Faroese government criticised for failing to uphold gender balance

The Faroese civil society group Demokratia and the national Gender Equality Committee have condemned the new government for not respecting gender balance, as the cabinet consists of five men and only two women, Kringvarp Føroya reports.

In a statement titled “Gender equality must be shown, not just declared“, Demokratia accused the government of failing to live up to its own policy agreement, which states: “We must consider gender equality in all social matters.” The group said it welcomed the “fine words” but was disappointed they were not reflected in action.

The Gender Equality Committee called the imbalance a “painful contradiction” and a “regrettable signal” to both residents and outsiders. In a statement, the committee wrote that gender equality must always be taken seriously—”except, apparently, when it comes to actual power distribution.“

Halla Nolsøe Poulsen, chair of the Gender Equality Committee, addressed the issue in a radio interview on Friday morning.