Response to interpellation 2024/25:617 on economic equality
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerned economic equality and the government's economic policy. L argues that the government's reforms 2023–2025 have increased women's disposable incomes more than men's 1 2 3 and that the government has taken initiatives to promote women's entrepreneurship, establishment in the labor market, and equality in the housing market 1 2 3. L emphasizes the importance of growth policy and well-balanced fiscal policy to combat inflation 1 2. L argues that the government has provided funds for the pay transparency directive 3, taken measures against high food prices 4, and that lowered taxes on work and pensions strengthen households' purchasing power 4. S argues that the government ignores economic inequality by lowering taxes for the richest instead of supporting single mothers 5 6. S claims that ordinary households are pressured by high prices and that child poverty is increasing 5 6. S wants to increase the child allowance and criticizes the removal of the extra supplement in the housing allowance 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Nina Larsson (L)
Madam President! Sofia Amloh has asked me what I intend to do to reduce economic inequality.
I would like to thank the member for her commitment to issues regarding economic inequality and agree that rising food prices and housing costs have put great pressure on household finances in recent years. Among the particularly vulnerable households are single women with children.
Economic equality is one of the sub-goals of the gender equality policy. Women and men shall have the same opportunities and conditions regarding paid work that provides economic independence for life. To this is added, of course, the importance that all people shall have the opportunity and conditions to build up their finances in order to feel both security in everyday life and a belief in the future.
We find ourselves in a cyclical situation where many households have a strained economy. In that situation, it is important that the fiscal policy is well-balanced and that the government continues to act to bring down inflation and accelerate economic growth. Furthermore, the uncertainty in the world around us is now great, and the US announcement of sharply increased tariffs has created even more anxiety. This has led to increased uncertainty regarding global growth, which has created turbulence in the financial markets.
In this situation, Sweden stands on a stable economic foundation and has the opportunity to act further if that should be necessary.
In the government's budget bill for 2025 (prop. 2024/25:1), it was estimated that women's and men's disposable incomes would increase by approximately 22 billion kronor as a result of the government's reforms 2023–2025. The reforms were assessed to collectively increase women's disposable income slightly more than men's. How women's and men's individual disposable incomes develop is reported in detail every year in an appendix to the budget bill on economic equality.
This year's spring budget contains proposals for measures amounting to 11.5 billion kronor and focuses on taking Sweden through the recession, strengthening defense capabilities, increasing safety, and continuing the implementation of the largest offensive in Swedish history against organized crime. The government does this while we continue to support Ukraine.
In the budget amendment, the appropriation for women's organizing is also increased by 5 million kronor in order to further strengthen women's and girls' opportunities for organizing in areas with socio-economic challenges, for example by promoting participation in the democratic process and community life.
The Government has during the current parliamentary term taken the initiative for a long series of assignments to the authorities in order to promote economic equality. This includes, among other things, remote work after the covid-19 pandemic, promoting women's entrepreneurship and establishment in the labor market, equality in the housing market, as well as analysis of life incomes.
The Government is therefore firmly determined to continue working diligently to reduce economic inequality.
Sofia Amloh (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer and the opportunity for debate. But I must say that I actually become even more concerned by hearing what the Minister concludes with: that the intention is to continue on the path already taken. It may not be that one wants to minimize or remove the inequality in economic policy. That is what has been the problem many times. To reduce economic inequality, a different distribution policy was needed than the one the government has pursued until now.
We share the Minister's view of how restless and economically unstable the world is, and we are not alone in that in this chamber. That is not where we disagree. But we know that women and children are those who are hit hardest in crisis and war. We see that both at home and in the rest of the world. We saw it during the pandemic, and we see it now during the current economic crisis.
It is about what policy one chooses to pursue to minimize damage and ensure that the consequences are as small as possible. The government ignores this social problem in favor of lowering taxes for the very richest. The recession and the government's policy hit incredibly hard. Ordinary households are pressured by the high prices of food and housing. Food prices have increased by 25 percent in three years. Rent increases are hitting new records. At the same time, real wages have been eroded. Sweden has, among other things, the worst economic growth in Europe. Then we are compared with countries that live with the same global situation. They have better growth than we do. Furthermore, unemployment is incredibly high in Sweden.
Instead of tackling the concrete societal problems, the government chooses to burn billions on tax cuts for the very richest. Ordinary families are being put under severe pressure. Child poverty is spreading. For several years, reports have been pouring in from countless civil society organizations warning about how economically vulnerable many are. Those who have it absolutely toughest are single mothers. Thousands and thousands of hard-working women can no longer manage financially in Sweden. Mothers who are nursing assistants, assistant nurses, or shop employees do everything in their power to manage the most basic expenses.
