BJÖRN LYRVALL.

Sweden’s Ambassador for Arctic Affairs.

“We sometimes say that gender equality is not only right; it’s smart.”

In 2014, Sweden became the first country in the world to pursue a feminist foreign policy. Björn Lyrvall, in conversation with Erica Dingman, provides insightful commentary on how Sweden’s feminist foreign policy has evolved domestically to advance gender equality in the Arctic and beyond.

Erica Dingman: What are the highlights of Sweden’s strategy for the Arctic Region?

Björn Lyrvall: When I speak about Sweden, I first want to emphasize that Sweden is an Arctic country. We are not a littoral state, but we are a Nordic country with territory north of the Arctic Circle. Still it’s an important point; not every Swede recognizes that we are an Arctic country, not even those who live in the North. There’s a bit of work to be done to strengthen our Arctic identity. We work very closely with our northern counties, Norrbotten and Västerbotten, where there’s an increasing focus on their Arctic location, its opportunities and challenges.

The main focus of Sweden’s strategy is on mitigating climate change and dealing with environmental challenges. First implemented in 2011, this strategy was updated in 2016 to align with the Paris Agreement.

There is also a focus on sustainable economic development in the Arctic and on the human dimension. Sweden has a significant indigenous population, the Saami, and also non-indigenous people living in the North. In international cooperation, our focus is to maintain the Arctic as an area of low tension and respect for international law. We are in the process of updating our Arctic strategy with the intension of releasing it within the coming six months.

ED: Why did Sweden adopt a feminist foreign policy?

BL:  After years of discussion on gender equality issues, we launched this policy in 2014.  The government had an increasing ambition to make a more systematic effort to deal with the discrimination of countless women and girls around the world.

The feminist foreign policy is a systematic approach to gender equality. The starting point is that gender equality is an objective in itself, but it is also central for achieving governments overall objectives with regard to peace, security, and sustainable development. We sometimes say that gender equality is not only right; it’s smart. There’s a lot of evidence that gender equal societies enjoy better health, stronger economic growth, and high security. So what this policy aims for is to change structures and enhance the ability of women and girls as actors. It’s a working method that we try to mainstream throughout all of our work.

The policy is structured around the 3-R’s: the issue of rights, representation, and resources. What do statistics say about the rights of men versus women, boys versus girls in areas such as education, work, marriage, or divorce? Is gender taken into consideration when resources are allocated for projects associated with the central government and local governments? We have to ask the question of whether women are represented in decision-making processes. It’s been quite a journey. As a middle-aged man working in the Foreign Service for over 30 years, I think one aspect is to persuade more men to get involved in promoting gender equality. It’s been a dedicated and systematic effort by government, and not least the foreign ministry, to get us all involved.

ED: Am I correct that this was a result of changes that were being made in Sweden on a domestic basis?

BL: Well, it came about when the past-Foreign Minister Margot Wallström was actively promoting gender equality. At the same time, the government elected in 2014 declared itself a feminist government. So gender equality was expressed throughout the entire government not just the foreign ministry.

At the foreign ministry, we took a systematic approach to promoting gender equality globally. Internally, we changed some of the structures for how we do business by examining the composition of the heads of departments and ambassadors. We also reviewed how we conduct international conferences, communication efforts, and campaigns.

But also, more importantly I would say, we examined how to change international policies. We initiated the Women’s Mediation Network, which promotes increased female participation in peace processes and champions  women’s issues on peace and security at the United Nations Security Council. One of the most successful features of this policy, I think, is the increased awareness of gender equality issues. We now have Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy handbook available on the Internet . We’ve been handling many international campaigns on gender equality including the UN-based “HeForShe” campaign. Other countries have joined in to develop their own feminist foreign policies including other Arctic countries, like Canada.  I think we’ve all gained a greater understanding, but the work is ongoing.

ED: Did you run into hurdles along the way?

BL: There has been what is referred to as the giggle factor, sometimes attributed to Gandhi. I don’t know if that’s true. But the point is that at first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win. To a certain extent that’s the reaction you meet when you try to develop a feminist foreign policy and gender equality. It’s always controversial. But it’s been largely successful and as I said, smart. It’s to every society’s benefit to make use of the potential of both women and men.

