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More women bringing home the bacon in Denmark

Christian Wenande
March 7th, 2017


This article is more than 7 years old.

In 2015, 31 percent of women had the highest disposable income in relationships

According to Danica Pension, some 23.5 percent of Denmark’s workforce could retire early (photo: Pixabay)

According to a new report from national statistics keeper Danmarks Statistik, an increasing number of women in Denmark are the primary income earners in relationships.

The report, which looks into the disposable income of men and women, showed that the share of women under 65 with the highest disposable income in relationships has increased from 22 percent in 1990 to 31 percent in 2015.

“One explanation could be that the number of unemployed men increases the most during recessions,” said Jarl Quitzau, a consultant with Danmarks Statistik.

“Moreover, men often have a higher investment income and are therefore hit harder than women during downturns in the economy.”

READ MORE: CPH Career: Women are the untapped resource companies need

Narrowing gap
The report (here in Danish) also showed that men’s disposable income median in 2015 was 205,200 kroner, compared to 170,800 kroner for women. That 17 percent gap is smaller than it was in 1990, when the gap was at 22 percent.

And there are other signs that the income disparity is narrowing. In 1990 the biggest income differences between men and women were seen among 40 to 65-year-olds. In 2015, however, the biggest gap was among 65 to 75-year-olds.

The largest income difference was seen among 73-year-olds, where the disposable income of men was 25 percent greater than that of women.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”