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Report 2003Perspective and action plan 2004 PrefaceMy goal as Danish Minister for Gender Equality is to empower every girland boy, every woman and man to choose the life she or he wants.
We must appreciate each individual’s resources and never let gender becomea barrier in working or private life. We must allow women to be executivesand give men the space to become fathers.
To achieve this goal, we must first take steps to prevent genderdiscrimination and second to ensure that specific activities are initiatedwhere help is needed and gender equality problems occur.
As new minister in 2001, I had set a number of priorities for gender equalitywork that I believed needed special attention. In 2002, these priorities weretransformed into practical policy, such as a number of new action plans. In2003, the priorities were translated into specific activities.
In 2004, I have made gender equality work a top priority, and for this reasonhave introduced only two new action areas. This is because I believe wehave to create the space to study the action areas currently in focus moreclosely. Activities need to span several years, so we can reap the benefits oflong-term action. A strategy of this kind will ensure that political measuresare allowed to take root and blossom over time.
This means that in 2004 I will continue addressing such special action areasof gender equality work as the fight against violence against women,trafficking in women, integration, youth and gender roles as well as womenin management, research and local politics. I will also devote my resourcesto the issue of reducing gender segregation in the labour market, one aimbeing to narrow the differences in pay between women and men. New actionareas will include men and gender equality as well as active old age withequal opportunities.
Furthermore, in 2004 I will intensify our work on motivating others toconsider gender aspects within their fields of responsibility. To make gendermainstreaming effective, we need to cooperate with other institutions,typically ministries, whether the issue is gender equality in the labour marketor integration of immigrants in Danish society. Bolstered by such action, Iintend to ensure that gender equality initiatives have a long-term andpermanent effect and that they expand to cover all policy areas.
Henriette KjærMinister for Gender Equality The Danish Government’s gender equality objectivesThe Government wants to create equal opportunities for women and men. Itsgoal is for women and men to be seen as equals and have equal opportunitiesfor making their choices. With this in mind, the government will strive tobreak down the barriers preventing individual women and men from leadingthe lives they want. The government wants respect for diversity and respectfor the individual’s personal choice. Gender equality is a crux of Denmark’sdemocracy.
Values in gender equality workThe gender equality debate is alive. Opinions abound and differ, but this iswhat gives a debate its vivacity, relevance and balance. Such a debate willresult in balanced and qualified solutions.
Gender equality lies at the heart of true democracy, and the key values ingender equality work are fairness, equal status, self-determination and theright to diversity.
Fairness is a fundamental value of gender equality policy, building on aphilosophy that we are all equal. It is unfair, for example, that women arepaid less than men for the same work or that a father is unable to havecustody of his child simply because he is a man.
Another important value in gender equality policy is that neither women normen must be forced into making certain choices. Individuals must be able tocontrol their own lives. Consequently, we must also enable individuals toachieve self-determination in their own lives. For instance, the Governmentshould not decide how much leave a woman or man takes – that decisionshould be up to the individual family. The right to make individual choicesmust be upheld. This said, however, we must also keep in mind that barrierscan deny people the freedom of choice. For example, much indicates thatwomen have a harder time becoming executives and men a harder timetaking leave. Gender equality policy must therefore aim at removing thesebarriers, so people have the freedom of choice.
The Government is focusing on the individual because we need a multitudeof activities and initiatives to give women and men equal opportunities tolead the lives they want. In this respect, gender equality policyfundamentally depends on ensuring the right to diversity. In many ways,women and men lead similar lives, but the differences between women andmen must be recognised. We must not strive to be alike – but to be equal.
Diversity in terms of ethnicity, gender and age is important for individualsand society at large, and resources are put to optimum use when differencesare used positively.
Action areas in 2004Gender equality in management, politics and scienceFour percent of top executives in the private sector are female. Less than onethird of local councillors in Denmark are women, and the share of femalescientists remains at about one fifth, while only about 10% of all professorsare women.
It is a problem for women and for Danish society that so few women sit atthe top of the hierarchy. It is in the interest of society to use all its resources– including those possessed by well-educated and highly qualified women.
The Government has set this development in motion and shifted focus to allthree action areas. It is no longer a question of discussing whether a problemexists or of identifying the barriers responsible for the current trends. It is aquestion of what can be done to change these trends.
As the Government sees it, we achieve the best results through cooperationand by creating a direct dialogue with institutions and companies. Thechallenge is to take concerted action to provide information, motivatepeople, offer good advice and find good examples, and to make suchexamples visible to everyone. This will allow focus to shift from the barriersto the good examples and the lessons we can learn from them.
Women in management in the private sectorThe objective is to convince the corporate sector that channelling morewomen into management is good business.
Backed by new initiatives, cooperation with organisations and companieswill continue as will the series of meeting on key issues for sound businessstrategies. A number of other activities will also be launched, including aconference entitled ‘Women in corporate management’ scheduled for 8March 2004, the International Women’s Day.
Cooperation with other European countries will also continue with a view toaccumulating European experience, mainly in the recruitment of women forexecutive jobs. The results will be presented in 2004.
Women in politicsGender breakdown in local politics is very uneven. So, initiatives in thisrespect aim to increase the number of women in local politics for the 2005local elections and in the long run.
In 2003, efforts were made – in cooperation with local politicians all overDenmark – to build knowledge on what initiatives can increase the share ofwomen in local councils. Accordingly, activities in 2004 will aim todisseminate this information in the form of good advice and specificproposals on how to raise the number of women in local councils. In 2004, aEuropean study will follow up on this work on mapping women’sparticipation.
Women in scienceDenmark has a remarkably low number of female scientists – not least inrelation to many of the countries with which we usually compare ourselves,and the Government aims to change the gender imbalance.
Focus in 2004 will be not only on the few female scientists and professors,but also on the multitude of talented young women who form part of therecruitment basis, but decide against a career as scientists today. In addition,we must assess the possibilities of new university legislation and determinethe methods useful in strengthening gender equality work all the way to thetop echelons of the universities.
A conference will take place in 2004 in cooperation with the Ministry ofScience, Technology and Innovation on how to increase the number ofwomen in research. Its aim is to produce a wide range of proposals and goodadvice that can help university managements, scientists and other involvedparties change the situation.
A think tank will also be set up to generate ideas on how to reverse this trendand what it will take to do so.
Targeted integration seen in a gender perspectiveGender equality among ethnic minorities in Denmark is a key Governmentgoal in integration and gender equality work. Gender equality is one of thedemocratic values on which we build our society, and respect for theindividual must be in focus. The advantages of cultural diversity must berendered visible, but the need to base the initiatives on fundamentalprinciples like gender equality and self-determination for individuals mustalso be clear.
