Vocational education and training in the Nordic countries: Knowledge and interventions to combat gender segregation

Both the labour markets and the education systems in the Nordic countries are highly gender segregated. This gender segregation has consequences for study and working conditions, pay, and the distribution of power and resources. Combating gender bias is one of the strategic areas of intervention in official Nordic cooperation in the area of gender equality. The Nordic Council of Ministers co-operation body NIKK was commissioned to conduct a study focusing on gender segregation in VET in the Nordic countries. The study provides an introduction to what we know about VET and gender as an area of knowledge, describes how VET in the Nordic countries is organised, and gives examples of how these countries have worked to break patterns of gender segregation and to retain pupils who belong to the under-represented sex. The study also includes a concluding analysis section.