Indicators for gender equality in municipalities, 2003

The gender equality index has been published by Statistics Norway since 1999. Among the counties, Oslo scores highest with 3.3 points in total, followed by Akershus with 2.9 points. Almost all of the municipalities of Akershus are above the national average of 2.5 points.

The counties of Finnmark, Sogn og Fjordane, Hedmark and Oppland also score high on the index.

Vest- and Aust-Agder have the lowest score

The counties of Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder in the south of Norway are ranked last and second to last, with 1.8 and 2.2 points. Møre og Romsdal, Rogaland and Troms follow with 2.3 points. These counties have low scores on each indicator. However, several of the municipalities in these counties have high scores. For example, Bykle in Aust-Agder has the second highest score of all the municipalities.

Jølster is at the top

Jølster in Sogn og Fjordane county has the highest score among the municipalities. At 3.7 points it's closely followed by five municipalities with an index score of 3.6: Karasjok, Sømna, Tydal, Leikanger and Bykle.

The six largest cities, Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, Drammen and Kristiansand have all scores above the national average.

Farsund in Vest-Agder has the lowest score at 1.1 points.

The gender equality index shows some major changes among the municipalities, because last years local elections changed the percentage of female municipal council members.

Many ways to depict gender equality

Equality between women and men may be described in different ways and by using different kinds of statistics. An index is a composite measurement , i.e. 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 in politics, education and working life.

The indicators are:

• Kindergarten coverage for children aged 1-5 (2003)
• Number of women per 100 men aged 20-39 (2003)
• Education levels for women and men (2003)
• Labour force participation for women and men (2003)
• Income for women and men (2002)
• Percentage of female municipal council members (2003)

This combination of indicators is one of several possible ways to depict gender equality in Norwegian municipalities. The index is based on relevant and available statistics and includes the most important factors that can be measured.

The indicator "Number of women per 100 men" is included as an indirect measure. Municipalities with few opportunities for education and a non-diversified (male-dominated) industry structure usually experience out-migration of young women. A low percentage of women therefore indicate that the basis for gender equality in the municipality is weak.

The tables contain more detailed information on the index and enable users to compare counties and municipalities by individual indicators and as a total. "About the statistics" contains information on how the index is constructed.

Tables:

• Table 1 Gender Equality Index for Norwegian municipalities, sorted by county. 2004
• Table 2 Gender Equality Index for Norwegian municipalities, by ranking. 2004
• Table 3 Gender Equality Index for Norwegian municipalities, ranked by county. 2004