What do snow removal, seat belts and football boots have in common? You might think "not much". But they do. All three areas represent themes where the gender data gap is prevalent. Urban planning and the development of products such as safety equipment and footwear are both areas in which product development is based on what is called the “reference person”, which typically relies on measurements and patterns that fit men in the 20-30 age range. Based on the gender data gap, we therefore risk developing products for women that do not fit their bodies, and this can have fatal consequences.

In this presentation, we will discuss the gender data gap. We will start with initiatives that exemplify the impact that insufficient representation in data can have. Together, we will use data and knowledge to explain why products, initiatives and laws that are initially gender-neutral can still end up having a gender bias.

How far are we from achieving real gender equality in the Danish labor market? What are the biggest gender equality and diversity challenges in the labor market right now?

In Denmark, we have a narrative about having – or being close to – gender equality. However, the truth is unfortunately different. With the Diversity Barometer, we at EQUALIS challenge perceptions and what we call anecdotal evidence in the field of gender equality. The Barometer is a measuring and monitoring tool that, as an authoritative dataset, uncovers gender equality and diversity across the entire Danish labor market.

A presentation on the Diversity Barometer includes an introduction to the Barometer as a tool and insight into the challenges facing the Danish labor market in the field of gender equality. Together, based on the latest available data, we will assess the temperature of gender equality in the labor market from the barometer’s five themes: (1) Education and career, (2) Work environment, (3) Labor market attachment, (4) Responsibility and leadership, and (5) Income and wealth.

There are big differences between the career paths of men and women. Typically, it starts with the first choice of education; Men are strongly overrepresented when we look at the part of the population that has primary school as their highest completed level of education as well as vocational and short-term higher education. Women, on the other hand, typically study medium- and long-term higher education. Despite the fact that women are overrepresented in long-term higher education, men generally advance faster than women and typically have greater earnings as well.

In this presentation, we provide an introduction to the major educational differences that exist based on gender. Together, we look at the development in men's and women's career choices and compare it to research on gendered educational choices. We also explore how you as an educational institution, company, public authority or private individual can contribute to challenging gendered educational patterns - and question the explanations that abound in the public debate about the different preferences of men and women.

Gender equality is progressing slowly in several areas of the labor market, but looking at the gender distribution in the upper management levels, the situation is particularly unequal. 

EQUALIS’ Diversity Barometer shows that men are strongly overrepresented in top management in both the private and public sectors. The same applies to boards of directors. 

In this presentation, we will discuss how we in Denmark have approached this issue, and we will look at how other Nordic countries and the EU have worked on solutions to the challenge of lacking gender diversity in top management. We will also provide an introduction to how efforts – and sanctions – work across countries that are working with different solutions, and look at what is important if you, as a company or organization, want to work purposefully and strategically to change the gender composition in your own management teams.

The think tank EQUALIS offers expert presentations on equality, diversity, and inclusion on the labor market. Below you can see examples of different themes, but we also provide tailor-made presentations. Contact us for more information.