Women in Denmark

 Women in the world: Denmark

Kelley Feehan

Mankato State University

02/24/12

           Denmark is considered by some to be one of the most gender equal countries in the world. Anchored by strong political changes throughout history, Denmark has made many important strides regarding women’s rights and gender equality. Despite the many accomplishments of women in history, some feminists may still consider women’s rights a huge issue in the country of Denmark and are working toward change. The examination of the differences between women and men in a society is a simple way to identify the most important issues regarding gender equality and by doing so, the implementation of change may occur.  

Denmark is a small country located along the northern border of Germany in Europe. The total population of Denmark in 2010 was 5,470,000 people and 50 percent of the total were women (World Health Organization, 2012) (Seager, 2009). Gross national income among the total amount of people in Denmark was $37,530 US dollars in 2010 (WHO, 2012). Median age of total population is 41 (WHO, 2012). Life expectancy for men is currently averaging 77 years and for women, 81 years. The infant mortality rate in 2010 was very low compared to other countries around the world with an average of 3 deaths per 1000 live births (WHO, 2012). 87% of the population is currently living in urban areas according to the World Health Organization’s website (2012). The country of Denmark was an appealing topic for this paper due to their publically funded day care programs and longer than average paid maternity and paternity leaves post childbirth.

Between 1990 and 2002, the average age of a woman at the time of marriage was 30.7 years (Seager, 2009). Compared to other countries in the world, an average age of 30.7 for marriage is among the highest (Seager, 2009).  The average number of births among Danish women was 1.8 in the year 2000 (Seager, 2009). The attitude toward marriage is much less relaxed compared to other countries in Europe. Many people in Denmark have chosen to live together as a couple without being officially married. Perhaps this attitude contributes to the slightly higher average age of marriage among women (Pateman, 2006). Divorce is accepted among members of society and in 2006, approximately 5,000 divorces occur annually (Pateman, 2006).

One unique part of Danish family life is the financial compensation provided by the government for children. Approximately 92 percent of all children between the ages of 3 and 5 attended publically financed daycare in 1999 (OECD, 2003). Most of the day care facilities in Denmark are publically owned and operated but private sectors do exist. Families tend to prefer public facilities due to the fact that it is better regulated and they are considered to be better quality (OECD, 2003). Besides financial compensation for daycare, Danish families receive a regular “child check” for the amount of $1500-$2000 for each child under the age of 18 years old (Pateman, 2006).

These unique government programs allow Danish women to stay in the home longer with their children without having the pressure of returning to work. Spending more time in the home can lead to stronger emotional and physical bonds for the whole family. Although financial assistance for children and paid maternal leave from work is good for family bonding and relieving some financial stress, these programs may also lead to the assumption that managing children and family life is the sole responsibility of the woman. Many women’s rights activists prefer that men and women share the responsibility of work and family life hoping finding a balance between the two.

Before 1970, the women of Denmark experienced a very high rate of unemployment rate compared to their male counterparts (Larsen, 2005). The Equal Rights Council formed in 1974 and the main focus was to work on closing the gap between unemployment rates for women and men. The council believed that the right to work was an important stepping stone for improving women’s rights and gender equality because in order to gain independence from men, women required financial stability (Larsen, 2005). The work of the Equal rights council along with women’s rights commissions are only a few examples of how important women’s activist groups are in terms of sculpting the attitudes and views on women’s rights in the country of Denmark.      

Work is an important part of Danish life and in many cases; Danes consider themselves to be hard workers, proud of earning a good living to support themselves and families (Pateman, 2006). In 2005, 59 percent of women in Denmark were reported to be working (Seager, 2012). In 2002, on average, Danish women who were working received approximately 17 percent less total wages in comparison to the average wages of men (Seager, 2012). This percentage is much lower than in many other parts of the world where women earn a significantly lower average wage than men. Many of the women in Denmark work in the service industry (75%) which includes jobs working in a restaurant, for a maid service, housekeeping, lawn care, gardening services, and financial services such as banking, and much more.

The average age of a Danish woman conceiving her first child has increased to 29 years compared to 1983 when the average age was 25 (Rasch, Wielandt, & Knudsen, 2002). Contributing this change is the use of modern or traditional types of contraception used by Danish women at a rate of approximately 51-75 percent (Seager, 2012). Widespread access to contraceptive and a high rate of sex education courses within schools has contributed to one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates and incidence of abortion in Denmark compared to other countries around the world (Greer, 2006). Abortion is considered to be a legal act but is limited depending on the gestational age of the fetus (Seager, 2012). Among women ages 15-44, the abortion rate in 2003 was approximately 14 per 1,000 women (Seager, 2012). Legally, a Danish woman over the age of 18 can terminate a pregnancy before the 12^th week at any hospital free of charge (Rasch et al., 2002). The right to choose in regards to contraceptives and abortion is important for Danish women because it facilitates personal independence.    

