Indicators for gender equality in municipalities, 2000

This is the third year running that Statistics Norway is publishing the gender equality index for Norwegian municipalities. This year, as last, Hammerfest is the most gender-equal municipality in the country. With a score of 4.0, Hammerfest is the only municipality in the country that is among the 25 best municipalities for all indicators. Tied for second place are Rollag and Sør-Varanger, sharing the same place as last year too. Leikanger, Namsos and Bodø are tied for fourth place.

Sharing last place are Herøy (Møre og Romsdal) and Vanylven municipalities, with a score of 1.1. Herøy was at the bottom last year with the same score, whereas Vanylven has fallen from 1.3. Also Haram, Selje, Tysnes, Sokndal, Kvinesdal and Farsund municipalities score low in 2001, with an index of 1.3. Near the bottom of the list, too, there have been minor changes since the previous year.

All of the six largest cities score above the national average. Oslo is the best of these, with a score of 3.3, followed by Stavanger (3.1), Trondheim (3.0), Bergen (2.9), Drammen (2.8) and Kristiansand (2,7). Of medium-sized towns, Bodø (3.7) and Hamar (3,6) are the most gender-equal.

Few big changes

From 1999 to 2000 some municipalities saw big changes in part. Most of these resulted from the municipal council elections and changes in municipal council composition. This indicator has remained unchanged from 2000 to 2001, and the other indicators have a smaller impact from one year to another. But this year as well, some municipalities have experienced relatively drastic movement up or down. Askvoll and Gamvik are the municipalities that have made the highest leaps upward on the list. In 2000, both had an index of 2.5, whereas in 2001 they wind up with 3.1. For both, this amounts to a climb of 140 places to a tie for 65th place. For Askvoll in particular this is due to improvements in the percentage of women in the labour force and the number of women per 100 men aged 20-39. In Gamvik it was the gender composition of the 20-39 age group that has changed, as well as an improved score in kindergarten coverage.

Experiencing the biggest drop from 2000 to 2001 was Overhalla municipality, falling 133 places to 209th place. This represented a 0.5-point change in the index. Salangen, Bjarkøy, Skjerstad and Namdalseid municipalities moved far down the list as well. All fell 132 places to 253rd place. Falling the most in terms of points was Vang municipality, which fell by 0.6 points from 3.3 to 2.7. This was especially due to the decline in the percentage of women aged 20-39 and the percentage of women in the labour force.

It is mostly the smallest municipalities that experience the most drastic movement on the list. Such municipalities are more sensitive to small changes in demographic structure, for example, and one extra kindergarten can have a major impact. Of course, in larger municipalities bigger changes are necessary for there to be any impact on this index.

Agder counties dead last

This year Møre og Romsdal has overtaken Aust-Agder on the county-by-county list, and so it is the two Agder counties that are at the bottom. Vest-Agder has an average index of 1.9, the same as last year, whereas Aust-Agder is at 2.1, down 0.1 points since the previous year. The counties have the lowest percentages in Norway of female municipal council members and of women in the labour force, and Vest-Agder is also last with regard to kindergarten coverage and womens income. However, not all the municipalities in these counties perform equally poorly. On the gender equality index Valle and Bykle municipalities in Aust-Agder score 3.4 and 3.5 points, respectively, and with their 17th and 11th places are among the most gender-equal municipalities in the country.

Oslo tops the county-by-county list this year as well, with 3.3 points. Akershus and Finnmark tied for second place, with 2.9. Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Hedmark and Nord-Trøndelag counties also scored above the national average.

Many ways to depict gender equality

Equality between women and men may be depicted in many different ways, and with the aid of many kinds of statistics. An index is a composite measurement , a way to simplify or compress data. In the gender equality index we try to combine various - direct and indirect - measurements of gender equality that show the extent to which women and men participate - or have the opportunity to participate - in politics, education and working life in an individual municipality. The measurements or indicators making up the index are:

• Kindergarten coverage for children aged 1-5 (2000)
• Percentage of female municipal council members (1999)
• The number of women per 100 men aged 20-39 (2000)
• Womens and mens education levels (1999)
• Women and men in the labour force (2000)
• Womens and mens incomes (1999)

This combination of indicators is, of course, only one of several possible ways to show the gender equality situation in Norwegian municipalities. The index takes in the relevant statistics available, and, indeed, the chief measurable factors are included.

The indicator "Percentage of women per 100 men" is included as a sort of indirect measure. Municipalities with few opportunities for education and a non-diversified (male-dominated) industrial structure usually experience out-migration of young, adult women. A low percentage of women thus indicates that the basis for gender equality in the municipality is weak.