Why the Scandanavian Way is Better

Check out this video explaining how the Scandinavian economies work!

For a long time, Scandinavian countries have been topping out the world’s happiest countries list. These countries are considered welfare countries, where the government provides more to its inhabitants and funds this by implementing relatively higher taxes than those of traditional Western countries (Trost). Many believe that due to this, the happiness level in these places is higher due to the economic burden being relieved by the government to its citizens. By the 1960s and 70s, during the second wave of feminism, Scandinavian feminists began to focus on issues of reproductive rights, sexual freedom, and social equality. Unlike in many Western countries, where feminist movements were met with backlash, Scandinavian governments tended to be supportive, implementing policies that were feminist goals. Countries in this region also offer its citizens assistance in areas such as parental leave, affordable childcare, flexible work arrangements, and financial help for single parents. Because all of these policies are made possible for every person in these countries, it helps alleviate much of the monetary stresses in life especially for those with families. However, what this also does is bridge the gap between genders and it also starts to change the gender norms associated with those genders.

In my own personal experience I grew up with half my family from Finland and the other half with roots in Western culture. While my Finnish grandparents were not the most socially liberal people, their relationship and family were structured much differently than that of my fathers side. My Finnish grandparents immigrated here to the US in the 50’s and he enlisted in the Army and my grandmother was a nurse. While those are typically gender normal jobs, after a few years of getting financially stable my grandparents eventually opened up a metal plating business and operated it together for over 50 years. My grandmother was an equal partner in the business and handled a large portion of the company's finances. They had a tremendous amount of respect for one another, and it’s hard to say who had more of an impact on the success of the business. However, on my fathers side, my grandmother was a stay at home mother in which my grandpa made all financial decisions, he had the only car, and did all the grocery shopping for the house. While the families only lived a 20 minute car drive apart here in California, it is clear that my Finnish grandparents had a very different understanding of gender norms in comparison to my fathers parents.

Click on the image to learn more about the previous Finnish Prime Minister and her female counterparts!

Intersectionality is the idea that a person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status all impact one's likelihood to struggle in society (Collins 2020). In the case of the Scandinavian countries, it can be assumed that the socioeconomic status for most people is much better due to the government policies in place there. Because of this, the likelihood that one struggles in one of these countries is much farther less than that of the USA. In my own personal experience, money is not everything but having a solid safety net to fall back on would definitely make life a little easier. While I do have many responsibilities, I can only imagine the pressure that a single mom faces or a woman looking to leave their spouse but stays out of monetary fear. The ability to be financially independent plays a large role in a person’s happiness, and is a large reason why the Scandinavian countries just simply do it better.

The impact of feminist theory on family sociology in Scandinavia is very profound. The policies in effect in those countries allow for men to take a more nurturing approach to family life, and it allows women to help close the power balance between genders. According to the Mobilisation of Women in the Nordic Countries, the participation of women in the workforce has been a key driver in the mobilization of women. Due to the large participation of Scandinavian women in politics, it allows for more legislation to be passed that better understands the needs of women. According to The Changing Roles of Swedish Women, divorce rates have dramatically increased over the last couple decades which is largely due to this legislation being put into place. One could assume that this is due to the legislation being passed that allows for women to be more independent and feel more comfortable supporting themselves or a child on their own. In comparison, in the US it can be seen that refined divorce rates have fallen since 2008, and divorce rates for younger women have fallen in the last decade (Cohen 2019). It’s fair to assume that relationships are still struggling in the US, however the safety nets provided to women in the US is much less than that of their Scandinavian counterparts. Because Scandinavian policies provide economic support to all of its citizens, there is less social stratification between classes and wealth is more evenly dispersed between classes.

Check out this video on why Swedes like living in Sweden so much!

If the United States has the ability to, it should try and adopt some of the policies and principles that Scandinavian countries have in place. While these ideas are becoming more normalized in American society, these policies are far from being passed in the US. This can largely be due to the difference in representation of women between the US and Scandinavian countries. According to Lazarus, women are starting to show more women have been running for office than ever before and in 2020 broke the record for most women to ever file for a seat in Congress. While not all of them may have been elected, it is likely that with more women elected to congress, we can begin to see more women centered legislation being passed.

References

Bergqvist, C. (1999). Equal Democracies? Gender and Politics in the Nordic Countries. Scandinavian

University Press.

Cohen, P. N. (2019). The Coming Divorce Decline. Socius, 5.

https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023119873497

Collins, P.H., & Bilge, S. (2016). Intersectionality (2nd Edition). Polity Press.

Lazarus, J., Steigerwalt, A., & Clark, M. (2023). Time spent in the house: Gender and the political

careers of U.S. house members. Politics & Gender, 19(1), 97-132.

doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/S1743923X21000428

Trost, J. (1976). The Changing Role of Swedish Women. E.J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands

References