Study on gender training in the European Union : mapping, research and stakeholders’ engagement (2012–13). Sweden.
Date: 2013-09-20
Institutions: European Institute for Gender Equality
Subjects: Sweden, equal treatment, gender equality, position of women, women's rights

Study on gender training in the European Union: mapping, 
research and stakeholders’ engagement (2012–13)

Sweden

POLICY FRAMEWORK

Gender mainstreaming has been the main strategy to achieve 
national  gender  equality  objectives  in  Sweden  since  1994. 
In 2012 the government launched a new strategy which re-
affirmed the policy commitments for gender mainstreaming 
within government departments (‘Strategy for gender main-
streaming in the Government Offices (2012–15)’). 

The Prime Minister has ultimate responsibility for the imple-
mentation of the strategy. Ministries are required to develop 
action  plans  for  gender  mainstreaming  in  their  respective 
areas of responsibility. Education and  training is a core ele-
ment  of  the  strategy,  usually  implemented  as  part  of  staff 
training,  compulsory  and  on-demand  education  and  train-
ing; and guidance manuals.

Policy  commitments  to  gender  mainstreaming  and  training 
also  exist  at  the  local  and  regional  levels.  The  Swedish  As-
sociation  of  Local  Authorities  and  Regions  (SALAR)  put  in 
place the programme for sustainable gender equality (2008–
13) in order to ensure that services and activities at the mu-
nicipal and regional level respond to both men’s and women’s 
interests  and  needs. The  County  Administrative  Boards  sup-
port gender mainstreaming at a regional level.

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GENDER TRAINING IN PRACTICE

The  Minister  for  Gender  Equality  has  responsibility  for  co-
ordinating,  developing  and  following  up  on  gender  main-
streaming work, at the national level. The Division for Gen-
der Equality within the Ministry of Education and Research 
manages  and  coordinates  gender  mainstreaming  training 
within  government  offices.  Examples  of  training  provided 
by the Division for Gender Equality include: training in gen-
der impact assessment for all committees that are conduct-
ing governmental enquiries; longer on-demand tailor-made 
training courses for ministries or departments within minis-
tries, and, short ad hoc training courses at ministerial level.

Gender mainstreaming is part of initial staff training for new 
ministry staff at all levels and in all policy areas. A 30-minute, 
basic training seminar on gender mainstreaming is part of in-
troductory training and new managers in government offices 
receive a 45-minute gender mainstreaming module as part of 
their management training.

At the local and regional level, gender training is given to civil 
servants  under  SALAR’s  programme  for  sustainable  gender 
equality. A gender mainstreaming web portal has also been 
set up, which has training resources and training tools for use 
by local and regional authorities.

ABOUT THE STUDY

This factsheet summarises research findings for Sweden from the European Institute for Gender Equality’s (EIGE) 2-year project on ‘Gender training in the 
European Union’, which is part of EIGE’s gender mainstreaming methods, tools and good practices work. The project collected practical information about 
gender training across the 27 EU Member States and Croatia, dating 2005–12. 

The information is based on desk research and stakeholder interviews conducted between February and April 2012 by ICF GHK. The interviews included rep-
resentatives of national ministries tasked with the coordination of gender mainstreaming, other ministries and public organisations at national, regional and 
local level that deliver or commission gender training courses to their staff, and a sample of gender trainers who deliver the training. Further, the information 
contained herein has been validated with EIGE’s thematic network on gender training in autumn 2012.

Other outputs from the study include online databases of gender trainers and training resources available on EIGE’s website at: http://www.eige.europa.eu

EXAMPLES OF GENDER TRAINING PROGRAMMES

WHY DO WE NEED GENDER TRAINING?

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A programme for gender mainstreaming at state level 
was delivered by the National Secretariat for Gender 
Research at Göteborg University in 2008–10. The main 
activities included: four conferences; eight workshops; 
17 seminars; a summer school; a higher education 
course; and development of a national website portal. 
Training was delivered by external trainers and attended 
by beneficiaries on a voluntary basis (around 2 000 staff 
are estimated to have taken part). 

The programme for sustainable gender equality aims 
to mainstream gender into decision-making and 
activities in municipalities, county councils and private 
companies. Introductory and intermediate level training 
is offered. 46 municipalities (out of 290), 13 regional 
governments (out of 20), nine regional associations, 
and three private companies have taken part. An 
online platform has been set up with tools for gender 
mainstreaming, and a forum to share experiences is 
being developed. 

Gender training is an educational tool that supports gen-
der mainstreaming through building the capacity of min-
istries,  local  authorities  and  other  partners  to  consider 
and address issues facing women and men in their work 
and lives. Gender training: 

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 raises awareness of gender issues and contributes 
to changing stereotypes; 
 provides staff with expertise and analytical skills 
to identify gender inequality; 
 develops understanding and builds competence 
to do things differently; 
 benefits organisations by supporting a culture 
in which both women and men can prosper; 
 helps to create a more equitable society.

Staff members may be trained on concepts such as what 
is gender; how to undertake gender analysis; key issues 
facing women and men in different sectors; underlying 
causes and how to address these; and how to construct 
gender-sensitive indicators. 

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FACTS AND FIGURES

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The number of gender training programmes is likely to be extensive. For example, one ministry had tailor-made and 
mandatory gender mainstreaming courses on seven occasions during 2010. 

SALAR’s  programme  of  training  at  local  and  regional  level  has  provided  gender  training  courses  for  66  000  civil 
servants. 

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR GENDER TRAINERS? 

USEFUL LINKS

Please visit EIGE’s Gender Trainers database at:  
http://eige.europa.eu/content/gender-trainers-database 

Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research: 
http://www.genus.se/english 

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN FURTHER RESOURCES 
ON HOW TO MAINSTREAM GENDER AND IMPROVE 
GENDER KNOWLEDGE? 

Please visit EIGE’s Gender Training Resources database at: 
http://eige.europa.eu/resources/gender-training

Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions: 
http://english.skl.se 

Jamstall.nu — About gender mainstreaming: 
http://www.jamstall.nu/inenglish 

About the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)
EIGE supports policymakers and all relevant institutions in their efforts to make equality between women and men a reality for all Europeans and beyond, by 

providing them with specific expertise and comparable and reliable information on gender equality in Europe.

More information:  
eige.europa.eu
facebook.com/eige.europa.eu
twitter.com/eurogender
youtube.com/eurogender

doi:10.2839/95106