Madam Speaker! They have long since used up their small savings. They have sold their jewelry on Blocket, as well as toys, clothes, and everything else they could sell. They have borrowed from relatives. They have stopped eating until they are full. They cannot put their children in organized leisure activities. Then you can imagine the gigantic lump in the stomach if someone should need medicines beyond the usual, need glasses, or need to go to the dentist. There are no economic margins left. Several thousand kronor are already missing every month. One can only imagine the panic that sets in for the person who becomes ill and would need to be home from work.
My question is: Why do the Minister and the government choose not to support single mothers, so that they can manage their most basic expenses?
Statsrådet Nina Larsson (L)
Madam Speaker! I truly welcome Member Sofia Amloh's engagement in these issues. When I have reviewed previous interpellations on this issue, I have noted how the Member very vividly describes examples from reality that need to be spread. I believe it is very important that we diversify and pay attention to how many women live and work and what situation prevails.
There are civil society organizations that highlight this issue. For example, a report on economic equality was recently released by Sveriges Kvinnoorganisationer with a number of interesting proposals that we, from the government's side, will study more closely. I believe it is very useful for our policymaking to highlight these situations and examples.
Sweden is a very equal country internationally seen, but there is still definitely inequality in our country. Women today have on average lower employment rates, less entrepreneurship, shorter working hours, higher absence from work as well as lower wages, savings and capital income than men. The lower lifetime income also naturally has an impact further ahead in life in the form of lower pensions.
In recent years, the Government has taken the initiative on a number of different assignments to the authorities with the aim of promoting economic equality. This covers everything from remote work after the covid-19 pandemic, promotion of women's entrepreneurship, establishment in the labor market and equality in the housing market to analysis of life incomes. Every year, the development of economic equality is also reported in the budget bill's Annex 3 on economic equality.
In the budget bill for 2025, the effects of the government's economic reforms during the mandate period are described. It appears that the cumulative effect of the reforms so far is that women's disposable income has increased slightly more than men's in percentage terms. In connection with the preparation of individual reforms that affect women's and men's finances, the effect on economic equality is an important part of the decision-making basis.
Last year, Sweden was in a serious economic situation, where inflation reached the highest level in over 30 years. Public finances were significantly pressured. Activities, companies, and households were affected economically. The most important thing we could do then was to ensure that inflation was combated through a restrained state budget where expenditures were weighed against each other. At the same time, we have supported in the crisis by lowering taxes broadly for both women and men through an enhanced job tax credit.
Madam President! It is incredibly important to continue with a strong economic policy for growth. Conscious measures and continued active work for economic equality are needed, as well as a gender-equality-integrated state budget. But to strengthen economic equality, growth policy is also needed.
Sofia Amloh (S)
Madam Speaker! I hear the Minister's statement following the questions I have asked. She says that things are moving forward and that women have fared better. I hear the Minister being quite satisfied. She describes it as good to lift up these economically vulnerable groups. But these women are incredibly numerous. It has been so for quite a long time. It has been going on for several years now. Desperation and panic set in in household after household, just as I have described. This is the case for many ordinary families with children. These are mothers who work but cannot make the money last. Thousands of kronor are missing every month, and it has been that way for years. I find it remarkable that the Minister does not have more proposals and does not have more answers to give these mothers when we discuss this.
Madam President! The Government refers to investigations and describes what they now want to find out when it comes to working from home as an effect of the pandemic. Very good, we say – absolutely! But it does not mean that there will be more food on the table for those who are having it incredibly tough economically.
Then the question is: What does one choose to do? It is still those voices that are heard. Women have a knot in their stomachs when the children are on break and they cannot serve them lunch at home. That is the level that many find themselves at. If they need to buy new glasses or get a dentist's bill, it is an enormous stress.
Madam President! I am speaking about almost half of all women. In addition to this, they have also fallen behind all other groups during recent years. There is plenty of statistics that show this. It is being alerted that these working women with the lowest level of education in society are the only group that is regressing in life expectancy. It is palpable how the economic situation has effects on health.
It is about them paying with their poor working environment and other conditions in combination with this. We know that this crisis hits women and children the hardest. In that crisis, one chooses to have a distribution policy that is to take from them and create smaller margins for those who do not have and give larger margins for those who already have.
When the budget was presented in the autumn, the headlines were unambiguous. It is the richest men who win from the budget. Instead of investing in those who have very small margins or no margins left, one chooses in the budget to ensure that a lot of tax funds are used to lower the tax for the Minister for Finance and me. We already have good margins and can counter the economic crisis in another way. We are to have even larger margins.
I ask: Why is it not chosen to increase the child benefit, as many of our neighboring countries have done? Why does one make it harder every month for the single, hard-working mothers? Why is the extra supplement in the housing allowance being removed?
