Come to the free loving land of Sweden!

Hi again friends and family!

            Today’s blog is going to be a bit more brief and to the point than last weeks blog. I want to discuss with you how gender is viewed by our society in Sweden. In my opinion, Sweden is one of the more advanced cultures when it comes to having an acceptance for gender equality. According to the The Sweden Sverige, Sweden is known as a worldwide leader when it comes to equality. This scale measures equality based upon areas of politics, education, economics and health (Sweden Sverige, 2013).  The point I’d like to influence the most is that everyone, regardless of gender, has the ability and right to have a well-balanced family and career life by being able to support themselves financially as well.

            Sweden strives to ensure that women and men are able to experience the same benefits, opportunities, and rights in all aspects of life. With that being said, I would like to focus on an area that is closer to home for me. Like I have previously stated, I am studying early education at Stockholm University here in Sweden. I have conducted studies on gender equality within schools here in Sweden, and would like to share with you some valuable information that I found.

            According to Gender Across Borders, Sweden is known for its attempts to impart gender-neutral thinking, especially within early education.  In fact, the Swedish government has spent over $110 million Swedish crowns on promoting equality in schools. There have even been stipulations made that state teachers must do all they can to reverse gender stereotypes and influence equality to their best advantage with in their classroom ( Nathman, Avital). The primary goal here in Sweden is to allow children equal opportunities in life, regardless of their gender.

A School In sweden where they incorporate gender neutral interaction on the playground.

           

          I have lived in Sweden my whole life, and I may be biased, but I feel as if we are one of the most LGBT friendly countries. According to Swedish law, it is illegal to discriminate against anyone because of his or her gender identity. My Faster, Ingrid (aunt) has been happily married to her partner, Julia, for almost 5 years now. They have been together for many years, but were finally able to marry in 2009, when same sex marriage was legalized here in Sweden. They even have the same benefits as heterosexual couples do. In fact, one of my favorite festivals, The Stockholm Pride Festival, is just around the corner. At this festival us swedes celebrate the virtue of equality and being able to express ourselves as we please. My whole family and I are looking forward to attending( Zeldin, Wendy 2009).

           Another important virtue in Sweden is the notion that parents are entitled to a certain amount of "parental leave" when a child is born or adopted.  According to the Sweden Sverige, State-sponsored parental leave (‘föräldraledighet’) is arguably more 

accommodating  in Sweden than anywhere else. Parents are entitled to a total of 480 days 

paid leave per child. Sweden encourages both the mother and father to share the leave.  This was crucial for my family being that my Mum reared 4 children. In the case of my parents, they chose to equally split up who stayed home, but chose to split it up between each child. My Mum stayed home with me, the first born, and my sister, the second born. My Dad then stayed home with my two youngest sisters I have some friends who moved here from the states and a primary reason their family chose to was because of this helpful benefactor.(Sweden Sverige, 2013).

         Like previously stated, the principle of this act was for the parents to be able to split the time in half. However, women are known to take the most days, but in 2012 men took around 24% of the leave. In my opinion, it solely depends on the current situation of the family and the careers of the parents. Your probably curious as to what a parent’s allowance is when taking parental leave, so I will break it down for you the best I can. The majority of swedes are entitled to 80 percent of their salary, provided to them by the state. This is applicable for the first 390 days per child, but only for those who have legally worked in Sweden for over 240 days. It gets a bit sticky though because this only applies to salaries under a certain 

amount, currently 410,000 kronor per year (about 34,000 kronor per month). In american 

dollars its around $64,000 a year  ($5,300 a month). I'd say that is more than a reasonable 

amount to raise a family with! Of course, like any law, these rules have several conditions 

and exceptions. Nonetheless, it's highly generous compared to most other countries in the 

world, and another primary reason why you should move here to Sweden and experience  

the benefits for yourself!  (Sweden Sverige, 2013). 

            Well, that is all for now! I hope your brain is churning from all the valuable information you learned about the equality of Sweden! Hopefully this piece of information will sway you to want to move here even more now! I mean who could resist gender equality within schools, non-discrimination of same sex marriage, and parental paid leave? So, come one over to the lands of Sweden where equality is of our upmost importance! 

Education in Sweden (2013).  Sweden Sverige. Available at:

           http://sweden.se/society/education-in-sweden/. Accessed March 7th , 2014.

Gender Equality in Sweden (2013).  Sweden Sverige. Available at:

            http://sweden.se/society/gender-equality-in-sweden/.  Accessed March 7th, 2014.

Nathman, Avital (2012). Gender Equality: Too Far or Not Far Enough. Gender Across Borders. 

             Available at: http://www.genderacrossborders.com/2012/04/10/gender-equality-too-far-or-not-

              far-enough/. Accessed March 7th, 2014. 

Zeldin, Wendy (2009). Sweden: Same Sex Marriage Law Passed. Global Legal Monitor: Sweden. 

              Available at: http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205401187_text. 

              Accessed March 7th, 2014.