Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre la discriminación (empleo y ocupación), 1958 (núm. 111) - Suecia (Ratificación : 1962)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Sexual harassment. Legislation. The Committee notes that: (1) under section 3 of chapter 2 of the Discrimination Act (2008:567), “if an employer becomes aware that an employee considers that he or she has been subjected in connection with work to harassment or sexual harassment by someone performing work or carrying out a traineeship at the employer’s establishment, the employer is obliged to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged harassment and where appropriate take the measures that can reasonably be demanded to prevent harassment in the future”; and (2) section 4 of chapter 1 of the Act defines sexual harassment as a “conduct of a sexual nature that violates someone’s dignity”. The Committee also notes that in 2023 the Equality Ombudsman published a report on the state of discrimination which concluded that there is a need to increase employers’ responsibility to combat sexual harassment. The Committee recalls that effective measures to prevent and prohibit sexual harassment at work should address both hostile environment sexual harassment (i.e. a conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile or humiliating working environment for the recipient) and quid pro quo sexual harassment (i.e. any physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature and other conduct based on sex affecting the dignity of women and men which is unwelcome, unreasonable and offensive to the recipient; and a person’s rejection of, or submission to, such conduct is used explicitly or implicitly as a basis for a decision which affects that person’s job) (see General Survey of 2012 on fundamental Conventions, paragraph 789). The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether complete protection against both quid pro quo sexual harassment and sexual harassment due to a hostile work environment is afforded and, if not, to take the necessary steps to extend the definition and prohibition of sexual harassment in order to cover both aspects of sexual harassment. The Committee also asks the Government to provide: (i) information on any measures taken or envisaged to increase employers’ responsibility to combat sexual harassment; and (ii) statistical information on the number of complaints alleging sexual harassment in the workplace.

Articles 2 and 3. Equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication, in its report, that in 2023, 86 per cent of women and 91 per cent of men between the ages of 20 and 64 participated in the labour market (it was 83 and 89 per cent, respectively, in 2013), and that 20 per cent of women and 9 per cent of men worked part-time (34 and 10 per cent, respectively, in 2018). In this respect, the Government indicates that the overarching goal for gender equality in Sweden is divided into six sub-goals, including equal distribution of power and influence, economic gender equality, and gender equality in education. The Government also indicates that the Swedish Gender Equality Agency: (1) follows up on progress towards the gender equality goal; (2) compiles an annual report on how the Government has succeeded in implementing the sub-goals; and (3) issued a report on economic gender equality in 2022 which shows that underemployment and temporary employment feature more prominently in occupations dominated by women. In this respect, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (1) as a result of an amendment to the Employment Protection Act (1982:80) in 2022, a “full-time norm” was added, requiring the employer to provide written information on the reason for part-time work; and (2) this norm will serve to promote gender equality in the labour market, since the possibility of working full-time and having a permanent employment affects economic equality. The Committee also notes that: (1) women run about 30 per cent of Swedish companies; and (2) a study by the Agency shows that male-dominated sectors are the principal recipients of public financing in absolute terms, and female-dominated industries receive the lowest amount of support (the number of approved applications for grants was up to two times higher for men than for women). The Committee notes with interest that there are several local-level initiatives to improve career opportunities and facilitate reskilling and upskilling for female-dominated sectors and that, as a result, all the regions now have, or are in the process of initiating, career models for nurses, together with increased opportunities for reskilling and upskilling. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on the conclusions of the Gender Equality Agency regarding the implementation of the three above-mentioned gender equality sub-goals, and on any measures taken or envisaged to promote gender equality in the labour market. The Committee also asks the Government to continue providing statistical information on the participation of men and women in the labour market and their distribution between full-time work, part-time work, temporary employment and unemployment.