In many groups of ethnical minorities, inequalities between women and menare great and differ in many ways from the gender equality problemsencountered by ethnic Danish women and men. Financial independence is apivotal factor in ensuring gender equality for women. In gender equalitypolicy terms, financial independence was a key task for Danish women inthe 1960s and 1970s, and should now be a central action area for ethnicminority women. For this reason, we need to examine how more ethnicwomen can join the labour market.
Activities in 2004 will be based on the action plan for initiatives to counterforced, semi-forced and arranged marriages.
Furthermore, the Government will generally give priority to gender-differentiated integration initiatives, for example by increasing the share ofethnic women in the labour market and by promoting the participation andretention of minority boys in various types of training and educationalprogrammes.
Another key gender equality challenge within the groups of ethnic minoritiesis to raise young people's awareness of cultural differences in the genderequality area. Culture and gender role patterns are interrelated, and the groups of young people with other cultural backgrounds run a great risk ofexperiencing conflicts between their parents’ culture and upbringing and thesociety the young people know through schools and friends.
Some initiatives will therefore entail fostering debate among young peopleon issues such as marriage, family matters, expectations for girls and boys,training and educational choices and careers, etc.
Violence against womenEvery year 65,000 women are exposed to violence or threats of violence, andin two thirds of the cases the assailants are current or former partners. Everyyear 29,000 children see their mothers subjected to domestic violence. About2,000 women and just as many children stayed in women shelters inDenmark in 2002.
The Government intends to combat such violence and to support women andchildren exposed to it. Consequently, the Government has since March 2002strengthened the initiatives to combat violence against women, especially byimplementing the action plan to fight violence against women.
An amount of DKK 100 million has been earmarked for these initiatives.
Activities are targeted at helping women and children exposed to violence, atintroducing proactive measures to break the cycle of violence and treatabusers and to foster public debate to break the taboo surrounding domesticviolence.
Activities in 2004 will be wide-ranging and aim at several target groups.
Shelter staff, for example, will receive training so they can better supportbattered women of ethnic minority backgrounds. At regional seminars,professionals will evaluate and develop the information campaign staged inthe winter of 2002-2003, and toolkits targeted at five different groups ofprofessionals will be made available. We must mobilise the media andsociety at large, for example in connection with the launch of a nationaldatabase on violence against women. This database will be able to give acurrent picture of the extent and nature of violence against women.
Furthermore, attention will remain focused on research and knowledgeaccumulation, for instance through a study of why violent Danish menimport foreign women.
Trafficking in womenAn ever-growing group of foreign women are victims of trafficking.
Organised ringleaders transport the victims to Denmark, isolating thesewomen and keeping them in a relationship of exploitation. The women aregenerally afraid to express their opinions for fear of reprisals from theringleaders and also dare not contact the police.
According to the European Commission, at least 120,000 women andchildren are victims of human trafficking in western European countries, andorganised crime in this area is growing. A large number of these women come from eastern Europe. Denmark is estimated to have about 2,000-2,500foreign prostitutes, some of whom are victims of trafficking.
The Government’s clear objective is to prevent women from being traffickedto Denmark, just as the Government aims to support the women who havealready become victims of trafficking. Against this backdrop, theGovernment launched an action plan in 2002 against trafficking in women.
The action plan contains specific initiatives to support victims in Denmarkand to prevent trafficking and re-trafficking of the women. The action planactivities were initiated in broad cooperation with NGOs and otherorganisations.
Efforts to combat trafficking in women will continue in 2004. Activities willcentre on support and advice for the victims of trafficking, including street-level support and repatriation as well as further training of professionals, allof which is meant to reinforce the initiatives in supporting victims andcombating trafficking in women. Furthermore, documentation andknowledge on trafficking in women will be compiled in 2004, and the effectof the strengthened initiatives will be assessed, for instance at a large mid-term seminar in early 2005, when the activities of the action plan will beevaluated.
Young people and modern gender rolesThe lifestyles of girls and boys differ greatly. If we compare, say, boys’ andgirls’ health and their body images, we see a fundamental difference in howthey relate to themselves and the surrounding world. For example, boyscontract infectious diseases more often and are injured more frequently thangirls. But boys generally see themselves as being in better health than girlsdo. Girls generally report having a lower sense of well-being than boys;many girls, for example, suffer from a lack of appetite and feel that theirlives are full of insurmountable obstacles.
One reason for these differences is the massive number of gender imagesaffecting how girls and boys see themselves, how they should look and whatinterests they should have. These images impact not only on girls’ and boy’sself-perceptions and health, but also contribute to narrowing the scope oftheir development, causing them to make traditional and gender-stereotypechoices when it comes to training and education, jobs and partners.
Activities in 2004 will build on initiatives staged in 2003, when theGovernment put key themes such as food habits, exercise patterns and drugmisuse as well as gender images on the agenda. Gender equality initiativeswill be based on the idea that girls and boys must be guaranteed free choicesand that gender differences do not lock people into certain lifestyle andgender role patterns.
We must give fresh impetus to the public debate on and with young people,for example by regularly addressing new issues. The Government wants tocreate a direct dialogue with young people, and a number of workshops willbe held all over Denmark allowing young people to suggest how initiatives against issues such as smoking and alcohol can be targeted at both girls andboys.
Workshops, debates and new knowledge will be followed up viapublications that young people, teachers, youth workers, parents and otherprofessionals can use as inspiration for discussions on youth, gender andlifestyle choices.
Labour market and reconciliation of working and family lifeThe Danish labour market enjoys a high degree of gender equality. Denmarkhas one of the world’s highest activity rates for women, and both women’sand men’s qualification levels are very high.
Yet Denmark continues to have one of the most gender-segregated labourmarkets in Europe, and we can still work harder to reconcile working andfamily life.
The gender-segregated labour market and equal pay will be some of the keyfocus areas in the government’s labour-market activities for 2004. Bothwomen and men derive a large number of consequences from the genderimbalance, one example being that large differences in pay cause a disparityin women’s and men’s pension savings. Another example is the gender-stereotype perceptions of female and male jobs that may limit an individual’schoice of job. A third example is the traditional workplace culturesgenerated by a gender-segregated labour market, which may create barriersto taking maternity or paternity leave, for example.
The Government has set the goal of helping to soften the gender-segregatedlabour market.
