JAPAN and the WORLD Magazine JANUARY ISSUE 2016 #Issue 14 | Page 42

SWEDEN
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Swedish Government consists of 24 ministers, 12 female ministers among them.
Credits: Martina Huber/Regeringskansliet
THE FIRST FEMINIST
GOVERNMENT
初の男女同権内閣（フェミニスト・ガバメント）
JAPAN and the WORLD magazine conducted interview with Sven Östberg
about the first in the world female government recently established in Sweden.
JAPAN and the WORLD誌ではスウェーデンのスベン・オストベリ氏にインタビ
ューし、
このほど世界で初めて同国に誕生した「男女同権内閣」
（フェミニスト・
ガバメント）について伺った。
This year Sweden was announced to
launch the first feminist government
in the world. How would you define
“feminist government”? What does it
mean in real words?
This is a well thought out idea undertaken
by the government. They see gender equality
as a fundamental human right that needs to
be mainstreamed in all policy areas to boost
gender empowerment.
The feminist government was elected in
October 2014, which initiated what we call
a “gender responsive budgeting” policy and
a feminist foreign policy. Gender equality
41 // JANUARY 2016
is a smart way of promoting growth and
economic revitalization and employment. So
Sweden has put a target of having the lowest
unemployment rate in the European Union by
2020. Saying that, gender equality plays a big
role in this achievement.
According to the 2014 World Economic
Forum Global Gender Gap, Sweden
is in 4th place (after Iceland, Finland,
Norway). What is still to be done to jump
into a higher position in the ranking?
There is quite a lot to be done in this regard.
Sweden has come a long way in some areas in
Sven Östberg
Counsellor, The Embassy of Sweden in Japan.
gender empowerment but we still have lots to
do. For that, the government has set up four
sub-goals for the next couple of years:
01
Equal division of power and
influence:
To bring gender balance into the business
management areas. Women still make
up only 29% of board members of listed
companies in Sweden. The government’s
objective is that by 2016 at least 40% of the
board members in listed companies should
be women. The government has a 50-50
gender balance of ministers. The gender
balance in the Parliament is today 44%.
JAPAN AND THE WORLD MAGAZINE