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ABBA-Backed Feminists Poised to Make History in Swedish Vote
Backed by Benny Andersson of pop legends ABBA, Sweden’s feminist party may make history by becoming the first political group to get into a nation’s legislature with a primary goal of abolishing sexism.
Feminist Initiative, led by Gudrun Schyman, wants a new definition of gross domestic product that includes the unpaid work women do at home. It also targets higher taxes to bridge the pay gap for women, a six-hour workday and an even split on parental leave. Polls show the party may reach the 4 percent threshold needed to get into parliament.
“It’s a clear alternative for left-wing voters,” said Lena Waengnerud, professor at Gothenburg University. “Even though Sweden, compared with a lot of other countries, has come far with equality, we’re not at all finished, and in the last few years not a lot has happened.”
Sweden, which in 2006 ranked the most gender equal nation on earth, has slipped to fourth after Iceland, Finland and Norway, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. The development jars with the self-perception of the average voter in the largest Nordic economy. A Sifo poll released this month showed 47 percent of Swedes consider themselves feminists, up from 33 percent in 2010.
“There’s been a myth in Sweden that we’ve made such big strides that we don’t have to talk about it,” Schyman said in an interview in June. “It’s very obvious that there’s a gender contract in society, which in various ways treats women as if they’re worth less.”
Feminist Initiative, led by Gudrun Schyman, wants a new definition of gross domestic product that includes the unpaid work women do at home. It also targets higher taxes to bridge the pay gap for women, a six-hour workday and an even split on parental leave. Polls show the party may reach the 4 percent threshold needed to get into parliament.
“It’s a clear alternative for left-wing voters,” said Lena Waengnerud, professor at Gothenburg University. “Even though Sweden, compared with a lot of other countries, has come far with equality, we’re not at all finished, and in the last few years not a lot has happened.”
Sweden, which in 2006 ranked the most gender equal nation on earth, has slipped to fourth after Iceland, Finland and Norway, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. The development jars with the self-perception of the average voter in the largest Nordic economy. A Sifo poll released this month showed 47 percent of Swedes consider themselves feminists, up from 33 percent in 2010.
“There’s been a myth in Sweden that we’ve made such big strides that we don’t have to talk about it,” Schyman said in an interview in June. “It’s very obvious that there’s a gender contract in society, which in various ways treats women as if they’re worth less.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-27/abba-backed-feminists-poised-to-make-history-in-swedish-election.html
So much for the "feminism is dead" bullshit.
8 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
sorry, could not resist
Response to ismnotwasm (Reply #7)