Sweden’s equality judge

Press, 6 October 1980, Page 12

Sweden’s equality judge

All Swedes are equal but Inga-Britt Tornell’s job is to make sure that none is more equal than anyone else.

This 52-year-old judge has been appointed Equality Ombudsman. In spite of Sweden’s reputation for egalitarianism, her job is really necessary, according to two recent surveys.

A report by the Central Bureau of Statistics reveals that even in this liberated land it is still women who do the housework, even when they have a full-time job.

Other main points of the report, which is based on 10,000 interviews, are that:

Women on average are still not as well educated as men. Only 61 per cent of women work, compared with 78 per cent of men. Women are still given more half-time jobs.

There is still less chance

for women to work overtime to boost

their wages. If a man and a woman of equal education . and experience compete for a top job, nine times out of 10 it will

go to the mani Another report by the government -> appointed Equality Commission revealed that in households where both partners had full-time jobs 51 per cent of the women worked 20 hours or more in the home, compared with only 18 per cent of the men. Ten per cent of the 7500 women interviewed did more than 40 hours housework a week. Only two per cent of husbands did as much. These and other comparative figures revealed basically that the Swedish male is every bit as much of a "male chauvinistic pig” as his counterpart in other countries. It is this that mother of four Inga-Britt Tornell will be fighting against as Equality Ombudsman. Her first job is to ensure that a new law forbidding discrimination at work is effective.

“I am putting more pressure on employers to take the person who is really best qualified for the job,” she said.

“I think the Government chose me because of my experience as a lawyer, because I have no connection with any one political party and be-

cause I have experience of trade union matters.” She intends to interest men in the question of sex discrimination. “One must co-ordinate the debate at ground level. We have to turn theory into practice.” Karin Andersson, of the Equality Committee, said: *'We are still a long way from achieving real equality in Sweden. In the home there is not a lot else we can do, except to keep the debate alive. Women must change their own situations.

“Sometimes it all seems hopeless but it always takes time to change ingrainted habits. It is in the labour, market that we must now concentrate our efforts.” — Copyright Lon don Observer Service.