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This book provides insights into the drive to achieve substantive gender equality in four Nordic countries: Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It draws a diverse and complex picture of the long, uneven, and unfinished process towards that goal. These countries’ systematic use of a combination of political and legal instruments has been described as the Nordic gender equality model. The Nordic states are known for the wide range of policies and programmes that, since the middle of the 20th century, have been adopted to ensure the provision of health services, education and economic safety for all, regardless of socioeconomic background and gender. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Nordic countries were among the first in the world to enact general gender equality and anti-discrimination laws with low-threshold enforcement mechanisms as an alternative to the ordinary courts.

The high scoring of the Nordic countries indicates that the Nordic way of striving for gender equality has been successful in a global perspective. Gender equality is an essential element of the Nordic welfare state model, interwoven with and dependent on general welfare measures that shape everyday life for individuals and the organization of society. Anti-discrimination legislation, primarily directed towards the protection of individuals, forms just part of the comprehensive and progressive measures that have been adopted in Sweden in order to achieve gender equality. Despite the high ratings given to gender equality in Sweden in international comparisons and its ambitious gender equality policy and extensive legislation aimed at promoting gender equality and eliminating discrimination, many challenges remain. Together with the other Nordic countries, Sweden is internationally considered a role model and a forerunner for gender equality.

The book Tax Inequality and Human Rights, published in 2019, thoroughly discussed the links between human rights and tax norms, regarding both policies and regulations. Basically, the new interest in the relationship between how human rights connects to tax policies on global and national levels are related to a development of growing wealth and income inequalities. The dominant growth promoting tax ideology on fiscal consolidation and neutrality, supported by powerful actors, have led to damaging consequences for social and economic sustainability. Tax reforms during the last decades have built tax systems with an outcome that are contradictory to the resource mobilization and redistribution that are necessary for the realization of human rights. It is obvious that Agenda 2030 demands a reset and a rebuild of fiscal systems that have the potential to combat poverty. This chapter will explore the fiscal sociology-based knowledge that we need in order to improve the substantive capacity of legal reforms to create inclusive societies.

National tax laws and international tax policies have, despite impressive growth performancesin many economies, worked against economic gender equality. The broad concept of taxfairness has become equivalent to what is good for economic growth and detached from socialjustice, leading to increasing income gaps and poverty. As a result, many aspects of taxationhave indirectly had a substantial effect on gender-related socio-economic inequalities eventhough most domestic tax laws being gender neutral. The ignorance to consider genderinequalities, when designing tax laws, is obviously in conflict with several legal obligations andpolicies, on national, regional and international levels.

In this article novel insights concerning the relationship between gender equality and taxationare presented. These insights have been pushed forward by both the societal challenges offinancial crisis and now the pandemic crisis. Based on legal and economic perspectives, thearticle provides an overview of gender aspects within taxation when related to current tax policy trends.

The National tax laws and international tax policies have, despite impressive growth performances in many economies, worked against economic gender equality. The broad concept of tax fairness has become equivalent to what is good for economic growth and detached from social justice, leading to increasing income gaps and poverty. As a result, many aspects of taxation have indirectly had a substantial effect on gender-related socio-economic inequalities even though most domestic tax laws being gender neutral. The ignorance to consider gender inequalities, when designing tax laws, is obviously in conflict with several legal obligations and policies, on national, regional and international levels. 

In this paper, novel insights concerning the relationship between gender equality and taxation are presented. These insights have been pushed forward by both the societal challenges of financial crisis and now the pandemic crisis. Based on legal and economic perspectives, the anlysis in the text provides an overview of gender aspects within taxation when related to current tax policy trends. 

DEBATT. Skattepolitiken bygger på en uppenbar fördomsfull syn på kvinnors ekonomiska ställning i samhället. Den kan kort och gott sammanfattas som att män ska har rätt till avdrag och kvinnor ska be om bidrag, skriver Åsa Gunnarsson, professor i skatterätt.

In this comparative analysis of the UK and Sweden, we consider, if inherited wealth is most deserving of redistributive taxation, then what lessons, if any, may be learned from the difficult paths faced by this tax in these countries. We conclude that the political momentum behind the Swedish family business was distinct, and, possibly, capable of travel to the UK.

Detta kapitel innehåller en berättelse om och våra reflektioner kring erfarenheter av en påtvingad nedläggning under 2018 av forsknings- och utbildningsmiljön Juridiskt forum (Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society). Vi börjar i en meta-berättelse om utveckling, framgång, motstånd och fall. Ur denna berättelse har två teman utkristalliserats: Exkludering av genusrättsvetenskap från utbildning och forskning samt Genusrättsvetenskap och genusrättsvetenskapare som arbetsmiljöproblem(et). Dessa kontextualiseras som uttryck för den rättsdogmatiska traditionens motstånd mot de kritiska ontologiska och epistemologiska utmaningar som den nordiska genusrättsvetenskapliga traditionen och socio-rättsliga studier representerar. Vi hävdar att motståndet på institutionell, akademisk och personlig nivå i grunden handlar om en djup oförmåga och ovilja att hantera mångfald, kritik och utveckling. När nu denna kamp är över, och vår gränsöverskridande, kritiska miljö har eliminerats så finns det ändå inga vinnare. Istället anser vi att utvecklingspotentialen för den snäva rättsvetenskap som produceras i Umeå idag är låg, vilket underminerar möjligheterna till att uppfylla förändringsbehov i juristutbildningen. Motstånd har ständigt varit närvarande under genusrättsvetenskapens nära 40-åriga nordiska historia och andra starka genusrättsvetenskapliga miljöer och enskilda forskare har gått liknande öden till mötes som vårt. Ändå slutar inte vår berättelse i pessimism. Nedläggningen av Juridiskt forum kan inte hindra utvecklingen. Genusrättsvetenskapen i Norden har satt sig och utvecklas starkt som akademiskt ämne. Efterfrågan är stor från juriststudenter och volymen på expertuppdrag, forskning och publikationer är omfattande. Viktiga samhällsutmaningar ställer nya kunskapskrav på framtidens jurister. Genus och rätt är utan tvekan en del av denna kunskapsutveckling i Norden.