Since 2006, TCO, the umbrella organization of trade union workers, has measured the equality index, which shows how the development has looked in terms of women's and men's taking of days with parental benefits and childcare.
In 2024, the index for the whole of Sweden was 68.3, which means that women took 68.3 percent of the days with parental benefits and childcare. Men took 31.7 percent of the days. This is a change from the previous year when the index was at 68.
A completely equal index would be 50.
We have been doing this for 20 years now and almost all the time it has slowly moved forward with fathers taking greater responsibility for parental days. It's only at some point that we have seen it backtrack. So it's a worrying indication that it's no longer going in the right direction, says TCO's chairperson Therese Svanström.
Equality in the Shadows
Svanström means that equality has fallen into the shadows in Sweden and that it is the explanation for the negative development.
We see a general trend in society where equality issues are no longer as high on the agenda, she says.
According to Svanström, there are three cornerstones to look at for the development to turn around.
It's about politics. You can ponder over the reform of transferring parental days. It has made more women take out parental days, she says.
Then, active work is needed on the workplaces, we see that mothers do as mothers and fathers as fathers. The workplaces must ensure that employees can be parents and just employees.
And we need to become more aware at home by the kitchen table of what the consequences will be of the choices we make.
"Need to Understand"
TCO primarily demands greater political commitment to this issue. For example, the organization wishes for a site like "My Pension", where you can see how much money you get in your pocket when you retire, so that parents can gain knowledge of what it means for their salary to take out days.
We need to help parents understand. There must be a political will and clarity that equality issues are really important, says Therese Svanström.
