Gender equality on the agenda during the Stockholm Korea Center’s meetings in Seoul
March 12, 2026: Last week, Josephine Ørgaard Rasmussen, Project Manager at the Stockholm Korea Center, travelled on behalf of the Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP) to South Korea alongside Mrs. Anna Collins-Falk, International Coordinator and Senior Policy Advisor at the Swedish Gender Equality Agency. Their mission? To facilitate a crucial dialogue between Swedish and Korean stakeholders on one of the most pressing issues of our time, gender equality.
Together, they engaged with multiple Korean counterparts, including the National Assembly Research Service, the Korea Women’s Parliamentarians’ Network, and Member of Parliament Jeon Jin Sook. They also visited Sogang University and participated in the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s first Gender Equality Committee Meeting in 2026.
A highlight of the visit was the KWDI-ISDP co-hosted conference on “Gender Equality in the Workplace: Korea-Nordic Cooperative Perspectives,” which served as a platform for robust discussion and mutual learning.
Throughout these meetings, Mrs. Collins-Falk shared insights into Sweden’s policy framework and legislation, offering a fresh comparative. While Sweden and Korea have taken distinct paths, with Sweden emphasizing public consensus and Korea relying more on legislation, both nations share common ground in their commitment to progress. The dialogue also revealed shared challenges: from the persistent gender pay gap to the emerging and complex implications of AI and new technologies on the workplace, it is evident that no country has all the answers. These findings underscore a critical need for continued investigation and deeper collaboration between South Korea and Sweden.
We extend our deepest gratitude to our colleagues for their dedication and to the Korea Foundation for their continuous sponsorship, which made these insightful exchanges possible. We look forward to building on these conversations and fostering a future where gender equality is not just an agenda item, but a reality.
