The participation of women on the Norwegian labour market is among the highest in Europe. According to the most recent figures (2002), 77.7% of all women aged 25-66 are on the workforce, while the percentage for men is 86.3. Women have been in the majority in higher education since the 1980s. Close to 60% of all students at Norwegian universities and university colleges are women, and more women than men have completed a four-year university or college education. In 2000, women comprised approximately one third of all doctorate degree graduates.
Women with small children are also highly represented on the workforce. In 1965, nine out of ten mothers with small children were housewives. Today the situation has been nearly reversed due to the emergence of a strong system of public welfare and an explicit policy aimed at helping women and men to reconcile the demands of family and working life. Particularly important in this context are systems for publicly financed day-care institutions and parental leave (including the paternity quota). The latter provides parents of new children with paid leave for approximately one year.
Forty-three per cent of all employed women work part-time, as opposed to only 11% of the men. The average number of hours of paid work per week is 30.4 hours for women compared to 38.4 hours for men. Norway continues to deal with the problems of an existing gender pay gap, and wages still tend to be lower in sectors dominated by women employees.
The Norwegian labour market can be described as somewhat gender segregated. Almost half of all women employees work in the public sector, and women comprise 67.5% of all employees in this sector. In the health and social sector, which primarily consists of public services, 83% of the employees are women. In typically private sectors as construction and entrepreneurial activity, only 8 percent of the employees are women (all figures from 2001). Women comprise 80% of all municipal employees.
The general lack of women in decision-making positions in both the private and the public sectors continues to be a matter of national concern. The number of women serving on boards of directors and in top administrative positions in the private sector remains small and shows signs of stagnation. Women comprise only 7.4% of the top managerial staff in private companies and 11% of the middle-level managers (figures from 2001). Women continue to be underrepresented in the ICT industry, as teachers of technology subjects at all levels and as editors-in-chief of newspapers and other media.
The proportion of women in leading positions in the public sector is somewhat higher. Thirty-six per cent of the top managers in the central government administration are women, while the corresponding figure for local government administration is 25%.
All figures from 2002 unless otherwise specified
By the Norwegian Ministry of Children and Family Affairs