Sustainability and gender equality in the high-tech working life of the future
The future labour market will be digitalised, robotised and automated, resulting in certain jobs disappearing and a growing demand for employment in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sector. In view of the fact that the labour market is divided up by gender and that the proportion of women within this sector is low, this may have long-term implications in terms of gender equality in the Nordic labour market. The Nordic Council of Ministers’ working life, gender equality, education and research sectors and the Nordic cooperation programme Generation 2030 have therefore tasked NIKK with producing a knowledge base. This will involve investigating how the Nordic nations are working to achieve a better gender balance in education and professions as demanded within the natural sciences and technology, and how this is expected to contribute towards sustainability and gender equality in future labour markets.
Mapping and analysis of the LGBTI field in the Nordic region
New formal Nordic cooperation on equal treatment and rights for LGBTI individuals began in 2020. In order to ensure that this cooperation is reliable, effective and lasting, NIKK has been tasked by the Nordic Council of Ministers with mapping and analysing the LGBTI field.
Nordic knowledge boost on sexual harassment: a pilot study
Through its gender equality cooperation, the Nordic Council of Ministers has initiated a research-based pilot study to highlight gaps in knowledge on sexual harassment in working life, and to draw up proposals on the action to be taken. NIKK has been tasked with carrying out the pilot study, to be completed in March 2020. The Nordic Ministers for Gender Equality have also decided to fund a Nordic research initiative which, based on the proposals from the pilot study, will contribute towards increasing knowledge of sexual harassment in working life and will form the basis for future initiatives to combat sexual harassment. There is an obvious need within the Nordic region for greater knowledge about gender-based vulnerability in working life and sustainable ways to tackle the problem. Investigations and mappings have previously been initiated in the individual countries, but there is no joint Nordic overview.
Read more about NIKK, Nordic Information on Gender at nikk.no
Nordic Information for Knowledge about Gender, NIKK, is a cooperative body under the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Nordic Council of Ministers has decided to place NIKK (Nordic Information on Gender) as a cooperative body at the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The assignment will last until 2022.
Text by Susanna Young Håkansson