Since the 1970s, women’s participation in Norway’s labour market, particularly among mothers, has increased sharply. Female employment rates are now approaching parity with men. These changes reshaped family life, expanded the welfare state, and contributed substantially to economic growth. Shifting unpaid household labour and mobilising underused skills in the labour market has significantly boosted Norway’s gross domestic product (GDP).
This policy brief demonstrates how women’s increased participation in the labour market became a key driver of Norway’s GDP growth. This outcome results from a political will for change, where the institutionalisation of welfare and gender-equality policies worked in tandem with social change, economic restructuring, and gender-equality policies.
Publications
Read the policy brief Counting Her In: Women’s Contribution to Economic Growth in Norway and the accompanying method report Counting Her In: Measuring Women’s Contribution to Economic Growth in our archives.