Statsrådet Nina Larsson (L)
Madam President! As I previously stated, the reforms in the government's budget bills for 2023–2025 have been assessed to increase women's disposable income slightly more than men's in total. But the absolute most important thing is to increase growth and to get even more momentum in the economy. The government is entirely dedicated to this.
If we look at the sub-goal Economic Equality, we see a number of things that the government has taken initiatives for or implemented.
We decided in March 2023 on a three-year initiative on open preschool together with Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner to increase the entry of foreign-born women into the labor market. It is an important issue. The agreement covers approximately 23 million kronor. The purpose is to strengthen the establishment of foreign-born women in the labor market with a focus on parents with small children aged zero to six years.
Within the framework of the agreement, SKR also carries out targeted process support to a selection of municipalities and local actors and disseminates the experiences to other municipalities so that corresponding initiatives can emerge in the future. This is an ongoing part.
The Gender Equality Authority has received a mandate concerning economic equality and ownership in the housing market. The mandate specifically covers young women's and men's economic conditions from a gender equality perspective to establish themselves in the housing market, both the owned and the rented. The analysis shall include aspects linked to women's and men's opportunities to finance home purchases, for example, conditions for bank loans.
The Authority for Work Environment Knowledge, Mynak, has been tasked with reporting on how increased remote work following the covid-19 pandemic continues to affect gender equality between women and men in the labor market.
The Medlingsinstitutet has been tasked with analyzing not only wage income but also other incomes that affect individuals' disposable incomes over their lives from an equality perspective.
Tillväxtverket shall, together with Jämställdhetsmyndigheten and several other actors, promote women's entrepreneurship, increase knowledge regarding women's access to private and public financing opportunities, and improve the possibility for small companies to participate in public procurements.
Another area is incredibly central for Swedish competitiveness moving forward and for whether we as a nation will succeed in increasing economic opportunities and thereby also increasing economic equality. It is the interest in technology.
The government has placed a great focus on introducing a new STEM strategy – Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. Being able to increase women's engagement in the field is both a skills supply issue for Swedish companies and an important equality issue.
It is about equal pay for equal work. The EU Commission's pay transparency directive was adopted a few years ago. It aims to combat pay discrimination in the labor market and to reduce unjustified pay differences. This is also an area where the government has provided funds so that we can achieve a smooth implementation of the pay transparency directive so that it does not administratively affect companies. In this way, we can also work towards equal pay for equal work in a much more effective manner.
These are just some of all the measures that the government has taken.
Sofia Amloh (S)
Madam Speaker! I have already said that it is good that the government does many of these things. Many things are quite basic health factors that one attends to when we have the sub-goals that we have when it comes to the work on equality.
But we are in an exceptional situation. It is that I am referring to, and I believe the Minister has heard me speak about it. It is these women that we need to focus on in order to move the positions forward. It is about the fact that we leave very many women behind.
We must not leave them behind just because there has been an economic crisis or a pandemic. We must be there for the women who need us the most. But right now, the government is leaving them behind.
It is thousands of kronor that are missing every month. It concerns nursing assistants and shop employees. They are the ones who keep the country running 24/7. It is those people, the single women, whom the government leaves behind for all the possible reasons that have been stated.
I would like to have answers as to why the child allowance is not being increased and why the extra supplement, which would make it possible for people to perhaps make ends meet for more months of the year, is not being retained. It has such a significant impact.
Madam Speaker! These are very good measures. But here and now, it needs to be reviewed. It concerns the proposals in the previous budget, in the autumn budget. In the supplementary budget, the decision is now made to remove the extra supplement in the housing allowance. Why should those who already have little should have even smaller margins?
Statsrådet Nina Larsson (L)
Madam Speaker! The Government has taken measures to alleviate the effects of, for example, the high food prices. The Government has lowered the reduction obligation and proposes various support measures.
High inflation has eroded savings and wage developments have made us all poorer. Those with small margins who were affected before have naturally found it even tougher.
The government continues to strengthen the purchasing power for households regardless of what the households look like. Fundamentally, it is the one who works who has lost the most. That is also why we have lowered the tax for two consecutive years in order to be able to compensate for that.
Lowering taxes on work and pensions means that we strengthen households' purchasing power. It is an important measure to compensate wage earners who have seen their real wages decrease as a result of the high inflation.
A family with a police officer and a nurse, for example, will have 9,000 kronor more in their wallet in 2025 compared to 2024.
At the same time, the sickness benefit and many other benefits have been adjusted for inflation, unlike wages. The Government is also making additional investments to strengthen the most vulnerable households by extending the temporary supplementary grant to families with children.
The government's goal is, of course, to strengthen all households, to make Sweden and the Swedes wealthier and to ensure that we achieve better growth. We shall ensure that we continue to support the households and strengthen their purchasing power.
I thank Sofia Amloh for her commitment and for the opportunity to discuss these issues, and I hope that we will have reason to return to this in the future.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.