The 2004 activities will aim to stimulate debate, sharpen focus and createknowledge on solutions concerning the gender-segregated labour market –more specifically in relation to equal pay. To this end, an inter-ministerialworking group will be formed, charged with making proposals for how thelabour market can become less gender-divided.
A major part of wage formation is decentralised, occurring at workplaces.
For this reason, the Government will initiate a dialogue with the socialpartners and companies, with a view to establishing a joint basis and somemodels for embedding a gender perspective into the pay formation process.
Reconciliation of working and family life will also be in focus in 2004. TheGovernment has set up a committee to map this area and draw up specificinitiatives to ease the everyday life of families with children.
Gender mainstreamingThe campaign to integrate gender equality into all policy areas in the day-to-day administration of ministries and government agencies is in full swing.
Introducing a gender aspect in day-to-day activities is a lengthy processbecause it entails working with core responsibilities in the individualministries.
Traditionally, gender equality work has centred on the number of womenand men in a variety of job categories, and initiatives have been targeted atincreasing the share of female executives or the number of male clericalstaff. The gender mainstreaming strategy represents a rethinking of genderequality work, because it involves core responsibilities in the relevant area.
Gender mainstreaming improves the quality of both the work on genderequality and the general work in the relevant ministry. This is becausegender mainstreaming represents an efficient, resource-conscious approachto gender-equality work, focusing on enhancing the quality of decisions andinitiatives. Many of the mechanisms today causing gender inequality areunintended and can be avoided if their impact is analysed before a decisionis made. This elevates the quality.
Excellent results have already been achieved in various areas. Someministries focus on gender mainstreaming of bills, while others haveincorporated gender in, for instance, their campaigning activities. Bothapproaches have improved the quality of the work.
The Government’s aim is to integrate gender equality into the policy areasand to make the gender perspective an assessment parameter in political andadministrative decisions. This aim has required continuous intensive effortsaimed at implementing the gender mainstreaming strategy in the Danishcentral government.
In 2004, the Government will achieve this aim, by widely disseminatinginformation on the results of the inter-ministerial gender mainstreamingproject and on the development of tools, by continuing to organise trainingdays and maintain and nurture the inter-ministerial network and bycontinuing to offer consultancy to the ministries. A comprehensivecollection of examples describing gender mainstreaming projects realisedinside and outside Denmark will be compiled and published to serve as an“eye opener” and inspiration source for both managers and employees in thecentral government.
Men and gender equalityIncluding men in gender equality work is nothing new, but as genderequality policies increasingly move away from considering women asvictims and gender equality as women’s business, we need to make genderequality policies a common issue for women and men. Gender equalityapplies to both genders, and it must become clear that gender equalitypolicies also benefit men, allowing them, for instance, a better chance ofparticipating in family life.
Men also experience specific gender equality problems in the labour market,in the family and in relation to their lifestyles. This means, e.g., that we need to know why women live longer than men or whether the system treats menin crisis appropriately.
In 2004, the government will focus on various aspects of men and genderequality. Men as fathers will be the subject of special attention, and workwill likewise be targeted at giving men a more prominent place in the overallgender equality debate.
Activities will aim at pinning down the problem areas, for example men andhealth, at creating a natural public debate on men and gender equality and atclarifying facts, prejudices and myths about parenthood, family andrelationships.
An active and gender-equal old ageWomen and men experience old age differently, partly because they oftenhave different lifespans. Thus, old women and old men may have vastlydifferent expectations to their old age. This fact impacts greatly on howwomen and men experience and receive activity offers.
Much indicates that today’s male generation finds it harder than women toshift to a life in retirement, and that men find it more difficult to developnew interests and social networks. Thus, many - especially single - menbecome lonely, experience loss of functional capacity and have inferiorhealth.
Whether this will also hold true for future male pensioners, and whether itwill hold true for future generations of female pensioners who have heldfull-time jobs, remains to be seen.
The Government aims to ensure good conditions for old people. For theactivating efforts to work, activities targeted at old people must be organisedfrom a gender perspective.
A total of DKK 22 million of the rate adjustment pool means has beenallocated over 4 years (2004-2007) for the project “An active old age –prevention and activation for old people”. The Ministry of Social Affairswill join the Department of Gender Equality in realising the project. Oneaspect of the project aims at maintaining or improving social networks andoffering physical activities to men, while another aspect involves the launchof a study on old women’s and men’s desires for an active old age in thefuture. The study includes a major analysis of what expectations old womenand men in the 55-57-year-old and the 65-67-year-old ranges have to anactive old age, and will also pave the way for providing generally gender-differentiated offers to old people.
Report of gender equality activities in 2003 Major parts of 2002 were spent on preparing action plans, making genderequality visible under the EU Presidency and analysing where the genderequality challenges lay and what actions could be taken to meet the Government’s aims for gender equality policies. And 2003 was the year thatsaw many of the visions realised.
As a result, the last year has been marked by extensive work aimed atlaunching actual activities, establishing networks and enhancingpartnerships.
In 2003, we launched more activities and more cooperation with NGOs,companies and organisations than ever before.
This year's report describes a range of the results achieved in the prioritisedareas. But in addition to this, gender equality work also encompasses a rangeof tasks that are rooted in legislation and thus completely essential topolitical gender equality work - e.g. gender mainstreaming efforts. Thereport describes all these tasks at the national as well as the internationallevel.
National gender equality workThe 2003 perspective and action plan prioritised the following themes: • Targeted integration seen in a gender perspective• Combating violence against women• Human trafficking• Health for women and men• Gender equality in management, politics and science• Youth culture and modern gender roles• Gender equality on the labour market• Mainstreaming – an efficient gender equality strategy Targeted integration seen in a gender perspectiveIn cooperation with the Ministry of Integration, an action plan was drawn upfor the government’s activities in the period 2003-2005 targeted at forcedmarriages, semi-forced marriages and arranged marriages.
The action plan emphasised values such as free choice, protection ofindividuals and gender equality. The action plan encompassed a total of 21initiatives aimed at:  preventing forced marriages preventing unfortunate family reunifications based on arranged  contributing to improved integration and increased gender equality improving focus on marital problems of young people from ethnic  communicating knowledge on key action areas to everybody who has contact to ethnic minorities, e.g. GPs, social workers, healthvisitors, teachers, child and youth educators, etc.
From the rate adjustment pool a total of DKK 40 million was earmarked inthe period 2002-2005 for strengthening efforts against family-relatedviolence, forced marriages, etc., among ethnic minorities. In connection with the agreements between the political parties behind the rate adjustment pool,in autumn 2003 additional means were channelled to initiatives onestablishment of residences.
