Social Issues

Gender Neutrality in Sweden Intended as an alternative to the Swedish words

han (he) & hon (she), hen was first proposed in the 1960s but burst into
public consciousness in 2012 when childrens-book author Jesper Lundqvist
used it exclusively in his book, Kivi and the Monster Dog (neither Kivi nor the
pup is identified by sex)
Swedish national encyclopedia included the word in its print edition
Nojesguiden published an issue in which all pronouns had been replaced by hen
In 2012, Top-Top, one of the largest toy companies in Sweden, issued a holiday
catalog in which boys were depicted feeding baby dolls and girls fired Nerg guns;
a child of indeterminate gender, dressed in a Spider-Man costume, pushed a baby
carriage
Education: More women have university degrees 47% vs 26% (Sweden), 45%
vs 32% (US), 56% vs 45% (UK)
Degrees: Woman still dominate majors that focus on caring 83% Health and
Welfare degrees awarded to women vs 36% Math degrees awarded to women
Wage gap: Women 14% less than men, 94 cents for every dollar men earn
(Sweden), Women 18% less than men, 77 cents for every dollar men earn (US &
UK)
Maternity leave: US 0 days, UK 280 days, Sweden 420 days
For supporters, that process is a necessary step toward eroding the lingering
vestiges of sexism
The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index, which measures
discrepancies in 135 countries between men and women in pay, access to
education and other factors, ranks Sweden fourth highest.
Although there are more women than men in managerial positions in Swedens
local and national governments, the same is not true for the business world,
where women head the boards of only 4% publicly listed companies.
Men feel oppressed by Swedens push toward gender neutrality. Society has
turned against men, actively discriminating against them in things like child-
custody laws and permitting inequality when it favours women (two-thirds of
Swedish university degree earners are female)
One Monday evening, a 13-year-old boarded the Stockholm subway, his gym bag
in hand. It was rush hour and the car was full, but he had too much energy left
over from his after-school ballet class to stand still. Watching himself in the
window, he executed a perfect rond de jambe. Asked if he was hassled by other
boys for dancing ballet, he said no. Told that that wouldnt necessarily be the
case in other countries, he replied sanguinely, I known. But this is Sweden.