ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the Scandinavian experiences in generating the gender equality, and it addresses the woman-friendliness as discourse and the practice. It explains the contrast of the recent discourses about the potential of woman-friendly policies to tackle the challenges welfare states face in the light of ageing populations and globalised economies. Comparative welfare state literature has highlighted the historical trajectory of the Scandinavian welfare states. During some periods, the countries have presumably functioned as laboratories that generated experiences which have served as a vision for political actors and civil society organisations in other countries. The region has also been influenced by international organisations. The UN recommendations to establish policy machineries for women, the effort to implement the CEDAW convention and to further gender mainstreaming have been central. The Scandinavian experience demonstrates that the universal-breadwinner vision has obvious shortcomings. It is often driven by a narrow utilitarian policy logic that restricts women's options and makes gainful employment imperative.
