Sweden
(November 2016) The annual report on wages from the LO trade union confederation shows that workers have benefitted from real wage increases over the past 20 years. However, the report also reveals that the gender pay gap remains persistently high at 15% while the gap between pay for blue and white collar workers has increased and is now at 47%, a level not seen since the 1930s.
(March 2017) Marking International Women's Day with a focus on the gender pay gap, both EPSU and the ETUC underlined the need for urgent action to deliver pay rises across Europe with a particular emphasis on higher increases for sectors and occupations dominated by women. Flat-rate increases, job evaluation and other measures were highlighted as part of the strategy to address the gender pay gap and low pay among women workers.
The FOA public services union argues that political action is needed as part of a strategy to close the gender pay gap. The latest statistics show that the gender pay gap is still 17.4%, unchanged since 2009. In contrast, there was nearly a three percentage point narrowing of the gap between 2007 and 2009 and that is probably attributable to the action taken by several groups of workers in women dominated sectors in 2008 to secure higher pay increases. FOA would like to see government and social partners working together and setting a common target in a way that they do in Finland. [Read more
The Vision trade union has published a survey that found that four out of 10 young women state that they have been discriminated against at some point in their working life. The union says that employers need to continuously and more actively work for equal rights and opportunities for employees. In Sweden, employers are obliged to prevent discrimination according to the Discrimination Act, and this work must be done in cooperation with the trade union. The Vision survey found that more than one in four women (29%), regardless of age, say that they have been discriminated against at their
