Sweden

By Ellen Wulfhorst

Sweden's minority center-left coalition will introduce legislation in February to make listed companies increase the number of women in their boardrooms, news agency TT said yesterday.

International IDEA's Global Programmes Division has opened a position 'Head of Democracy Assessment' to lead the new Democracy Assessment, Analysis and Advisory Unit (DAAA). The Unit will bring together the current State of Democracy programme and the three cross-cutting themes i.e.

The Swedish Foreign Minister, Margot Wallström, declared that Saudi Arabia’s measures against women are ‘medieval’. The declarations followed the decision by the Saudi courts of ordering that Raif Badawi, who had created a webpage encouraging free speech, must receive 1,000 lashes and ten years in prison. Furthermore, Wallström said that these kind of methods are a ‘cruel attempt to silence modern forms of expression’.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden has launched its ‘Swedish Foreign Service action plan for feminist foreign policy 2015-2018 including focus areas for 2016’. This plan departs from the idea that gender equality is an end in itself, but also something necessary to achieve the rest of the commitments assumed by the Swedish Government, including peace, security and sustainable development.