The commission is working on proposals that may contribute to increased economic equality between women and men in the long term, a gender-equal distribution of public support measures, as well as gender-equal workplaces.
“I hope to contribute with experience from my time as Equality Ombudsman, when I pursued cases about equal pay for equal work in the Swedish Labour Court – the so called midwife cases,” says Lena Svenaeus.
As a researcher at the Sociology of Law Department, Lena Svenaeus has studied how discriminating wage differences are created and recreated, and how more equal alternatives can be modelled and achieved. “Perhaps we are finally ready to realize how important traditionally female-dominated professions are for welfare and survival,” she says.
The Swedish Ministry of Employment state in a press release that many factors contributing to economic inequality have previously been subjected to inquiry, but now there is “a need for an inquiry to examine and present proposals for measures that are, on the one hand, clearly defined but, on the other, also take aim at several sectors."
The commission’s final report is to be presented by 20 December 2021.
Read more about Lena Svenaeus' research on her personal page.