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11. GENDER
Men and women have equal value; this is ideologically fundamental to Social Democratic
politics. This equality should be reflected in all spheres of politics and life so that we build
a fair and equal society. But we all know that reality does not reflect such equality. Women
are discriminated against formally and informally, consciously and subconsciously,
everywhere.
As elected representatives of the Social Democratic party we have a responsibility to
ensure that the decisions we take part in support the development of gender equality. We
must look at every problem, every challenge, and every decision through a “gender-
filter”. To share power and responsibility equally between men and women is a matter of
justice and democracy. Men and women each constitute 50% of the population and should
therefore also share responsibility and power – an obvious goal for gender equality.
Many of us proudly say we live in countries where gender equality exists. Our
constitutions are very progressive and guarantee women and men equal rights. This is
always a myth and if we believe it is true then it may make us blind to the discrimination
that exists. The Nordic countries are often described as “gender equal” but there exists no
such country in the world. If we take an honest look at attitudes, values, and the
discrepancy between what we say and what we do, we will see that discrimination still
exists. Women are paid less to do the same task or to hold the same position as men. Jobs
with mostly women employees have lower status and pay than jobs mainly occupied by
men. Where the power is, you will usually find the men and the money. Women take more
responsibility for home and children. These are facts that any national statistics will verify.
Gender equality is about the relationship between men and women and about using
everyone’s full contribution to the development of society. If we want our society to
develop and become more equal, both sexes must take responsibility and show each other
mutual respect. It is a joint task to achieve gender equality.
THE UN CONVENTION FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
The UN former Secretary General, Kofi Annan, stated a view that is shared by many
countries. He said: “All my experience tells me that the most important issue for the
world’s development is women’s rights”. In 1979, the UN adopted a Charter - The
Convention of the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW -
to work against discrimination against women since the Human Rights Charter did not
focus enough on discrimination against women. More than 90% of all countries in the
world have signed the Convention. That is, however, a deceptive figure since many
countries do not support the whole Convention but only parts of it. Many countries have