Special attention has been focused on the gender-equality aspects of beingsubjected to forced marriages. Girls in particular are at risk of facingrestrictions and being retained in traditional gender roles. Thus, they oftenlose their labour market attachment and have trouble maintaining theirrelations to the work life and association life.
As to education, the Ministry of Integration campaign “We need all youngpeople” helps to inform ethnic girls and boys about their educational andcareer options. The idea is that finishing an education will strongly boost theindividual person’s ability to get by in society. As an aspect of the activities,a team of about 10 male and 10 female role models with non-Danish ethnicbackground visits schools, clubs, etc., thus passing on their experiences withobtaining educations to other young people. In this way, the campaign seeksto reach both girls and boys. Parental networks have also been set up in localauthorities with large concentrations of ethnic minorities, and homeworkhelp schemes/girls’ clubs have been launched in cooperation with a range ofschools and local voluntary associations.
The Danish Association for International Co-operation was granted supportto employ a consultant and to expand its website with “Project Girls’ Lives”,a network of girls’ clubs. The Danish Association for International Co-operation also offers counselling facilities for young people.
A mentor scheme for women with non-Danish ethnic backgrounds has beenestablished.
A ministers’ group and a government officials’ group were also set up toconsider visions and strategies for improved integration. The ministers’group report was published in June 2003, and emphasised gender equality.
In 2002, the Minister for Gender Equality reestablished an ethnic minoritiesnetwork to provide advice and develop ideas for the area. The networkconsists of resource people from ethnic organisations, women’s associations,people involved in science and people working in counselling. The networkis convened on an ad hoc basis and meetings function as thematic dialogues.
In 2003, one meeting focused on barriers to ethnic young people's choice ofeducation and careers.
Violence against womenThe action plan of March 2002 and the rate adjustment pool compromises ofFebruary and November 2002 set the framework for holistic, nationwideefforts aimed at combating violence against women.
A national information campaign for professionals was launched in 2002,and continued to the summer of 2003. More than 2,000 professionalsparticipated in day seminars all over Denmark. Further, the activitiestargeted at treating domestic abusers continued, an information leaflet for victims was distributed in six languages, and a leaflet was prepared forprofessionals, who meet victims of domestic violence through their work.
In November 2003, a nationwide campaign on violence against women wasrealised. Posters mounted in the streets and signs in busses and trains - infive different languages - appeared all over Denmark, carrying the messagethat we should all help to stop violence against women and break the silence.
The poster referred to the hotline 70 203 082 and the websitewww.voldmodkvinder.dk.
A documentary on violence against women was produced for the campaign.
The film is available in Danish, English, Turkish, Somali and Arabicversions. In November, Danish television ran spots addressing violenceagainst women and referring to the hotline.
A conference held on 25 November focused on mobilising men to join thefight against violence against women. A panel of prominent men conveyedthe message that men’s violence against women is no longer an issue forwomen alone, but a joint matter that men must also renounce actively.
In autumn 2003, a new national network for abused women was launched.
The rate adjustment pools finance the network.
As an aspect of following up on the perspective and action plan for 2002, anoffer of psychological support to children in shelters was introduced, as wasa scheme offering anti-assault alarms for victims of partner violence.
On 23 January 2004, the Ministry of Integration submitted a bill forconsultation. The bill proposes that a 10-year waiting period be introducedfor residents of Denmark, who have been given a suspended or custodialsentence for certain types of personal violence committed against a formerspouse or cohabitee. As a rule, family reunification based on marriage orcommon-law marriage of long duration (reunification of spouses) cannot begranted in the waiting period. The bill was presented in the second half ofFebruary 2004.
Trafficking in womenThe rate adjustment pool compromise of October 2002 allocated DKK 30million over three years towards realising the action plan activities aimed atcombating trafficking in women.
The work of instituting the actual activities took place in 2003. A protectedshelter for victims of trafficking in women was set up with offers forsupplementary medical, psychological and social support; outreaching streetteams/cultural providers were set up; international networks were organisedfor the women’s prepared repatriation; educational/training seminars wereorganised for professionals and NGOs; and information material wasprepared in several languages.
As a supplement to the information material targeted at the victims, anational free postcard (Go-card) campaign in November 2003 targetedprostitution clients, people in the prostitution environment and the generalpublic.
At the international level, the Department of Gender Equality participates inthe continued development of the area, including in a new Nordic-BalticTask Force on trafficking in women. The Task Force is charged withmonitoring the area, proposing initiatives and ensuring political attention inthe various countries.
Gender equality in management, politics and science
Generally, gender equality in management, politics and science constitutes a
joint key action area in the perspective and action plan for 2003. On 18 June,
a cafe meeting was therefore held on the three aspects. In the actual work,
the area has been split into its constituent parts, so the report will deal with
the individual areas separately.
Women in management in the private sectorThe fact that too few women are in the top echelons of the Danish corporatesector is nothing new, but governments have not previously targetedactivities widely at the area. To put some myths to rest, the year opened witha study on “The corporate sector's need for women as executive candidates”.
The study proved that a need exits - especially among large companies - forfemale executive candidates.
Another study followed: “The Danes' attitudes to women as executives”. Thelatter proved that male and female executives are rated as equally good.
Seventy-one percent of employees having a female manager were satisfied,while seventy percent having a male manager were satisfied. Additionally,the study showed that male employees in particular were satisfied with theirfemale managers.
Several companies have made their knowledge available and explained theirbusiness strategy. In September “Good stories about companies who dosucceed” opened at the Minister for Gender Equality’s website.
A partnership with the Confederation of Danish Industries was initiated in2002, with the objective of holding a range of meetings on women inexecutive positions, etc. The 2003 theme meeting - “Hunting for female topexecutives” on headhunting - centred on recruiting problems.
The website on Women in management now has special area that isconstantly updated with gender-segregated management statistics, companystories, advice, news and debates.
At Christmas 2003, the Minister for Gender Equality distributed a leaflet to7,000 private companies and public enterprises with more than 50employees. The leaflet targeted companies that want more femaleexecutives, but lack the tools for recruitment. The leaflet aimed at drawingattention to the website ’Women in management’, which offers cases, advice, publications and so on as inspiration for recruitment of women forexecutive positions.
In February 2004, Minister for Gender Equality Henriette Kjær published amagazine on female managers. The magazine primarily appeals to companyexecutives and HR staff looking to recruit more women for executivepositions. It deals with recruitment of women for management positions andwith top executives’ strategies. It also contains stories from companies,results of analyses made for the Department of Gender Equality andmanagement research scientists’ visions for future managers’ keycompetencies.
