Important Years
Inspired by Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK), we present a timeline of major legal or constitutional changes that have made important differences in the lives of women, men, boys and girls in the Nordic region. While the fight for gender equality began with suffrage and inheritance rights, it gradually expanded to demands for equal economic and political influence.
Men Gain Full Suffrage
Suffrage is the right to vote in public affairs and participate in political decision making. It also involves the right to run for office and be elected into parliament. Men gained full suffrage before women in almost all countries in the world.
- Denmark: 1848
- Finland: 1906
- Iceland: 1903
- Norway: 1898
- Sweden: 1909
Unmarried Women Granted Legal Majority (at age 25)
Majority age is the age at which people are granted the legal freedom to make independent decisions in all parts of their lives, including education, voting, marriage and work. Prior to this act, unmarried women were bound to their closest male relatives as their legal guardian and could not exercise any of these rights autonomously. Legal majority at age 25 was established for unmarried women, in the years listed below. The age was subsequently reduced to 21 in Finland (1898), Norway (1869) and Sweden (1884).
- Denmark: 1857
- Finland: 1864
- Iceland: 1861
- Norway: 1863
- Sweden: 1863
Women Gain the Right to Operate a Business
Legal differences affect women’s economic participation in both developed and developing countries. Sweden was the first Nordic country to allow women to operate a business, while the progress occurred much slower in other Nordic countries.
- Denmark: 1857
- Finland: 1919
- Iceland: 1887
- Norway: 1866
- Sweden: 1846
Equal Inheritance Rights for Women and Men
The practice of legally transferring one’s property and assets to another person upon death is called inheritance. Women were fully and/or conditionally deprived of the right to inheritance until the Middle Ages. Daughters received inheritance only if the family did not have a son. Iceland became the first country to break this cycle of inequality by institutionalising unconditional inheritance rights between sisters and brothers in 1850.
- Denmark: 1899
- Finland: 1930
- Iceland: 1900
- Norway: 1888
- Sweden: 1921 (age 21)
Unmarried Women Gain Control of their Own Income
Before the passing of this law, an unmarried woman’s income, including her personal earnings and inheritance, was considered her closest male guardian’s property. This means that women had no ownership rights, had no control over their income and personal property and were legally bound to obey their male guardian’s decisions. The law enabled unmarried women to own property and assets and to exercise economic autonomy.
- Denmark: 1857
- Finland: 1864
- Iceland: 1861
- Norway: No information
- Sweden: 1863
Married Women Gain Control of their Own Income
Prior to this law, a married woman’s income, including her personal earnings and inheritance, automatically became her husband’s upon marriage. This means that married women had no ownership rights, had no control over their income and personal property and were legally bound to obey their husband’s decisions. The law helped married women gain economic independence and own property and assets.
- Denmark: 1880
- Finland: 1889
- Iceland: 1900
- Norway: No information
- Sweden: 1874
Women Gain the Right to Obtain an Academic Degree
Women were not allowed to obtain an academic degree and attend universities until the mid-1600s. In Nordic region, Sweden was the first country in which universities opened their doors to women through a reform in 1870. Betty Pettersson became the first woman to attend and graduate from a Swedish university. Other Scandinavian countries followed suit in later years.
- Denmark: 1875
- Finland: 1901
- Iceland: 1904
- Norway: 1884
- Sweden: 1873
Married Women Granted Legal Majority (at age 25)
Majority age is the age at which people are granted the legal freedom to make independent decisions in all areas of their lives, including education, voting, and work. Prior to this act, married women were under the guardianship of their husbands and were legally bound to obey them in all domains of life. Although unmarried women were granted legal majority, marriage implied a return to minority age and transferred women’s authority and decision making power to the husbands. Initially, legal majority was established for married women at age 25. While Norway, followed by Denmark and Iceland, was the pioneer in declaring this legal majority age for married women in the Nordic region, the majority age in Sweden was set to a younger age.
