City for gender equality

If the goal of gender equality is to be achieved in municipal services and in the city's working environment, all employees of the municipality must have full awareness of gender equality issues. Mrs Solweig Gard, expert on gender equality in the city management office:

"Our strategy is to integrate gender equality into every work situation. A gender equality perspective shall be included in decision-making, planning and implementation. Proposals and decisions should be analysed from gender perspective to assess the consequences for women and men, girls and boys."

Supported by the Gender Equality Act, Karlstad has worked systematically over years to achieve greater equality in working conditions for men and women. Salaries are surveyed each year to reduce unfair salary differences between women and men, training courses are organised to counter sexual harassment, and men are encouraged to apply for jobs in healthcare. Also, measures are implemented to make working life and parenthood less complicated. Meetings and trainings are arranged so that parents can leave and fetch their children from day centres.

A right to full-time work

In many fields of work like elderly care and childcare, part-time job is common in Sweden. Since these are professions chosen mostly by women, this leads to unequal economic conditions. It is important for Karlstad to offer employees full-time employment, while offering part-time work as alternative. A system called HelRätt in Swedish, was introduced. It includes guidelines that all temporary jobs within the municipality shall be based on full-time appointments. It also means that part-time work is always considered a possibility whatever the reason.

Safety and Security

Safety and security, though essential for women and men, means different things for both. Women and girls use cities and urban areas differently than men and boys. The city environment programme states that women and men shall have the same opportunities to move freely in the city. It is therefore important that different experiences of women and men on how they use the urban environment are analysed and utilised in planning.

Gender teachers

Work on gender equality at schools involves a large process of change in which both school managers and gender teachers have roles to play. The aim for all schools and pre-schools is to have at least one gender teacher by 2012. Increased knowledge about gender issues has had a big effect on education.