Gender equality measures. The Committee notes that, according to the latest version of the Discrimination Act (2008:567), employers who employed 25 or more workers at the beginning of the calendar year are no longer required to draw up a plan for their gender equality work but must document in writing, in the course of the year, their work on “active measures”, i.e. work towards prevention of any risks of discrimination and promotion of equal rights and opportunities (see sections 2, 4 and 13 of chapter 3 (on active measures) of the Act). In this regard, the Committee notes that an inquiry has been conducted to determine whether the provisions regarding supervision of these active measures are appropriate for effective compliance with the Act and that the proposals which were made are under consideration by Government authorities. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken with a view to ensuring the effective implementation of chapter 3 of the Discrimination Act, as a follow-up to the inquiry conducted, or otherwise.

Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of race, colour and national extraction. National minorities. Roma and Sami. Further to its previous comment, the Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that: (1) the Equality Ombudsman does not record the ethnicity of complainants and does not keep statistics on how many cases involve discrimination against national minorities; (2) over the years, the Ombudsman has received relatively few complaints concerning discrimination against the Sami, Swedish Finns, and Tornedalians; (3) the objective of Sweden’s policy for national minorities is to provide protection and strengthen their opportunities to exert influence; (4) in 2023, the Government proposed increased funding for efforts to combat racism and other expressions of xenophobia and discrimination for the coming three years through a bill to Parliament; and (5) all the activities undertaken to combat discrimination against national minorities are not specifically directed at discrimination in employment or occupation. As far as the Sami people are concerned, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (1) the Truth Commission for the Sami people set up in November 2021 was tasked with mapping the policies towards the Sami and their impact, and proposing measures to promote redress and reconciliation in a report due in December 2025; (2) according to a survey on Sami’s health and living conditions, based on interviews with 3,658 Sami aged 18 to 84 in the country and carried out by the Public Health Agency, 67.4 per cent of the Sami state that they are employed (56.1 per cent in the rest of the population), 2.8 per cent state that they are unemployed (3.5 per cent in the rest of the population), and the proportion of students among the Sami (5.7 per cent) is lower than in the general population (7.8 per cent); (3) in June 2022, five different action programmes containing concrete measures to combat, among other things, racism against the Sami were adopted for the period 2022–24 to complement the 2016 National Plan to Combat Racism, Similar Forms of Hostility and Hate Crimes; (4) the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention recently issued a report which shows that hate crimes against the Sami occur in different environments and contexts and that many of the Sami feel a concern about being exposed; and (5) the Living History Forum, which provides support and training initiatives to school staff, has been tasked with carrying out several initiatives against various forms of racism, including producing support material about racism against the Sami, directed at teachers. As far as the Roma are concerned, the Government indicates that: (1) it continues to carry out activities implementing the Long-Term Strategy for Roma Inclusion 2012–2032 which was adopted with the overarching objective that the Roma who reach the age of 20 in 2032 will have equal opportunities with the non-Roma; (2) the Swedish Public Employment Service reported on its work on Roma inclusion during 2020–23 and, for 2024–25, it places the focus on further developing its work to increase Roma inclusion; (3) since 2022, the County Administrative Board of Stockholm has been tasked with distributing government grants to municipalities in order to improve their capacity to promote Roma inclusion; (4) the grants have led to various projects in different municipalities with positive impact; (5) during the period 2022–24, appropriate training programmes for mediators with Roma language skills and cultural competences were developed; (6) the Living History Forum has proposed measures to combat anti-gypsyism in compulsory and upper secondary school; (7) the number of complaints of discrimination against Roma, which had increased since 2005, has decreased in 2022 and 2023 (25 and 9, respectively); and (8) reports of discrimination against Roma in 2023 mainly concerned discrimination in the provision of goods and services, but also in the areas of education, the labour market and social services. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on the results of the above-mentioned measures and initiatives in terms of equal access to education, training, and employment of Roma and Sami.The Committee also asks the Government to continue providing any available statistical information, disaggregated by sex, or findings of qualitative studies on the labour market situation of the national minorities, more particularly Roma and Sami.