- Denmark: 1899
- Finland: 1930
- Iceland: 1900
- Norway: 1888
- Sweden: 1921 (age 21)
Women Gain Municipal Suffrage and the Right to be Elected into Municipal Governments
In Scandinavia, the Kingdom of Denmark, which included Denmark and Iceland at the time, became the first to approve women’s suffrage at the local level in 1908. In Norway, middle-class women won the right to vote in 1901, and the right became more inclusive in 1910 as a result of the struggles of the Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights and the National Association for Women’s Suffrage. Sweden granted women the right to vote after introducing the communal municipal council. However, municipal suffrage was limited to unmarried women of legal majority age. Married women remained excluded from the right to vote. In 1919, Sweden granted all women the right to vote at municipal level and to be elected into municipal governments.
- Denmark: 1908
- Finland: 1917
- Iceland: 1908
- Norway: 1910
- Sweden: 1919
Women Gain Universal Suffrage and the Right to be Elected into Parliament
Women’s universal suffrage includes women’s right to vote and be elected into parliament. Finland was the first European country to introduce women’s suffrage and elected 19 female members of parliament in 1906. Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden followed in 1913, 1915, 1920, and 1921, respectively. The Nordic region was a pioneer in this area as most European and Asian countries did not grant these rights to women until the end of World War I.
- Denmark: 1915
- Finland: 1906
- Iceland: 1920
- Norway: 1913
- Sweden: 1921
First Female Minister
In 1924, Nina Henriette Wendline Bang became the first Danish woman to serve as Minister of Education in a democratically elected governmen. Finland elected Miina Sillanpää as its first female Minister of Social Affairs in 1927. In Sweden, Karin Kock Lindberg was the first female to serve asminister without portfolio, i.e. a person who holds a cabinet seat but is not in charge of a specific department, for household economy. In Norway, Kirsten Moe Hansteen was the first female to serve as minister without portfolio. Iceland was the most recent Nordic country to elect a female minister in its cabinet. Auour Auons served as Iceland’s first female Minister of Justice and Church Affair.
- Denmark: 1924
- Finland: 1926
- Iceland: 1970
- Norway: 1948
- Sweden: 1947
Ratification of Equal Remuneration Convention
The Equal Remuneration Convention was convened in Geneva by the governing body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on 6 June 1951. The convention proposed equal remuneration for men and women based on the quantity of work and regardless of their sex. According to this convention, ‘remuneration includes the ordinary, basic, or minimum wage or salary’ that is directly or indirectly, in cash or in-kind, paid to an employee by the employer. The convention specifically defines equal remuneration as ‘equal rates of remuneration established without discrimination based on sex’. Nordic countries ratified the convention as below.
- Denmark: 1960
- Finland: 1963
- Iceland: 1958
- Norway: 1959
- Sweden: 1962
Legalisation of Birth Control Pills
The term birth control was initially coined by Margaret Sanger in 1916. She was the first person to open a birth control clinic in New York. However, 10 days later, after opening, the clinic was closed down and Margaret was imprisoned for one month. Birth control pills, or contraceptives, are used to prevent pregnancy and promote planned parenthood. The controversy over the use of birth control pills stems from religious and political concerns. Finland was the first Nordic country to legalise birth control pills and today the pills are used by both married and unmarried women.
- Denmark: 1966
- Finland: 1961
- Iceland: 1967
- Norway: 1967
- Sweden: 1964
Right to Abortion
As part of the broader reproductive rights, the right to abortion remains controversial in some countries to this day. In Norway, abortion was permitted only for medical purposes until 1963 and a woman who underwent abortion otherwise was imprisoned. In 1964 and 1972, abortion laws were broadened to also include socio-economic grounds. Norway’s current abortion law was enacted in 1978 and gives women the choice to have an abortion in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Similar to Norway, Sweden’s first abortion law was enacted in 1938 and covered a very limited medical scale. The view of abortion became more liberal in 1974, when Sweden adopted its current abortion law and gave women the full right to decide based on their own special circumstances.
