SWEDEN tops international ranking lists that measure equality between men and women. For a long time, men and women have enjoyed equal representation in both die government and Parliament.

Thanks to an extensive system of parental insurance and child care, women in Sweden do hot need to choose between their families and careersthey can have both. In no other European coun try are so many women employed outside the home; at the same time, only a few European countries have experienced higher birth rates than Sweden in recent years. Work with gender equality The main objective of Sweden's gender equality policy is that men and women have equal power to shape society and their own lives. To make this possible, there are a number of government authorities whose task is to ensure that both genders have the same rights, opportunities and obligations.

The Minister for Integration and Gender Equality coordinates the government's gender equality policy. Each minister is responsible for gender equality in his or her area of responsibility.

The Gender Equality Unit under the Minister for Gender Equality is responsible for coordinating the government's work with gender equality and special projects involving gender equality, as well as for developing methods for implementing the government's gender equality policy. On each county administrative board, there is a person employed as a specialist on gender equality.

The Equal Opportunities Commission can, under penalty of fine, enjoin employers to take active measures for gender equality-

The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman oversees compliance with the Equal OpportunitiesAct.

The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman is a government agency that was formed in 1980 and is responsible for ensuring that men and women

have equal

rights regardless of gender. The Ombudsman reviews rights in the workplace, at institutes of higher education, in the school system and in certain other areas, for instance, circumstances involving services, labour employment, labour market policy activities or social insurance. People can also notify the Ombudsman if they think they have been treated unfairly in connection with parental leave.

The Ombudsman also oversees compliance with the following five government laws: 1. The Equal Opportunities Act, which concerns conditions in the workplace; 2. The Act concerning Equal Treatment of Students in Higher Education, which concerns conditions at universities and university colleges; 3. The Act Prohibiting Discrimination and Other Degrading Tteatment of Children and School Students, which concerns conditions in schools, including preschools, schools for students with intellectual disabilities and childcare facili-ties; 4. The Prohibition of Discrimination Act, with the Ombudsman supervising those parts concerning gender; 5. The Parental Leave Act, with oversight mainly concerning the prohibition of discrimination against one sex.

In accordance with the first three acts mentioned above, employers, institutes of higher education and schools are obligated to actively promote conditions for gender equality and prevent sex discrimination.