Afro-Swedes and persons of African descent. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in reply to its previous comment that, in 2022, Statistics Sweden issued a report comparing the economic living conditions of persons born in Sweden and whose parents were born in Sweden, with those of persons with a non-European background, and that the report shows that: (1) people’s circumstances – such as education level, employment and the type of area in which they live – differ depending on their background; (2) it is more common for people with a non-European background to not have a job or to have occupations that are a poorer match with their education; and (3) unexplained income disparities are usually the largest for women and men born in Sub-Saharan Africa, and for women and men born in Sweden with at least one parent born in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Committee also notes that: (1) the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention has been tasked with conducting in-depth studies of islamophobia and afrophobia; (2) within the 2016 National Plan to Combat Racism, Similar Forms of Hostility and Hate Crimes and the action programme to combat afrophobia, measures have been taken to address the situation of Afro-Swedes in the labour market; and (3) county administrative boards have been tasked with further developing efforts to combat racism in the labour market with a view to highlighting norms that are limiting opportunities for Afro-Swedes, and to help remove obstacles for them. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on: (i) the results of the measures and programmes already implemented in order to prevent and address economic segregation and discrimination in employment and occupation of Afro-Swedes and persons of African descent; and (ii) any other measures taken or envisaged to that end. The Committee also asks the Government to provide any available statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on access to education and training of Afro-Swedes and persons of African descent, and their situation in the labour market.

Newly arrived immigrants. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (1) integration continues to be an important and prioritized policy area for the Government, and the goal of Sweden’s integration policy is currently to ensure equal rights, obligations and opportunities for all, irrespective of their ethnic and cultural background; and (2) for newly arrived immigrants and their family members, targeted measures are taken during their first years in Sweden during the Introduction Program. In this respect, the Committee notes that the key objective of the Introduction Programme is to speed up the introduction of newly arrived immigrants, and their family members, into working and social life, through active labour market activities (provided by the Public Employment Service, for 24 months) and Swedish language courses (provided by municipalities), for instance. As regards education, the Committee notes that: (1) in 2018, mandatory education was introduced for those who participate in the Introduction Programme – in particular those who are considered in need of full-time regular adult education and those who are not qualified for an employment – with the aim to both increase their employability and their possibility to find an employment, and improve matching between employers and jobseekers; and (2) extensive government funding for adult education is expanding in order to continue to develop skills of disadvantaged groups, including people from migrant backgrounds, and to facilitate their integration into the labour market, placing a special focus on Swedish language training for Ukrainian refugees. The Committee further notes with interest that: (1) in March 2023, the Government decided on a three-year investment in order to facilitate foreign-born women's entry into the labour market, together with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR); and (2) in June 2023, the Government gave a three-year assignment to the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Swedish Migration Agency, the National Board of Health and Welfare and the County Administrative Board Västernorrland to implement a joint agency plan aimed at increasing the entry of foreign-born women into the labour market, and that the final report is due in March 2026. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on the impact of the Introduction Programme and any other initiative in favour of newly arrived immigrants in terms of access to education and training, as well as integration into the labour market (including updated statistical information, disaggregated by sex).

Enforcement. Further to its previous comment, the Committee takes note that, according to the Government’s indication, the Human Rights Institute is tasked with monitoring, investigating and reporting on how human rights are being respected and realised, and that it does not examine individual complaints about human rights violations. The Committee notes that the Equality Ombudsman, who monitors compliance with the Discrimination Act (2008:567), “shall provide advice and other support so as to help enable anyone who has been subjected to discrimination to claim their rights” (section 2 of the Act concerning the Equality Ombudsman (2008:568)). The Committee also notes that: (1) in 2021, the Ombudsman started to investigate more complaints, with the aim of obtaining redress for more people who have been victims of discrimination, including before a court; (2) between 1 July 2021 and 30 April 2024, the Ombudsman handled 30 cases of alleged discrimination pertaining to employment and occupation, out of which six were rejected by a court; and (3) the 2023 report of the Equality Ombudsman concluded that there is a need to strengthen the protection against discrimination in the public sector. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on the number, nature and outcome of cases of discrimination in employment and occupation dealt with by the Equality Ombudsman, the labour inspectorate, the courts or any other competent authorities. It also asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to strengthen the protection against discrimination in the public sector.