In the autumn of 2003, the Department of Gender Equality initiated the EUproject “More Women in Decision-Making Positions, A Rational Use of theResources”. The Department of Gender Equality is the project manager ofthe national and international project, its key issue being recruitment ofwomen for executive positions in private-sector companies.
In Denmark, the Department of Gender Equality partners with theConfederation of Danish Industries, Nykredit, the Danish Financial ServiceUnion and Scandinavian Airlines Denmark. All partners work internallywith the issue of women and management.
Internationally, the Department of Gender Equality is working withGermany and Ireland, which are expending resources on recruiting morewomen for executive positions in the private corporate sector, and withLuxemburg, which is striving to increase the share of women in localpolitics.
The Department of Gender Equality is compiling experience and advicefrom national and international partners into a toolbox, which will operateas an international website for company executives and HR staff. Thetoolbox will be opened and presented at a conference late in 2004.
The project concludes on 1 February 2005.
The Minister for Gender Equality’s website contains a wealth of material,e.g. new statistics from Statistics Denmark on the number of women inmanagement, enlightening stories on women in management, advice, etc.
Women in local politicsWith women accounting for less than 33% of local politicians, it seemednatural to investigate how this figure might increase. A study looked intowhy some local authorities had higher shares of local female politicians,focusing on those places had done to achieve this.
Thus, in 2003 the Department of Gender Equality sent a letter to all localcouncillors holding office in the 36 local Danish authorities, where theproportion of women exceeded 35%, asking them to describe their good andbad experiences on recruiting women. On the basis of the responses, a rangeof local politicians were contacted in person. These personal interviewselucidated a wide array of experience, which went into formulating a set ofgood advice. In spring 2004, the advice will be forwarded to local partyorganisations and entered into the Minister for Gender Equality’s website.
Women in scienceThe share of female professors lies around 10%, and we must now start atrend towards raising this proportion.
In 2003, a ministers’ meeting was held with central resource people in thearea of women and science, and in June a debate meeting was held on thesubject: More women in management. For the event, the Minister hadinvited the president of Copenhagen University and a selection of womenfrom the scientific community to present their views on the barriers facingwomen in science. The debate meeting provided a platform for discussingproblems and solutions, and the Minister took the opportunity to encourageparticipants to take the floor.
The debate meeting also provided an opportunity to try and synergise thework done on the three issues: Women in science, women in management inthe private sector and women in local politics. The aim is to use theexperience from politics and management to determine how the share ofwomen in science can be increased.
In addition, a partnership was established with the Ministry of Science,Technology and Innovation, aimed at converging attention on the problem,and a conference will be held in 2004.
Health for women and menWomen and men behave differently in relation to diet, exercise, smoking,visits to GPs and ways of handling stress. The diseases typically affectingwomen differ widely from those most prevalent among men.
The Minister for Gender Equality established an inter-ministerial workinggroup seating the Department of Gender Equality, the Ministry of Food -including representatives of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration- and the Ministry of Interior Affairs and Health, which was tasked withapplying a gender perspective to health. The group was also asked tocompile the existing knowledge on gender and health, and thus increase thepossibilities of targeting health-policy measures at men and women and offollowing up on results.
The group’s discussions spurred a decision to focus attention on children’sand young people’s health, since we establish habits and lifestyles in ouryouth that impact on health later in life (a description of the follow-up on thereport appears in the section on young people).
The group’s discussions also led the Minister for Gender Equality to preparea report on “Gender differences in diseases and health”. Based oncomprehensive statistical data material, the report revealed the respectivedisease and hospitalisation patterns of women and men.
The report further showed that women’s and men’s disease patterns differgreatly, as do their perceptions of their own health. It became evident thatwomen contact their general practitioner more often than men do, but thatmen are more expensive to treat in hospitals. This could indicate that their diseases are more serious than women’s when they are finally hospitalised.
The report was published in February 2004, and the inter-ministerialworking group on health will discuss how to follow-up on the results.
On the occasion of the international Men’s Health Week, a series ofconferences and seminars held all over Denmark in June 2003 focused onmen’s health. The Department of Gender Equality helped to organise aconference, held on 13 June 2003 at the Copenhagen University Hospital,where men’s health and diseases were discussed.
Youth culture and modern gender rolesTo chart the issue of young people and health, a report was made on youngpeople’s lifestyle and health. The report compared girls’ and boys’ exercisepatterns, smoking habits and alcohol consumption as well as their diets. Theconclusion was that girls and boys differ significantly in a wide range ofareas, and that their perceptions of themselves and the surrounding world aregender-linked.
The report was presented at a “Youth Workshop” in September 2003, where150 pupils from around Denmark participated. The workshop addressed thereport themes, and the young people could hear presentations and try outvarious activities related to the three themes. Attention also centred on thetheme gender images and gender ideals. At the conclusion of the workshop,the young people had to present their visions of what is needed to improvegirls’ and boys’ lifestyles and health.
Subsequently, the young people’s own visions, quotations from presentersand data from the report were compiled into a leaflet, distributed in thebeginning of 2004 as class sets to all upper secondary schools. The leafletand the report were also forwarded to other schools, organisations,associations and ministries.
At the end of 2003, a feature article competition was arranged for youngpeople aged 15-19. The competition challenged them to write a feature onhow they envisioned gender equality in the future and what gender equalitymeans to them. Early in 2004, the prize was awarded to the winner of thecompetition.
The National Museum’s school service received support to realise a teachingproject: “Equal - what did you say?” on gender and gender equality -yesterday, today and in the future. Teaching material on gender equality wasdeveloped, and new lecturing subjects and various special events wereprepared. With this teaching project, the National Museum put the focus ongender equality in the autumn of 2003, and several of the teaching offers andsome of the material have become fixed items on the school serviceprogramme. The target group consists of the upper secondary schools andthe oldest classes of the lower secondary schools.
Quotes from young people in relation to the 2003 activities: • What does gender equality have to do with how much girls and boys drink - does the Minister for Gender Equality want us to drink thesame amount? • We need more overweight anchorwomen on TV! • Perhaps more girls will stop smoking if they are told that smoking gives them wrinkles, while boys might stop if they are told that theywill be worse at playing soccer! Gender mainstreamingGender equality work involves focusing on special key action areas, but alsoinvolves making sure that gender equality becomes embedded in generaladministrative routines, and that all ministries participate and contribute. Theinter-ministerial project on gender mainstreaming coordinates the work.
