Lögberg-Heimskringla - 31.10.1980, Blaðsíða 2

Ragnhildur Helgadóttir:
A few points on the status of women
in the Nordic countries
2-WINNIPEG, FÖSTUDAGUR 31, OKTÓBER 1980
What follows is a summary of a paper given by Frú Ragnhildur
Helgadóttir at Augsburg College March 15, 1980 in conjunction with a
conference on the Evolving Status of Women in Scandinavian and
American Societies.
Wrong or right impressions?
Sometimes the women in the Nordic
countries have believed that their
status is better or ahead of that of
women in other parts of the world. But
they need to scrutinize facts.
At the last annual meeting of the
Nordic Council, one of the items on the
agenda was the status of women. It
was added to the agenda by pressure
from the parliamehtary side on the ex-
ecutive power, but the Nordic Council
has always had a positive attitude
toward the issue of improving the
status of women. %
Co-operation among the Nordic
countries is both sensible and natural
because of similar geographic and
climatic conditions and a common
cultural heritage. The religious back-
ground is similar — first a common be-
lief in Odin and Thor and then the es-
tablishment of the Evangelic Lutheran
Church as the state church.
In the medieval Icelandic code of
law which had the name of Grácás
(Grey Goose), the status of women was
clearly defined: "Everything inside the
house is under the dominance of the
woman". This meant more social
power thán a similar law would mean
today for two reasons: (1) the absence
of the husbands, especially fishermen,
for long periods of time left much of
the decision-making to the women:
ánd (2) the economic structure of the
old Nordic society left under the
dominance of women such activities as
are now under the state, namely social
welfare, health care, and education, as
well as industrial activities .such as
weaving and spinning.
In spite of this heritage, various
measures were needed to bring the
rights of women up to a par with those
of men. Beginning with the last cen-
tury, one stage after another has been
reached. As far as legislation is con-
cerned, equality was reached decades
ago. In 1953 a Norwegian Women's
Lib champion stated "The legal right is
there: what we lack is the possibility of
making proper use of it".
Rights and possibilities:
In this lecture I should like to deal
with true equality, not just equal rights
but equal possibilities to enjoy those
rights. This means equal possibilities
of choice for men and women as
regards education, occupation, and
way of life.
Let us look first at women in the work-
ing force. In the Nordic countries there
are roughly 11 million women
(7,265,000 between the ages of 15 to
65). In 1977 the percent of all women
15 to 74 years of age who were in the
labour force was as follows: Denmark
58.5 percent; Finland 56.8 percent;
Norway 51.1 percent; and Sweden
61.1 percent.
Thus the proportion of women at
Betel to consider Winnipeg home
Betel Home Foundation, a non-profit
charitable organization with Personal
Care Homes in Gimli and Selkirk, pro-
poses to develop a combination Per-
sonal Care Home - Elderly Persons
Housing (AEPH) complex in Winnipeg.
The Betel Board of Directors feel there
is a real need for a Winnipeg home
sponsored by the Winnip^ Icelandic
Community. In this respect the Board
has been negotiating, with Manitoba
governmenta) officials for several
years.
The present plan includes a 72 resi-
dent personal care home with dining-
kitchen areá, lounge and recreational
facilities. The elderly persons housing
section will include approximately 70
one bedroom and bachelor suites, each
with self-contained kitchens.
The Personal Care dining services
-will be available to EPH residents at
nominál cost. Other facilities will be
available for use by both the residents
of the Personal Care Home and EPH.
The EPH residents will pay suite ren-
tals based on their income.
Betel Home Foundation would like
to consider this a total Icelandic Com-
munity effort. To this aífect, we would
welcome the support and development
assistance of all Icelandic-Canadian
organizations.
With a good response from the
Icelandic Community, consideration
will be given to including additional
meeting areas for use by the Icelandic
Community in general. These areas
could be used for regular meetings,
festive get-togethers, etc.
The Board of Directors at Betel
Home are most anxious to determine
the interest in building such a home in
Winnipeg. In this regard, we agk you,
your family and friends to complete
the attached form and mail it.
Ragnhildur Helgadóttir
work outside the home is largest in
Sweden. But Finland holds the Nordic
record for gainfully employed married
women as a percentage of all married
women. In 1975, the percent of gain-
fully employed women with children
was 64.3 in Finland and 47.9 in
Sweden. Also in Finland the number of
married women in part-time jobs has
decreased, but in the other Nordic
countries it has increased even though
Finland has fewer daycare centers for
children than does Norway or Den-
mark. Another interesting point is that
among the married women in Finland
working outside their homes, not more
than 70 percent state that they work
for economic reasons.
To secure the rights of women in the
labour force in the Nordic countries,
the following has been done:
1. Statutes have been established giv-
ing maternity leave (3 months in
Iceland, 7 months in Sweden).
2. Equal pay for equal work is
ordered by law. This has been in effect
for twenty years but the traditional
women's jobs seem still to be regarded
as less valuable than the male jobs
even though a woman should not be
denied a job because she is a woman.
3. All Nordic countries have what may
be termed governmental Commissions
on Equality. These have mainly con-
sultative functions but can also take in-
itiatives. In 1974 the Nordic Council of
Ministers decided to take equal statsu
Ministers decided to take equal status
of men and women as a special field of
work and started a Nordic co-operation
on these matters. The main function is
to ensure a flow of information, but
there are also concrete projects and
issues.
Women in the Nordic countries are
proportionately greatly under-rep-
resented in the central committees of
the labour unions.
Marriage and the family:
Turning next to the topic of marriage
and family. In this field there is more
than a century of tradition of Nordic
legislative co-operation. There are
equal rights of heritage for sons and
daughters. Matrimonial laws are based
on the idea of equal status of man and
woman in ■ marriage. They allotted
similar rights and duties as regards
mutual support of the family and
reciprocal support of each other. In
Iceland a new law on income and pro-
perty tax has gone into effect which
regards both spouses as independent
individuals.
Legal provisions for equality are in
place but some questions about prac-
tice in real life are being raised, such as
whether responsibilities are equal in
practice, and whether the child has the
same right and possibility to enjoy the
company and care of his father as that
of his mother. These kinds^f issues are
discussed in the Nordic countries and
may be a subject for research within
the Nordic Council.
Education and women:
Concerning education of women, the
name of Olafia Jóhannesdottír is im-
portant. After preparing herself for
taking final examinations at Reykjavík
Grammar School and being denied the
privilege because she was a woman,
she and her aunt forrried the first
Icelandic women’s organization and
worked for voting and educational
rights for women. In 1911, the Icelan-
dic University was established and a
law was passed on equal rights for men
and women to higher education and to
civil service posts granting equal pay
in those jobs.
In spite of this early legislation in
From Selkirk
There will be a Coffee Party held in honor of Mrs. Clara Hendrikson, on
the occasion of her 85th Birthday.
The time is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 16th at the Lutheran Hall,
Selkirk, Manitoba.
Guðrun Dryden.
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TO: Mr. Freeman Skaptason
Chairman-Winnipeg Building Committee
Betel Home Foundation
c/o 366 Whytewold Road
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3J 2W5
I would support the building of a home in Winnipeg in the near future.
My interest is in: □ Personal Care
□ Elderly Persons Low Rental Apartment
□ Icelandic Community Facilities
Name:_____________________________________________ Age:___________
Address:_________________________________________________________
City:________________________________Area Code:__________________