The table below shows the representation of women in the Government, the Storting and municipal councils from 1980 to 1994. Figures are percentages.

As indicated in the table, the proportion of women in government increased dramatically up to 1990, while the percentage of women on municipal councils increased somewhat more slowly. At the 1991 municipal elections, the proportion of women decreased slightly. The percentage of women in the Storting has increased steadily up to and including the present electoral period.

Surveys show that there are clear, gender-based divisions with regard to the political spheres dealt with by men and women politicians. Women tend to show greater interest in issues concerning welfare and social policy, environmental protection and disarmament, education and equal opportunities. Men tend to prefer economics and industrial policy, energy and transport, and not least foreign and security policy.

The political impact of women representatives

Has the integration of women into the political arena in Norway had any effect on party policies? In answer to a survey, Norwegian politicians point to three main areas: social and welfare policy, environmental policy and policy related to care functions. In particular, there have been major changes in a relatively short period of time in policy regarding the care of children.

These political changes include a number of measures which make it easier for parents with small children to combine child care with employment, such as the following:

• From 1987 onwards, the period of paid maternity leave has gradually been extended. In 1990, maternity leave was 28 weeks with full pay or 35 weeks on an 80 per cent wage. From 1 April 1993, maternity leave was extended to 42 weeks with full pay or 52 weeks on an 80 per cent wage.
• A quota of 4 weeks' paternity leave was introduced as from

1 April 1993. This leave is reserved for fathers and may not be utilized by any other party.

• A new part-time system for parents allowing them to save up time in an "account" will come into force as from 1 July 1994. This system will enable parents to take portions of their paid leave in combination with part-time resumption of work. This will give parents the opportunity to work shorter working hours without losing pay.
• The number of places at day-care facilities was almost doubled in the 1980s. In 1992, there were day-care facilities for 43 per cent of children between 0 and 6 years of age, while there were facilities for 50 per cent of children between the ages of 1 and 6 years.

The Equal Status Act

The women's movement and women politicians, especially from the Labour Party and the Socialist Left Party, were actively involved in the formulation of the Equal Status Act, which entered into force in 1979. Initially, the purpose of the Act was to prevent discrimination of women in working life with respect to job appointments and wages. These are key principles under the Act. However, the Act has also acquired a somewhat broader objective, which is to promote equal status between the sexes within all sectors of society with special emphasis on improving the situation of women. Women and men are to be given equal opportunities with regard to education, work and cultural and professional development. Internal matters in religious communities are excepted from the Act. The Equal Status Act is enforced by the Equal Status Ombud.

The existence of the Equal Status Council, established in 1972, is stipulated in the Equal Status Act. The council serves as a liaison between the authorities, organizations and the public on matters to do with equal status.

A new provision, #21, was included in the Equal Status Act in 1981, requiring a 40 per cent representation of both sexes on all public boards, councils and committees. This provision serves not only to increase the percentage of women in central government, municipal and county councils and committees in general, but also helps to redress any imbalance in representation on committees where men tend to congregate in "heavy-weight" areas, such as economics, agriculture, communications, technology and defence, while women tend to seek out "soft" areas such as health and care. The "40 per-cent-rule" was also incorporated in the Local Government Act in 1992.

(1) Marit Hoel: "Kvinners yrkesløp i dagens Norge" a lecture dealing with the working lives of women in contemporary Norway, given at the seminar on women and welfare, "Kvinner, slå ring om velferden", held 22-23 August 1993 at Sørmarka and arranged by the Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions, Samvirke Forsikring and the Workers' Educational Association in Norway.

(2) Some of the material presented here is taken from Hege Skjeie's doctoral thesis on the political meaning of gender, "Den politiske betydningen av kjønn. En studie av norsk topp-politikk", and her lecture "From movement to government: women's political integration in Norway" held in Paris in May 1994 at a meeting arranged by "Association Nationale des Etudes Feministes".

(3) Electoral periods 1977-1981, 1985-1989, 1989-1993 and 1993-1997.

(4) Electoral periods 1979-1983, 1983-1987, 1987-1991 and 1991-1995.