The project is to ensure that the intentions of the Act, i.e. to ensure that allpublic authorities strive towards gender equality, are actually realised. The2003 activities in the gender mainstreaming project form part of a five-yearaction plan, which describes the goals and means for the work up until 2006.
The inter-ministerial gender mainstreaming project is the responsibility of asteering group, consisting of an executive of each ministry and chaired bythe Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Further, theproject has a contact in each ministry, who functions as an ”ambassador” forthe project in his or her own ministry and an extensive network comprised ofthe people variously involved in the gender mainstreaming activities in theministries, the agencies and the directorates.
Two working groups were established in 2003: Gender mainstreaming indata, statistics and impact assessments and Gender mainstreaming incommunication and campaigns. The objectives of these working groups areto prepare concrete tools for the gender mainstreaming work in the two areasand to help build up capacity in the ministries.
In 2003, the Department of Gender Equality also held training days forministry employees on gender equality assessment of bills and gendermainstreaming of budgets. Further, a manual for gender equality assessmentof bills has been prepared, as well as a publication containing advice ongender mainstreaming.
Gender mainstreaming work is a developing field. New knowledge andconcrete tools are needed to determine precisely how to approach the work.
Both knowledge and tools are available at the Minister for Gender Equality'swebsite, a central medium for communicating the work on new knowledge,good inspirational examples and advice.
Today, many ministries are involved in gender mainstreaming projects.
Some of them work very systematically and strategically, e.g. the Ministry of Employment, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and theMinistry of Social Affairs.
Internally, the Ministry of Employment is working systematically to developthe gender mainstreaming strategy. The Ministry has set up a tightlystructured framework for gender mainstreaming work and has organised aone-day seminar on gender mainstreaming of the Ministry’s portfolio.
The Ministry has identified the core portfolios of the individual agencies andis currently documenting and analysing them. Previous years’ reports havedetailed the work performed in the Danish Employment Service.
In the National Board of Industrial Injuries, the gender mainstreamingproject focuses on determining whether the injured person’s gender impactson the Board’s case processing. The project has shown that men receivehigher indemnifications than women. As a result, the Board is set to reformthe industrial injury indemnity system and thus change the aspects of thesystem that create gender inequality.
Another example stems from the Danish Veterinary and FoodAdministration. When the Danish Veterinary and Food Administrationinitiated the work of reducing the number of diseases caused bycampylobactor bacteria, the Administration considered whether it would berelevant to apply a gender perspective to the work. The Danish Veterinaryand Food Administration’s studies proved that campylobactor bacteriaprimarily infect young men, because they practise poor kitchen hygiene.
Thus, the campaign primarily targeted young men - in terms of language,messages and media - and met with a very positive response.
The Ministry of Social Affairs’ gender equality assessment of new bills isthe final example. In a desire to ensure that bills have no unintended genderequality impacts, the Ministry will include gender equality assessment as anaspect of the quality assessment of new bills. The assessment process entailsa relevancy test of all new bills, followed by a gender equality assessment ofrelevant bills.
Gender equality on the labour marketPensionsIn 2001, the parliamentary Labour Market Committee asked the Minister forEconomic and Business Affairs to prepare a report on women’s pensionsituation from a long-term perspective. The Department of Gender Equalityjoined the fact-finding phase. The general results of the report were thatwomen’s on average lower pensions were rooted in labour-marketconditions, including their lower life earnings, and that: • on average, women in the labour market pay more of their earnings into pension schemes than men with similar incomes • after tax, women’s average pensions are still estimated as 5-15% lower than those of men with the same educational qualificationsThis is chiefly because women’s incomes are lower than men’swhen they are in active employment • the new maternity leave reform has a marginal impact on women’s average position in terms of pensions, one reason being that theshorter parental leave will widely offset the prolonged maternityleave.
Equal payThe Ministry of Employment has launched an updating of the 2001 equal-pay analysis, to maintain a constant overview of women's and men's labourmarket pay levels. The analysis will be completed in the course of 2004.
Boards, commissions and committeesUnder the Act on Gender Equality, every third year the ministries mustreport to the Minister for Gender Equality on the composition of boards,committees of representatives or similar collective governing bodies inpublic administrative authorities. In autumn 2003, the Minister reported thecompositions. Women account for 36.6%, representing an increasecompared to the latest statistics from 1997, where women accounted for26.5%. Under the Act on Gender Equality, the ministries must also report to theMinister for Gender Equality on the planned composition of publiccommittees, commissions and the like, covered by section 8 of the Act,before the members are appointed. These are committees established by aminister and charged with preparing legislation, etc., or with doing planningthat has social impacts. According to these reports, women accounted for41% in 2003, i.e. an increase over 2002, where women accounted for 35%.
Directive on gender equality outside employmentIn November 2003, the Commission presented a draft directive on genderequality outside employment. The Danish Government will enter intonegotiations with the other countries on the substance of the directive.
Through the Act on Gender Equality, Denmark has to some extent alreadyintroduced legislation in the field covered by the directive.
Order on initiatives to promote gender equalityThe Minister for Gender Equality issued an order on initiatives to promotegender equality in February 2004. Guidelines were also issued to helpinterpret the order.
The new order eases the bureaucratic burden for authorities, employers andorganisations that want to work more actively with gender equality.
Initiatives such as courses can now be launched without prior permissionfrom the appropriate minister. Advertisements can also be tailored to urgethe underrepresented gender to apply for positions and training.
Advertisements should show that everybody has access to applying and thatno person will be treated preferentially. The order also allows for teams to beformed and training offered to one gender only within the world of sports.
Gender equality reports from local and regional authorities
Every second year, local and regional authorities must report on their gender
equality activities. Because the three previous reports (1997, 1999 and 2001)
were not based on a common reporting system, dissimilar material was
compiled. Thus, it was difficult to compare and analyse results in the various
reports, and more difficult still to extract constructive examples from which
others could learn.
For the 2003 report, the Department of Gender Equality therefore prepared
an electronic Internet-based reporting tool containing an array of questions.
This tool would make measuring gender equality activities easier and also
contribute data material for several key action areas, e.g. women in
management, women in regional and local politics and gender
mainstreaming work.
A few regional and local authorities (in total 30 of 271 respondents) chose
the conventional reporting form, and the Department of Gender Equality
subsequently entered their reports into the electronic tool.
