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The aim of the article is to discuss the challenges from immigration to Nordic (gender) politics, theories and research. The research question is to what extent Nordic welfare and gender equality politics is based on exclusive solidarity biased towards the native majorities. A key issue is how Nordic gender theory and research has addressed multiple inequalities. The article briefly revisits the academic debates about gender equality, diversity and multiculturalism, which arguably represent two different paradigms: multicultural approaches have addressed the accommodation of minorities with diversity as the key concept, while feminist approaches have focused on gender (in)equality with gender as the key concept.

The intersectional approach suggests that increased migration and mobility present similar challenges for the two bodies of thought to address complex and multiple inequalities within and beyond the nation state. The main part explores “the multicultural dilemma” in greater detail focusing on the intersections between gender and etho‐national minorities in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Perceptions of diversity and gender equality/women's rights are contextual and dynamic as intersecting diversities and inequalities are embedded in national histories, institutions and policies. Scholars have demonstrated that the discourse about women's rights and gender equality has become an intrinsic part of Nordic identities and belongings. The article suggests that the new forms of inequalities among women can be interpreted as a Nordic gender equality paradox between the relative inclusion of the native majority women and the relative marginalization of women from diverse ethnic minorities in society.

The intersectionality approach to gender and ethnicity in Scandinavia is in this article combined with a transnational approach to gender, diversity and migration.

This paper aims to introduce an identity fit perspective adding to the understanding of the Nordic gender equality paradox of top managing positions using a Danish sample as case.

In total, five hypotheses concerning identity perception of top managing positions and the relationship with own identity and type of industry were tested through a correlational research design utilizing a cross-sectional survey methodology. A total of 1,054 women aged 18–60 participated in the survey.

The analysis revealed a strong masculine perception of a top managing position whereas women's own identity perception was much more diverse. The more masculine a woman perceives herself to be, the more motivated she is to climb the career ladder. Type of industry moderates the relationship between identity fit and motivation for top positions, but only for the masculine traits. The relationship between identity fit and motivation is stronger for women in high masculine industries.

Apart from being the first study of identity fit in a Nordic setting, this study contributes to the identity fit theory by employing a semi-objective fit approach exploring identity fit on an industry level, including female-dominated industries, as well as examining identity fit in relation to motivation to pursue a top managing position.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how equality and diversity are experienced in everyday work within Finnish work organizations and how equality policy and diversity management participate in maintaining the inequality regimes of the organizations.

The empirical findings are based on 31 interviews, which were collected in two private sector work organizations. Inequality regimes, the interlocked practices, and processes that result in continuing inequalities in all work organizations, are used as an analytic tool.

There is an individualizing tendency of equality in Finnish work organizations, which is also the premise of diversity management. Accordingly, the organizations cannot address structural and historical discrimination based on gender, race, and class. Also, when diversity is intrinsic to the corporate image, the members of the organization downplay and legitimize inequalities in their organization.

The paper analyzes inequality regimes in a context that should be ideal for equality and diversity: Finland, where gender equality policies are relatively progressive, and organizations that strive for equality and diversity. This gives new insight on why inequalities are difficult to change.

Iceland, along with the other Nordic countries, is seen as an international frontrunner in gender equality and equal sharing of responsibility for paid and unpaid work is part of the official ideology. Nevertheless, the number of women in leadership positions remains low. The purpose of this study is to analyse the practices that (re)produce power imbalances between women and men in business leadership both at the macro and the micro levels. This is done by using two theoretical explanations: gendered organizational practices and the interplay of organizations and family life.

The mixed methods are applied by analysing 51, semi-structured interviews with female and male business leaders and survey data from CEOs and executives from the 250 largest companies in Iceland.

The analyses reveal gender differences and asymmetries in work life as well as within the family. Men have longer working hours than women, higher salaries and more job-related travelling. Women carry the dual burden of work and family to a higher degree than do men. By questioning and attempting to resist the organizational culture women risk further disadvantage. The situation of male and female leaders is therefore incomparable. This is a paradox and does not fit with the idea of the Nordic gender equality of a dual breadwinner society.

It is shown that lack of gender diversity in business leadership is based on gendered organizational practices as well as on power relations within families. These two aspects are mutually reinforcing and the originality of the study is to explore the interplay between them. The authors conclude that despite being the country at the forefront of gender equality in the world, neither organizational practices nor family relations recognize the different life experiences of women and men in Iceland. This is expressed in organizational practices and different access to time and support, which may hinder gaining gender equality in top leadership.

