Sub-goal 3: Equal education

The goal of equal education is for women and men, or girls and boys, to have the same opportunities and conditions in terms of education, educational choices and personal development.

The goal covers everything from preschool to adult education and higher vocational education, universities and higher education institutions. Learning and education outside the formal education system are also included, such as folk high schools and educational activities provided by adult education associations. The gender equality policy sub-goal also includes personal development through activities such as participation in civil society organisations.

Why is it important to reduce differences in grades and educational choices?

Schools play an important role in laying the foundations for an equal society and challenging traditional gender patterns. Education also has a major impact on individuals' future incomes, working conditions and position in society, and is also linked to health and personal development. Gender patterns in school performance and the mental health of pupils are therefore central aspects of efforts to achieve equal education.

Gender segregation in education and employment is a priority area for the Government. Female-dominated occupations and sectors often offer lower pay and poorer working conditions than occupations and sectors where men are in the majority. Gendered educational choices are linked to restrictive gender norms that are established early in life alongside a person's identity and self-image. In the long term, this can have a negative impact on the supply of skills and labour by limiting the availability of workers in certain sectors.

Gender influences educational choices

Girls and boys, and women and men, often study different subjects and programmes. Gender segregation exists across large parts of the education system and takes different forms. It is often particularly apparent between different educational programmes, but can also occur within programmes, where women and men choose different specialisations.

There are several explanations for gender segregation at societal, organisational and individual levels. Educational choices affect women's and men's future working conditions, incomes and career opportunities. They therefore also affect opportunities for financial independence, autonomy and influence in society.

The gender distribution is more balanced on programmes preparing pupils for higher education than on vocational programmes. In recent years, the proportion of women choosing traditionally male-dominated fields of study, such as science and mathematics, has increased. Men, however, have not moved into female-dominated fields of study to the same extent.

Pupils' educational choices are also influenced by socioeconomic factors, such as their parents' level of education and occupational background. Pupils whose parents have post-secondary education are more likely to choose programmes preparing them for higher education, while pupils whose parents have lower levels of education are more likely to choose vocational programmes. Vocational programmes are often clearly gender-segregated. For example, girls are in the majority on the Health and Social Care Programme, while boys are in the majority on the Technology Programme and the Construction and Building Programme.

Other factors influencing young people's educational choices include the gender coding of occupations and subjects, discriminatory subject cultures and norms, the study environment, interests and abilities, social networks, the labour market, and access to information and educational and careers guidance.

Girls get better grades but have poorer health

Girls have achieved better grades than boys in compulsory school for many years, although differences at group level have decreased. This is mainly because boys from an immigrant background have improved their grades, while girls with a Swedish background have seen their grades decline.

The decline in girls' grades may be partly related to increased school-related stress among pupils in Sweden over recent decades. Approximately half of all girls report that they often feel stressed about homework or tests. Among boys, approximately one quarter experience similar levels of stress.

Girls also report enjoying school less and report more health problems than boys, such as low mood, sleep difficulties, headaches and stomach aches. This may be a consequence of school-related stress and performance pressures.

Insecurity, harassment and sexual harassment are problems in schools

Exposure to abuse and feelings of insecurity at school affect pupils' wellbeing and performance. Girls feel less safe at school than boys and are more likely to experience sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination on the basis of gender. Pupils with a different gender identity feel less safe than both girls and boys.

Acceptance of different sexual orientations and gender-nonconforming identities is also lower than for other grounds of discrimination among pupils in compulsory and upper secondary schools. Boys' experiences of vulnerability can include being part of a peer group in which verbal and physical abuse and a harsh tone are common ways of creating hierarchies and social bonds between boys.

Preschools, schools and pupil health services have a major responsibility to work from an early stage to promote gender equality and challenge gender-stereotypical norms. Schools are also young people's main source of information about sexuality and relationships. At the same time, harassment and sexual harassment occur at all levels of education, and schools' handling of such incidents is often inadequate.

Gender equality in higher education is still a long way off

Women and men have different conditions within higher education and research. Women generally have a higher level of education than men and account for just over 60 per cent of students at universities and higher education institutions. At the same time, educational choices remain strongly gendered. More women have, however, begun choosing fields of study traditionally dominated by men. A corresponding shift has not occurred to the same extent in traditionally female-dominated fields of study.

Career paths in academia are not equal. Women are disadvantaged when it comes to the allocation of research funding, while men continue to dominate the highest positions at universities and higher education institutions. Only around three in ten professors are women.

Gender-based vulnerability is also a widespread problem in higher education and research. Harassment and sexual harassment on the basis of gender are serious threats to health, the study environment and the working environment. Women are affected to a greater extent than men. This has consequences in the form of people dropping out of education and employment, as well as sickness absence.

Work to promote gender equality in higher education has been under way for a long time and includes a range of measures. One important strategic initiative has been the Government's assignment on gender mainstreaming in higher education institutions (JiHU), which the institutions concluded in 2025. Universities and higher education institutions have achieved results through this work. Gender equality has been more fully integrated into ordinary governance and operations, and the work has become more clearly linked to the institutions' core activities and to concrete gender inequalities.

Gender norms prevent girls and LGBTQI people from participating in civil society activities 

The sub-goal of equal education also includes personal development through activities such as participation in civil society organisations. Here too, there are differences between girls and boys. In 2024, boys accounted for 60 per cent of all participation in organised sports. In Sweden's most popular sport, football, the difference was even greater, with boys accounting for 71 per cent.

There are several possible explanations for this. The culture and gender norms that develop within certain sports can be a barrier to young people's participation. Girls and LGBTQI people are more likely to feel unwelcome in leisure activities. Participation in sport is lower in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, particularly among girls. School-related stress is also a reason why young people, especially girls, do not have enough time for sport.

What challenges are there to achieving equal education?

Promoting equal education is now well integrated into the school's regular mandate. At the same time, progress is slow. To achieve the goal of equal education, measures are needed to:

• counteract gender differences in educational choices and break down gender segregation in education;
• reduce gender differences both in educational outcomes and in progression to higher education;
• improve pupils' mental health, particularly that of girls;
• promote a safe study environment free from harassment and sexual harassment;
• strengthen and develop teaching about sexuality, consent and relationships;
• continue work on gender mainstreaming in universities and higher education institutions, focusing on the structures that shape power, resources and conditions.