The results from the local and regional authorities’ gender equality reports
became available from December 2003 at a new website
www.ligestillingidanmark.dk. At this address, citizens, employees and
politicians can study the reports’ many sub-results and benchmarks in the
local and regional authorities’ gender equality activities, and find good ideas
to inspire their continued gender equality work. The creation of this website
makes gender equality work visible. When the website opened, 93% of the
local authorities and 86% of the regional authorities had submitted their
gender equality reports. The website opening was marked with various press
initiatives. In addition, 10,000 advertisement flyers were distributed to all
local councillors and libraries around Denmark.
In general, the reports show that a growing number of local and regional
authorities have set up gender equality policies and a range of actual action
plans for the work. This is a positive development. On the other hand, the
reports also revealed that the public labour market is still very gender
segregated and that the number of women in management and local politics
remains low.
The local authorities provide many excellent examples of gender
mainstreaming. One example is the local authority of Hillerød, where the
housing policy has been gender mainstreamed. The objective was to treat all
citizens equally when it comes to housing, irrespective of gender, age,
ethnicity, disability, etc. Studies showed that various groups had very
differing needs, and that gender played a major role in relation to individual
ability and need to live in different types of housing. Single mothers, in
particular, represent a group with very limited financial resources, a fact that
restricts them in their choice of housing. In future, the local authority will
take this aspect into account in its housing policy.
Dragsholm local authority provides an example of gender mainstreaming ofthe old-age care service. Dragsholm has realised that nursing home activityoffers have traditionally appealed to women, even though the homes wantedto attract both female and male users. By embedding the gender perspective,the homes have succeeded in offering activities that also appeal to old men.
As a result, both women and men use the nursing home activities.
Results from the local and regional authorities are available atwww.ligestillingidanmark.dk.
Central government gender equality reportsThe Act on Gender Equality provides that all ministries must prepare reportsof their gender equality activities every second year. In 2001, the Ministerfor Gender Equality received the first gender equality reports from theministries, and the next in 2003. The ministries prepared their reports on thebasis of input from the departments’ gender equality work and reports fromgovernmental institutions and enterprises having more than fifty employees.
The institutions have launched several gender equality initiatives – internallytargeted at staff, and externally targeted at citizens.
Compared to the data reported in 2001, the number of female executives hasincreased marginally.
Internal work includes fostering family-friendly workplaces, more women inmanagement, networks for female employees at predominantly maleworkplaces and gender-neutral recruitment. The State Employer's Authorityhas, to mention an example, initiated a network for female executives in thecentral government. This network has set up a mentor scheme for femaleexecutives.
Examples of initiatives aimed at citizens include information campaignsspecifically targeted at either women or men and analyses to see whether theinstitutional services are suited to both genders and communicationinvolving gender aspects.
An interesting example of communication targeted at women is found in thewebsite set up by the Ministry of Refugees, Immigration and Integration.
The website contains information on Danish society and targets young,resourceful women of ethnic minorities, who can - via their networks - passon the information to others.
The Defence Command Denmark offers another example by having studiedthe nature and scope of gender harassment among defence personnel. Thestudy revealed that gender harassment is a problem in the Defence, and thatmany women do not know where to turn for help. Subsequently, the Defencehas launched initiatives aimed at alleviating the problem, such as formingnetworks of women and establishing counselling.
In February 2004, the website was supplemented with the results of thecentral government’s gender equality reports. Gender equality work and the gender composition of boards, etc., in ministries, agencies and institutionswere also benchmarked.
The Gender Equality BoardIn 2000, the Gender Equality Board was established for a two-year pilotperiod, and was made permanent by Act no. 286 of 25 April 2003 as of 1May 2003.
The Department of Gender Equality provides secretarial assistance to theGender Equality Board, an independent appellate body hearing complaintsof unequal treatment due to gender. Every year, the Board prepares anannual report on its activities and decided cases.
The Board secretariat has noted an increase in the number of inquiries in2003, both in written inquiries, which numbered 89, and especially in thosevia e-mail and telephone.
The number of processed cases also increased in comparison to 2002. Thus,the Board made decisions on 24 cases in 2003.
The Board has prepared a publicity strategy. The strategy aims at meeting aneed to be more visible when people require the Board’s services (i.e.
optimising access and search engines on the Internet). As a means of gainingpublicity, the strategy also calls for the launch of a newsletter that istargeted, along with other information on the Board’s activities, at relevantpartners and stakeholders (reports, magazines and associations). The work ofimplementing the strategy was initiated in autumn 2003.
Nordic Council of MinistersA Nordic conference on integration and gender equality was held in Malmoeon 19-20 May. More than 400 citizens from the Nordic region attended theconference, many of whom came from ethnic organisations. The conferencethus offered an excellent opportunity for networking across the Nordiccountries.
Two meetings of ministers have been held. One meeting focused on thecompletion of the Nordic/Baltic information campaign, and the otherdiscussed present and future projects and themes such as pornography, menand gender equality, sex and integration, cooperation with neighbouringareas and the Baltic States. The Nordic region and the EU were also on theagenda.
At the meeting, a final decision was made to conduct a joint Nordic study onhow pornography influences young people’s sexuality and formation ofgender roles. The study was then launched by NIKK (Nordic Institute forWomen' Studies and Gender Research) in January and should be completedin 2005.
Furthermore, the meeting adopted an action plan for men and genderequality. In future, the respective countries are to hold two conferences ayear until 2006. Denmark will be hosting one of these conferences in 2005.
Prior to the meeting of ministers, a smaller meeting was held between theministers for gender equality who are also a member of the EU – Sweden,Finland and Denmark. This meeting agreed to hold Nordic consultations inconnection with the EU Council meetings when Nordic coordination ordiscussions may be relevant to cases. Denmark will be responsible forplanning and coordinating these consultations in 2004 and 2005.
EUThe EU deals with gender equality cases at the Council meetings ofministers for employment and social affairs. Two Council meetings are heldduring each presidency, and in 2003 first the Greek and then the Dutchpresidency focused on the roles of women in the information society,violence against and trafficking in women and women in management. Inthat context, a number of meetings and conferences were held, where, forinstance, Denmark’s experience in indicators of violence against women wascommunicated under the auspices of the EU.
The EU ministers assess the implementation of the Beijing action plan oncea year as part of the follow-up on the fourth UN World Conference onWomen in Beijing. In that connection, the Minister for Gender Equalitybacked the adoption of a council conclusion on women in management,which includes a recommendation that the countries compile statistics on theproportion of women in management in a number of central areas such as theproportion of women ministers, central bank governors, board members andunion leaders. The aim is to make women’s positions of power in societyvisible so a comparison can be made between the EU member states. Acouncil conclusion was also adopted to promote women’s use of andparticipation in the information society.
