Conference on Part Time Work, 12th November 2014

Opening remarks by Eygló Harðardóttir,
Minister of Social Affairs and Housing and Minster for Nordic Cooperation Iceland

Dear guests,

It is  an honour  to welcome all of you to this Conference on Part Time Work in the Nordic Region.  A few weeks ago we celebrated 40 years of Nordic cooperation in the field of gender equality here in Reykjavík, with a large and successful Nordic conference. For the sixth year running, the World Economic Forum has ranked Iceland at the top on their list in the Global Gender Gap Index.  The other Nordic countries are in the following four positions on the list and this is a confirmation of the success that has been achieved in this area during the recent decades.

At the same time Nordic scholars have developed strong research communities across our region, and in relevance to the conference topic here today it is appropriate to ask what does gender have to do with part time work? The short answer is, a lot, as different ideas of masculinity and feminity are ingrained in our societies and only by analyzing of our gendered systems do we find hidden and concealed relations.  It is, for example, of great concern that we have not reached our aims on equal pay for equal work and that women still have a limited share of executive management positions in the economic sector.  Moreover we are concerned about the fact that the labour market still is highly gender segregated and that access to full employment is unevenly divided between men and women.

In the recent decades social patterns have moved away from a male bread-winner model to double-income families and studies have shown that the revolution in women's educational rates and the high level of female labour market participation have been the basis of welfare and economic prosperity in the Nordic countries. 

But even if family and household responsibilities have gradually become more equally shared between men and women, both statistics and research have shown that women still bear the heavier burden of family responsibilities, while men still contribute more to the household economy both in terms of direct income and hours spent in the labour market.

We have to ask ourselves demanding questions about how we can change the underlying structures that produce and reproduce gendered stereotypes and among others influence the stituation of women and men in labour market. The research project to be presented here today provides us with valuable information about how the genderd structures of our societies enable women and men to combine paid work with family responsibilities to a different degree.  We will learn that part time work is closely related to the issues of gender equality – we need to learn how we can provide a working enviroment that allows women and men to share their family responsibilities more equally and how we, for example, can organize the right to parental leave in order to achieve more balance in the labour market. 

And in order to change certain norms and attitudes which are based in embedded gendered structures, we sometimes need to start by changing the applicable laws and regulations.

Allow me to mention one Icelandic example of how a legislation can have multiple and sometimes unexpected effects.  The fourteen year old legislation on parental leave provides for equal rights between mothers and fathers as the leave is distributed evenly between them.

We have learned that providing parents with equal rights to care for their young children is a convincing argument for gender equality because it eventually creates the chances of men and women achieving a better quality of life. In fact 90 % of Icelandic fathers have used their entitlements of paternity leave and recent studies indicate that parents are dividing the care of young children up to three years old more equally. Moreover the positive effects of the Icelandic legislation also includes a more equal distribution of domestic responsibilities as well as a more equal standing of men and women in the labour market in the first years following the leave. Last but not least the law is transforming ideas among young people about masculinities as studies have shown that being a responsible father is considered as cool.

One of the gender equality issues prioritized by Iceland during this year in which we hold the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers has been men and gender equality.  Our experience has shown that it is not enough to put forth aims to increase men's involvement – we must put forth a convincing argument for the shared benefits of equality, benefits enjoyed by both men and women – and society as a whole.

Sharing best practices on gender equality for four decades now, the Nordic Council of Ministers' experience regarding the dynamics of gender equality is: gender equality does not come about of its own accord.  Neither does knowledge, thus we need to have both courage and curiosity to ask questions that for some may neither seem relevant nor important. 

I wish all of you every success in your endeavors and fruitful discussions during the conference.

Thank you.