Flýtilyklar
Gender equality in local authorities
After the local elections in 2003 35% of the elected members of the councils were women (up from 34%). But, still only 1 out of 6 mayors are female, as the percentage women holding this position is 17%.
The Norwegian Local government Act § 36 states that in any local government committee each sex shall be represented by at least 40% (if 4 or more members are to be elected. If the committee has 2-3 members, both sexes shall be represented). However, at the committee leader level there is a bias in terms of lack of female political committee leaders in the municipalities; About 45% of the municipal committees are within the technical sector – only 23% of these have a female leader. With education/health/social sector the numbers of committees are 40% - out of these 40% have female leader.
Also in the administration of the municipalities the figures shows a gross imbalance with only 13% of the Chief Executive Officers being female (2004).
According to the Gender equality Act, the municipalities are obligated to report on the gender status and measures taken to improve any imbalance, as an integrated part of their annual report and budget.
As part of the work to promote gender equality Statistic Norway collect and publicize a gender equality index for the municipalities. Here the municipalities are ranged according to results and can therefore also be used as a kind of “bench marking” system by the municipalities. The gender equality index combines various direct and indirect measurements of gender equality that show the extent to which women and men participate in politics, education and working life. The indicators are; kindergarten coverage for children aged 1-5, number of women per 100 men aged 20-39, education levels for women and men, labor force participation for women and men, income for women and men and percentage of female municipal council members.
All municipalities are ranged according to these indicators. The municipalities can achieve a maximum score of 4 and a minimum score of 1. The index is relative; the fact that a municipality has a 4 on income, for instance, does not mean that the women and men have the same income, only that the municipality is placed in the highest quartile. For 2006 the national average was 2.5. On top in 2006 we find the municipality of Tromsø (city in the northern Norway) with 3.8 point. The three municipalities with lowest score are Vanylven, Froland and Farsund with 1.3 points (the last two municipalities are located in the southern part of Norway – Aust Agder and Vest Agder respectively).
According to Statistic Norway it seems like the most significant indicator for change in the municipalities position from 2005 to 2006, is kindergarten coverage.
It is accepted that equality of women and men is a fundamental right and that the balanced participation of women and men in decision making is necessary for a democratic society. The Gender Equality Act enshrines (§ 1a) that a gender perspective must be taken into account in all activities of local and regional authorities and that they shall report on status and measurements as part of their annual reports and budgets.
Currently there are some important projects involving a number of the Norwegian municipalities in a bid to improve the gender equality balance. This is “How to improve the percentage of women in local governments’ political leader positions” with an aim to reach 40% by 2011. From 2003-2005 “Breakthrough – women in municipal executive leadership” was implemented, and from 2004 a project called “Ready – go, gender equality in municipal planning” has been in focus. The latter project focuses on the fact that municipal services need to focus on gender equality in order to cover for the fact that men and women, boys and girls might have different needs. These projects are mentioned because they are inter-municipal, but the main gender equality efforts are of course to be found within the 431 municipalities.
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