INTRODUCTION 

In January 2020, Nordic co-operation through the Nordic Council of Ministers was expanded to include work on equal rights, treatment, and opportunities for LGBTI people in the Nordic countries. Trans people are a particularly vulnerable group who face various obstacles in life, not least in working life. At the same time, there have been setbacks in recent years in terms of the living conditions of LGBTI people both in the Nordic countries and globally, and trans people have been particularly hard hit (European Parliament, 2021). This has been recognised by the Nordic ministers for gender equality, who have adopted a plan to counteract this negative trend (Nordic Council of Ministers, 2022).

In 2023, the Icelandic Presidency of the Council of Ministers initiated a project to shed light on the working life conditions of trans people in the Nordic countries. The Nordic Council of Ministers’ co-operation body, Nordic Information on Gender (NIKK), based at the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research, was commissioned to carry out the project in 2023-2024. It intends to provide a clearer picture of the living conditions of trans people in the Nordic countries, with a focus on working life. The aim is to make trans people’s working life conditions in the Nordic countries visible to enable dialogue and identify needs and measures for improvement.

Today, there is limited knowledge of the working life conditions for trans people and the underlying factors that affect their employment. The national studies that have been published have different areas of focus, but collectively they can provide a clearer picture of working life conditions for trans people in the Nordic countries. This document will provide a clear summary of the field of knowledge in the Nordic countries. By consolidating existing research, the project helps to identify and, in some cases, fill knowledge gaps and thereby be of use to the Nordic countries. As national actors that develop knowledge or put it into practice gain increased access to knowledge from other parts of the Nordic region, the project will contribute further added value in terms of Nordic benefits.

The knowledge review also includes documentation from discussions held with national actors to identify needs and propose measures to improve the working life conditions of trans people in the Nordic countries. Meetings have been held with representatives of national civil society organisations, anti-discrimination officers and central trade union organisations.

This introductory section is followed by a brief description of the background to the project with respect to conditions and regulations pertaining to working life in the Nordic countries. This section also includes a glossary of terms used in the report. This is followed by a description of the method and approach and a brief introduction to the material included. The main part of the knowledge review that follows presents findings about trans people’s working life conditions in the Nordic countries. It is divided into three overarching themes: trans people’s employment and access to the labour market, working environments and life in the workplace and organisational climate. This is followed by a section summarising the dialogues held with national actors in the Nordic countries. The final section of the knowledge review is a discussion with concluding reflections. 

The knowledge review was written by Susanna Young Håkansson, analyst at the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research at the University of Gothenburg, where NIKK is located. Kajsa Widegren, analyst, Fredrika Almqvist, project assistant and Elin Engström, project manager, were part of the project group. The texts on trans people’s working life conditions in Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland were written by Charlie Olofsson, freelance journalist. During the course of the project, a reference group of Nordic subject experts was consulted. The experts included researchers in the field, representatives for trans organisations, and experts from authorities. We thank everyone for their valuable input during the project.