ED: Specifically, how has Sweden applied this policy to gender equality in the Arctic?

BL: There’s clearly a lot of work to be done. But we are pleased to see that the Icelandic Arctic Council Chairmanship is making this one of their priorities. It’s important to know that organizations like Women of the Arctic are out there to raise awareness, and to have discussions about gender equality at the Arctic Circle Assembly.

As for Sweden, we will co-lead the Council’s Sustainable Development Working Group project on gender equality. We’ve also promised to try to increase the financing of expert participation for activities necessary to raise awareness on gender issues. All projects financed by the Swedish government are now reviewed from a gender equality perspective. One example is our annual support to the Saami Council. We think it’s important to strengthen the network of stakeholders involved with the challenges facing women in the Arctic.

ED: A growing body of research demonstrates a relationship between women’s inclusion, stability and economic growth, which correlates with another issue. You have stressed on numerous occasions that Arctic climate change is a potential security threat with economic consequences of global proportions. Would you elaborate on how Sweden’s feminist foreign policy could achieve better outcomes for tackling this challenge?

BL: Well, I think it’s a no brainer to say that to understand the Arctic you need to listen to the entire community of people living there. Not only to men or male leaders, but also, to the perspectives of women. If you look at it from a global perspective, the effects of Arctic climate change have repercussions worldwide. Draught, flooding, and extreme weather all derive from what’s happening in the Arctic. Those conditions are affecting 1.3 billion of the world’s poorest people the hardest, not least of whom are women.

Women in these areas are frequently responsible for agricultural work. They are, in a way, agents of change; you need to listen to women and have them involved in how to deal with climate change in these parts of the world. So, we are trying to strengthen our work to integrate environmental and climate perspectives with the gender equality perspective in our development work, both bi-laterally and within the European Union. This boils down to the work we are doing at the Global Environment Fund, the World Bank’s Climate Investment Fund, and the UN-based Green Climate Fund where recruiting the right people includes women, so as to ensure that women are involved in the design and implementation of these funds. So, these projects are some of the things that we do to include women in addressing the major challenges of the climate crisis.

ED: Is the expectation that the inclusion of women will lead to better outcomes?

BL: Absolutely. When you consider the challenges in some of the world’s hardest hit areas, women are a part of the solution. Their knowledge and understanding is crucial. As I said, many of these women are responsible for the agricultural work and for their family’s food security. They play a key role in the use and administration of forest resources and water. So, they are important agents for change. As always you need the voices of both women and men in order to understand key perspectives in order to address the climate crisis and also other issues, such as peace processes.

ED: With your experience of working on Arctic issues, have you seen examples of an increase of women’s participation?

BL: In 2011, I was involved in the Swedish Chairmanship and was really engaged during the U.S. Chairmanship (2015-2017) when I was serving in Washington. There have been a number of very competent and professional women involved in the work of the Arctic Council (AC), from the AC Secretariat to the Senior Arctic Official delegations, not least of whom are Permanent Participants, including participants from the Saami Council where there are some very competent women. There are many others too.

I’ve really valued the perspectives of all of these delegations, and I’m sure that women have a strong voice in forming the policies that have been articulated. But, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Mainstreaming the gender perspective and gender equality issues in our projects is an important step. We should be more open to this, and more cognizant of raising awareness. Still there are some relatively conservative societies in the North, where change is gradual.  

ED: Systemic change is slow.

BL: When it comes to Sweden at least, the work we’ve done with the feminist foreign policy in the last five years has opened the eyes of a lot of people working here. They’ve come to understand what we gain from a more gender equal world, and how important gender equality is for tackling some of the world’s major challenges. It’s step-by-step, then suddenly you are at a new level. I think that the work done by Women of the Arctic has put these issues firmly on the agenda for Arctic cooperation as well.  

ED: Is there anything you’d like to add?

BL: This process of working to strengthen gender equality in my own country and globally is really a win-win situation. It’s something we should promote. The more you raise awareness the more likely it is that we can get more men involved in the process. It’s paramount that more men get involved in promoting gender equality. It’s something we have to do together. For me, it’s been a very fruitful journey dealing with gender issues.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

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