- Denmark: 1973
- Finland: 1970
- Iceland: 1975
- Norway: 1978
- Sweden: 1975
Female Employees Cannot be Fired on the Grounds of Pregnancy, Childbirth or Parental Leave
This law prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. It also outlaws discriminatory behaviour throughout the employment procedure, including in the hiring and firing of staff and in pay and the provision of health insurance. Sweden was the first Nordic country to pass the law in 1939 followed by Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark in much later years.
- Denmark: 1989
- Finland: 1971
- Iceland: 1987
- Norway: 1977
- Sweden: 1939
Nordic Action Plan for Gender Equality
Nordic Cooperation on Gender Equality was founded in 1974, when the Nordic Council of Ministers decided that all Nordic governments should appoint a contact person to cooperate other Nordic governments on promoting gender equality. Nordic Action Plan for Gender Equality was one of the major contributions of Nordic Cooperation on Gender Equality in 1989. The focus of the action plan was on promoting women’s role in economic development and to combine employment opportunities for men and women with family life.
- Denmark: 1989
- Finland: 1989
- Iceland: 1989
- Norway: 1989
- Sweden: 1989
Shared Parental Leave Goes into Effect
Shared parental leave allows both parents to share the 12 month leave period after the birth of a child. The law helps to challenge the traditional belief that child caring is only mothers’ responsibility and involves both parents in the child caring process. The main objective of the law is to balance employment and child care between fathers and mothers. Sweden and Denmark are pioneers of shared parental leave, with Finland and Iceland following. Norway is the most recent country to pass a shared parental leave act, in 2013.
- Denmark: 2002
- Finland: 2003
- Iceland: 2003
- Norway: 2013
- Sweden: 2002
First Female Prime Minister
In 1981, Norway elected Gro Harlem Brundtland as its first female prime minister. She held the post for ten consecutive years. In 2003, Anneli Jäätteenmäki became Finland’s first female prime minister. This appointment made Finland the first European country to have a female prime minister and a female president in office at the same time. After Anneli Jäätteenmäki stepped down, Mari Kiviniemi became Finland’s second female prime minister. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was Iceland’s first female prime minister and the world’s first openly gay prime minister. In 2011, Denmark elected Helle Thorning-Schmidt as its first female prime minister. Sweden has yet to choose its first female prime minister.
- Denmark: 2011
- Finland: 2003
- Iceland: 2009
- Norway: 1981
- Sweden: Has not occurred yet
Signature of the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women
The Council of Europe’s convention on preventing and combating violence against domestic violence aims to protect women against all forms of violence and eliminate all forms of violence against women. It also aims to promote gender equality, contribute to women empowerment, and boost international cooperation on eliminating all forms of violence against women. The convention establishes the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) mechanism to ensure that the goals of the convention are effectively implemented by all the parties. The convention is part of the Council of European Treaty Series and was established in Istanbul in 2011. Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden were original signatories and Denmark signed the convention in 2013.
- Denmark: 2013
- Finland: 2011
- Iceland: 2011
- Norway: 2011
- Sweden: 2011
Ratification of the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Domestic Violence and Violence against Women
The Council of Europe’s convention on preventing and combating violence against domestic violence aims to protect women against all forms of violence and eliminate all forms of violence against women. It also aims to promote gender equality, contribute to women empowerment, and boost international cooperation on eliminating all forms of violence against women. The convention establishes the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) mechanism to ensure that the goals of the convention are effectively implemented by all the parties. The convention is part of the Council of European Treaty Series and was established in Istanbul in 2011. Denmark is the only country that has ratified the convention so far.
- Denmark: 2014
- Finland: Not ratified
- Iceland: Not ratified
- Norway: Not ratified
- Sweden: Not ratified