The Danish people are in general light skinned, blonde haired and consider themselves to be direct descendents of the historical Viking people (Pateman, 2006). In regards to sexual orientation, Denmark became one of the first countries in the world to pass a law regarding the partnership of openly gay couples (Fish, 2005). This law named “Danish Registered Partner Act” recognized and gave some rights to same sex couples but excluded certain rights such as adoption, artificial insemination, and the ability to proclaim their union together as couple in a church (Fish, 2005). Denmark recognizes the status of homosexuality as legal and “same sex partnerships have similar status compared to heterosexual marriages” (Seager, 2009, p.26). Regarding homosexuals in the military, openly gay and lesbian individuals were allowed to join the armed forces as of Denmark in 2002 (Seager, 2009).

Denmark is considered the 18^th richest country in the world with an average of $58,800 earned a year per capita (U.S. Department of State, 2011). In 2010, Denmark devoted an average 0.91 percent of total gross domestic income to assist other less fortunate countries around the world with financial aide and services (U.S. Department of State, 2011).  

Women around the world have long since suffered from the act of violence. The first shelter devoted to helping battered women opened in Denmark in the year 1979 which symbolized the recognition of widespread violence against women within the country (Seager, 2009).

Certain members of the Danish community have been actively involved in promotion of gender equality specifically related to reducing violence against women. The strategies utilized in this effort include “national poverty reduction, support for human rights, democratization, and good governance” (Hawker, 2010, p.81). This type of community activism promotes awareness, and leads to the prevention of injury or death caused by violence toward women.   

In general, Danish people are healthy largely due to a well developed public health care system. Just like other European countries, Denmark has an established public health care system making health care coverage available to every citizen (U.S. Department of State, 2011).    

Denmark is playing an active role in the fight against HIV/AIDS within the country and around the world, specifically in the Sub-Sahara regions of Africa (Hawker, 2010). Within in country borders, priority for HIV/AIDS prevention has been specifically targeting the health needs of women and girls (Hawker, 2010).

In many countries around the world, men had been granted the right to vote far before women. Currently, anyone over the age of 18 has a legal right to vote (Pateman, 2006). Surprisingly, the right to vote for both men and women in Denmark was established in the same year of 1915, which meant no separation of time between male and female privileges (Seager, 2009). Only 3 other countries allowed women the right to vote before Denmark (Seager, 2009). The fact that this law was passed giving both women and men to vote at the same is very important for women’s rights and equality within the country. Denmark was one of the countries who helped pave the way for other countries around the world, working toward gender equality.   

                Denmark is lead by two primary government officials including a Prime Minister and a Queen with a total of 18 ministries (Pateman, 2006). Generally speaking, around the world, women have never held an equal number government positions compared to their male counterparts. 33 percent of women hold ministerial positions in Denmark which includes them in a grouping of only 27 other countries where women hold 25 percent or greater number of ministerial positions (Seager, 2009). In 2000, it was reported that approximately 9 percent of women were acting as city or municipal mayors (Seager, 2009). Together, “Finland, Slovakia, and Denmark hold 36 percent of national delegations to the parliament of the European Union in 2005” which shows that women have started to become equal in terms of political power (Seager, 2009).

                Political equality has been one of the driving forces behind the women’s rights movement in Denmark. In 1960, women began forming groups focused on gaining formal political attention (Larsen, 2005). The commissions formed made efforts that forced attention and examination of issues such as gender inequality in hopes to make changes to improve the rights of women. Commissions such as these also focused on the women’s right to hold particular high-power political positions which were historically held only by men (Larsen, 2005).  

                Women’s activists are a vital part of political and social change. An example of a Danish activist fighting for women’s rights is Fredrik Bajer who headed up the women’s rights movement in Denmark. He and was involved with the promotion of women’s rights for many years. In 1871, along with his wife Matilde Bajer, he helped to establish Denmark’s first women’s organization named Dansk Kvindesamfund meaning The Danish Women’s Society (Nielson, N.D.). Bajer was an important figure of Danish history regarding women’s rights because he was one of the first people to stand up for change.  

                Although Denmark is considered to be by some people to be one of the most gender neutral countries in the world, issues regarding gender equality still remain. Fortunately for Danish women, the inequalities that exist aren’t nearly as great as some that exist for other women around the world and historically, women have worked extremely hard to be sure that their rights as a person are acknowledged. The examination of differences among women and men is a simple way to bring major gender gaps and inequalities into perspective which will hopefully trigger the action of change on many of these issues.  

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