Notable Years

General | EU directives |

General

1960 - Equal pay for equal work, for women and men.
1960 - LO and SAF decide to abolish separate wage rates for women.
1960 - Gunnar Qvist publishes his thesis Kvinnofrågan i Sverige 1809-1846 : studier rörande kvinnans näringsfrihet inom de borgerliga yrkena. This is the first Swedish dissertation within the field of women's history.
1962 - The government adheres to the UN convention on equal pay for equal work.
1964 - Contraceptive pills approved for use in Sweden.
1965 - The Swedish penal code of 1962 in force, replacing the penal law of 1864. Sweden becomes then the first country in the world to legislate against rape in marriage. The law was, however, not put to the test until 1984.
1970 - Gender equality prescribed in curricula.
1971 - Individual taxation is introduced.
1971 - Change of name from The Women's History Archive to The Women's History Collections, and its first salaried librarian is appointed, working part-time. After a period of non-profit work, since 1958, the collections become part of Gothenburg University Library.
1971 - Kvinnobulletinen is founded.
1971 - The record "Sånger om kvinnor" {Songs about women] is released; gets the Grammis Award in 1972.
1972 - Grupp 8 [Group 8] arranges its first manifestation on March 8.
1974 - Through the introduction of parents' insurance, parents are entitled to share parental leaves when their children are born.
1974 - The feminist play "Jösses flickor - befrielsen är nära!" by Margareta Garpe and Suzanne Osten has its first performance at Stockholm City Theatre.
1974-1975 - A cleaners' strike begins in Borlänge in November 1974; the strike laters spreads to other places, e.g. Malmfälten, Skövde, and Umeå.
1975 - A new Abortion Act is passed. Women decide autonomously up to 18th week of pregnancy.
1975 - International WOmen's Year, initiated by the United Nations.
1975 - "Föreningen Kvinnokultur" [Association for Women's Culture] is founded.
1975 - The exhibition "Kvinnfolk" [Womenfolk] opens at Kulturhuset in Stockholm, with a record audience.
1976 - Statute on gender equality in government sectors.
1976 - The Sexual Crime Commission, appointed 1971, publishes its report (SOU 1976:9), which causes furious protests.
1977 - A women's culture festival is celebrated at Gamla Riksdagshuset [the Swedish Parliament building] in Stockholm, on 21-23 February, with 5,000 visitors.
1977-1978 - Centres for women researchers and women's studies are founded, first in Lund, later in Gothenburg, Stockholm, and Uppsala.
1979 - Parents with small children acquire the right to six-hour workdays.
1979 - Law on gender equality in working life is accepted by the parliament.

EU directives

1975 - Equal pay, 75/117/EEG. Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women.
1976 - Equal treatment as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, . Changes, 2002/73EG.
1978 - Social security. Council Directive on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security.