The paradox of the contented female worker refers to the fact that women are generally disadvantaged (fewer material rewards) in the workplace relative to men, but are just as satisfied with their jobs as men. We review various arguments offered to explain the paradox with special attention given to justice-based explanations. Data collected from 30 countries as part of the 2005 ISSP are examined and show that the paradox is essentially a universal, worldwide phenomenon.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to research on gender and corporate boards of directors by focusing on how female board professionals construct particular notions of accessing and succeeding in boards.

A discursive perspective is offered, based on conceiving gender as something that is “done” in social interaction. In the spirit of critical discourse analysis, the talk of female board professionals, produced in interviews in the Finnish context, is analyzed in‐depth.

Two discourses are located in the talk of female board professionals: the discourse of competence and the discourse of gender. It is argued that the discourses constitute a boardroom gender paradox, which is characterized by several contradictory elements. By conceptualizing and illustrating this paradox, the study scrutinizes the elusive ideal of women's large‐scale entry into corporate boards.

Future studies should make use of the insights developed, and apply them to cross‐societal comparative research.

For corporate decision‐makers, the findings suggest a rethinking of how “competence” is defined and applied.

Paradox has rarely been addressed in the literature on gender and corporate boards. Understanding how the women interviewed (re)construct a boardroom gender paradox offers a unique contribution to the literature.

Feminist criminologists are well acquainted with how their research on sexual harms and gendered forms of victimisation may serve as powerful levers for punitive agendas. In recent years, culturalist interpretations of sexual violence have become key themes in debates on migration and integration in liberal welfare democracies, such as Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In this, complex issues of gender, ethnicity and power are involved, and the balancing of these, both analytically and ethically, poses a challenge to feminists in their attempts to contribute to social change. This chapter will, based on examples from debates in Sweden, present and discuss how argumentation about sexual freedom and integrity is enlisted in attempts to reinforce borders and ideas about dangerous Others, and outline how a fruitful meeting between criminology and feminism can advance the scholarship on sexual violence.

The paper criticizes current directions in research on women and management. The purpose of this paper is to propose new directions for such research.

The paper is conceptual and is based on a review of recent literature on elites and the gendering of elite positions internationally and in the Nordic countries. This literature is discussed using studies of changing power dynamics and the development of welfare state services in a context of globalization.

The paper argues that one needs to move away from the focus on individual traits and “female management” to study the processes and practices that (re)produce power differences between men and women in the organisations where they take place. Two contextual factors make new directions in research necessary. The first is the knowledge economy changing organisations from bureaucratic towards democratic forms at the level of production and the financialization of the economy centralizing power at corporate level. The second is the challenging of Nordic welfare states by globalization of the economy. The welfare state results in a “democratization of motherhood” that increases women's participation in the economy, but may limit their opportunity to obtain elite positions.

To understand women's exclusion of elite positions, new research should combine multidimensional analyses of gender and power to explore the symbolic connections between masculinity and “big money”.

Academia remains a male-dominated occupational realm, even though women have made great gains as actors in higher education. The interconnections of work-related and family-related discrimination experiences and work-related and family-related support are analyzed, drawing on over 100 semi-structured interviews with and written accounts of academic women in 11 Finnish universities from all major disciplinary fields. Finland provides an interesting research context, characterized by relatively high gender equality in both academia and society more generally. Exploring academic women in this setting reveals several paradoxes, namely those of: feminization of academia; family-friendly policies; academic motherhood; and academic endogamy.

Scholars often suggest that institutionalized employee voice reduces turnover as an alternative to exit when employees are dissatisfied. Paradoxically, Denmark presents a case of high union density and thus high institutionalized employee voice, yet high turnover rates. To explore the Danish turnover paradox, this chapter looks at the macro-societal contextual factors impacting turnover rates in the Danish labor market. Institutional characteristics such as the flexicurity model (i.e., a welfare state model with proactive labor market policy; a portmanteau of flexibility and security), legal frameworks (i.e., relatively lax labor market regulations), and cultural factors (i.e., a culture of equality and collective collaborative structures) are all relevant to understand the high turnover rates in Denmark. The authors first overview the general trends and figures on turnover in Denmark and then examine the Danish institutional, legal, and cultural factors as they relate to the high turnover rates in the Danish labor market. Finally, the authors summarize and discuss the findings and consider their implications for research and practice related to employee turnover in the Nordics and beyond.