– We have found five errors in section 28 of the Equality Act, says Minister of Business Jan Christian Vestre to news. Vestre refers to the rule that requires the Ministry of Business and Industry to ensure that a certain number of women and men are appointed to councils, committees and tribunals. On Friday, news mentioned that the Council for construction preparedness consists of seven men, even though the law requires at least three women. news has also asked questions about several other councils that apparently have too few women. – Of the five mistakes, two of them are under the previous government, two have occurred administratively under this government, and one has been on my table, he says, and emphasizes that he is responsible in all cases. – Disappointing The equality and discrimination ombudsman Bjørn Erik Thon has previously criticized the mistakes as sloppy, and now says that the ministry must clean up. – It is surprising and disappointing, and the ministry clearly has a job to do when it comes to equality, he says to news. Equality and discrimination ombudsman Bjørn Erik Thon. Photo: Thomas Eckhoff / Thomas B Eckhoff Frps Sivert Bjørnstad believes Vestre illustrates why women’s requirements for business are becoming cumbersome to comply with. – His own government, with very large resources and access to expertise that many small businesses can look forward to, has systematically broken its own laws and regulations. I find that very startling, he says. Didn’t catch mistakes themselves On several occasions, Vestre has been direct in appointing members to the Complaints Board for Industrial Rights, which is one of the boards with fewer women than the law requires. Nemda has 28 men and 19 women. In practice, cases are dealt with by three tribunal members, and then the gender balance is usually ensured, according to the ministry. – The chairman or deputy chairman of the tribunal always participates in most cases and currently both chairman and deputy chairman are women, says Vestre. – What have you done to ensure that the rules for gender balance are followed, even when the decisions do not directly end up on your table? – Now we have gone through a long series of committees, boards and councils to see that we are in line with the regulations. We have found five errors there. I have then initiated work internally, both with following up the error and reviewing our routines. – Why didn’t you make sure that everything was in order before you came up with quite similar demands for gender balance for business? – This case has shown us that over many years the ministry should have had better routines, had a better overview, and ensured that the rules were followed. In the vast majority of cases, the rules are followed, he says. These are the requirements for gender balance The Equality and Discrimination Act lists the minimum requirements for how many women or men a committee must contain: Section 28.Gender balance in public committees etc. When a public body appoints or elects committees, boards, councils, tribunals, delegations, etc., both sexes must be represented in the following way: a. If the committee has two or three members, both sexes must be represented. b. If the committee has four or five members, each gender must be represented by at least two. c. If the committee has six to eight members, each gender must be represented by at least three. d. If the committee has nine members, each gender must be represented by at least four. e. If the committee has several members, each gender must be represented by at least 40 per cent. The first paragraph also applies to the appointment and election of deputy members. The Ministry can grant a dispensation from the requirement for gender balance if it has not been possible to find a sufficient number of qualified members of both sexes. The first paragraph does not apply to selection etc. which by law must only have members from directly elected assemblies. For selection etc. elected by elected bodies in municipalities and county municipalities, the provisions of the Municipalities Act apply. The King issues regulations on enforcement and reporting. The King can also issue regulations with supplementary rules pursuant to this section. Will bring in more women Vestre has set the ministry in motion to investigate how the mistakes happened, and has not yet been able to clarify what has happened in the case that was on his table. – I have started work to follow up the five mistakes we have identified, so that we can ensure that all bodies have members in line with section 28 of the Equality Act, he says. It is possible to apply for an exemption from the quota requirements in the law, but Vestre would rather bring in women than ask for an exemption. – I believe it should be entirely possible to find both qualified women and men for the important tasks for which, among other things, we are responsible in the Ministry of Industry and Fisheries.
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Has broken the law in five cases – must bring in more women – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