Council of EuropeThe Department of Gender Equality is a member of the Steering Committeefor Equality between Women and Men (CDEG). The Strasbourg meetingsdeal with a host of successive themes, particularly those addressing violenceagainst women, trafficking in women, women in management, planning ofministerial conferences and gender mainstreaming of the Council ofEurope’s other committees.
An ad hoc working group (CAHTEH) has been appointed to prepare aconvention on action against human trafficking. The convention is set to befinalised by the end of 2004. The Ministry of Justice represents Denmark inthe working group, but is in close contact with the inter-ministerial workinggroup on violence against and trafficking in women to ensure thatDenmark’s stance is coordinated across policy areas.
UNCEDAWAs part of the follow-up on the member states’ implementation of CEDAW– called the bill of rights for women – all states must submit a status reportevery four years, which will form the basis for an oral examination of theCEDAW Committee.
Denmark is due to submit its 6th periodic report to CEDAW in 2004, and thework on the report commenced in 2003.
Women’s CommissionThe Women’s Commission’s assembly in March 2003 discussed twothematic subjects: • Women’s participation in and access to the media, the influence of information and communication technology on and use as a vehicleto promote and strengthen women’s rights • Women’s human rights and abolishment of all forms of violence against women and girls as defined in the Beijing Platform forAction and the final document of the 23rd special session of the UNGeneral Assembly A joint conclusion was adopted on the first theme, but agreement is yet to bereached about a joint conclusion on women’s human rights and violenceagainst women.
The Minister for Gender Equality submitted her 2002 Report / 2003Perspective and Action Plan to the Danish parliament on 28 February 2003 The Minister for Gender Equality held a conference on the InternationalWomen’s Day on March 8 on “Integration seen in a gender perspective”.
The steering committee on the inter-ministerial gender mainstreamingproject held a meeting where some of the subjects were how to work ongender equality in the ministers’ groups and tools for assessing the genderequality of bills The Department of Gender Equality held a meeting for the women’sorganisations on 26 March The Department of Gender Equality’s advertising campaign againsttrafficking in women won the advertising industry’s prize, Guldkornet.
• The nationwide information campaign, consisting of 27 training days for professionals about violence against women. The campaign was launchedin November 2002 and ended in June 2003.
Debate in the Danish parliament on gender equality and the perspective andaction plan The Danish parliament passes a bill to make the Gender Equality Board apermanent board.
Debate in the Danish parliament on reverse discrimination Debate in the Danish parliament on women and management EU informal meeting of ministers for gender equality and ministerialconference in Athens on gender and the information society Nordic Council of Ministers conference in Malmoe on immigrant womenand the labour market The Department of Gender Equality’s campaign against trafficking inwomen was awarded the Danish Newspaper Publishers' Association’sprize for best advertising campaign of the year.
The minister co-organised and opened the symposium on men’s health anddiseases at the Copenhagen University Hospital on 13 June Cafe meetings and new “Women in management” area on the website The working group on the gender equality assessment of bills embarked onits work in 2002, and in July 2003 sent out a start toolkit for genderequality assessment of bills Appointment of the working group on gender in communication andcampaigns Training day in the gender mainstreaming network on bill gendermainstreaming Good examples of companies focusing on women in managementpublished on website Analysis of Danes’ attitudes towards women in management published Initiatives for the government’s action plan against forced, semi-forced andarranged marriages published • The Minister for Gender Equality held a Youth Workshop about young people’s lifestyles and health. The report “Young people and gender” ongender gaps in the well-being and lifestyles of young people was alsoreleased EU informal meeting of ministers for gender equality and ministerialconference on women in Siracusa • Appointment of working group on men and gender equality• Meeting with gender mainstreaming project contact persons• The steering committee on the inter-ministerial gender mainstreaming project held a meeting about such topic as the adoption of the terms ofreference for new working groups • The minister received reports on gender equality from the local and • The Department of Gender Equality held a meeting for the women’s Visit from the Polish parliament to a half-day information meeting aboutgender mainstreaming Courses in the Act on Gender Equality for ministry employees The advertising campaign against trafficking in women won newspaperJyllands-Posten’s Aurora award 2003 in the “public serviceadvertisements” category The Minister for Gender Equality held the conference “Stop the violenceagainst women – break the silence” on 25 November to mark the UN’sInternational Day against Violence against Women Meeting of Nordic ministers for gender equality in Stockholm about theinfluence of pornography on young people, and about men and genderequality, gender and integration, and cooperating with the neighbouringareas and the Baltic States Day of education about budget gender mainstreaming Appointment of the working group on data, statistics and efficiencymeasurement The minister received gender equality reports from the 18 portfolioministers Go-card campaign against trafficking in women, with information abouthotline +45 70 20 25 50 and www.stopkvindehandel.dk Launch of EU-financed project “More Women in Decision-MakingPositions, A Rational Use of the Resources” Publication of new cases, mini toolbox and new statistics, “Women andmanagement” The Minister for Gender Equality arranged a feature article competition foryoung people aged 15-19 years The www.ligestillingidanmark.dk website opened, displaying the results ofthe 2003 gender equality reports from the local and regional authorities Meeting with the Confederation of Danish Industries about headhunting,“Women and management” Pamphlet distributed to 7,000 enterprises about the “Women inmanagement” website The Department of Gender Equality held a meeting for the women’sorganisations on 4 December The Department of Gender Equality interviewed 30 local politicians abouttheir experience, as the background for “Women in local politics” Go-card campaign with information about the Gender Equality Board New Year’s reception for organisations and enterprises on gender equalitynow and in future 10,000 flyers for www.ligestillingidanmark.dk distributed to councillorsand libraries Negotiations in the Working Party on Social Questions (EU) opened on anew directive on gender equality outside the labour market Bill presented in the Danish parliament giving the Gender Equality Board’ssecretariat the powers to commence proceedings in follow-up to the board’sdecisions • Statistics on the proportion of women in public committees: in 2003, the • Statistics on the proportion of women in governmental committees: in • The Minister released the report: Gender gaps in health• A discussion pamphlet about boys’ and girls’ food habits, exercise andmisuse patterns was distributed to pupils, organisations, associations,ministries, etc.
Magazine about women executives were distributed to corporate executiveand HR personnel The results of the government’s gender equality reports published atwww.ligestillingidanmark.dk

Source: http://miliki.dk/fileadmin/ligestilling/PDF/phplan2004_eng.pdf