Meet Sweden’s Former Minister for Gender Equality
For RedLocker’s latest interview, CEO and co-founder Liza Eriksson sat down with Åsa Lindhagen, Sweden’s former Minister for Gender Equality, to explore how health, working conditions and everyday access shape gender equality beyond policy and legislation.
Åsa served as Minister for Gender Equality from 2019 to 2021, during RedLocker’s early years. In 2020, she publicly was one of the first who described access to menstrual products as a gender equality issue, highlighting its importance for women’s health and finances.
For Liza, the meeting carried particular significance. As a young founder, she remembers trying to catch Åsa in Almedalen, hoping to ask a question that had become central to RedLocker’s mission: why had access to menstrual products been overlooked for so long?
Six years later, they sat down to discuss menstrual health, children and young people’s right to equal conditions, and the importance of creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs. The conversation offered a chance to reflect on the progress made, both by RedLocker and in society, while recognising how much remains to change. It also explored Sweden’s role in enabling young people to turn ideas into businesses, alongside the barriers smaller companies still face as they grow.
Liza: Sweden is often regarded as one of the world’s most gender-equal countries, yet inequalities remain in areas such as income, health, unpaid work and working conditions. Where do you believe Sweden has made the most meaningful progress?
Åsa: I believe that one of Sweden’s greatest progresses has been in enabling women to better combine work and family life. Parental leave, affordable childcare, and individual taxation have strengthened women’s economic independence and increased participation in the labour market. It has also encouraged fathers to take greater responsibility for caregiving, helping to challenge traditional gender roles. However, significant inequalities remain in income, pensions, unpaid care work and health. Women are also exposed to domestic and honour related violence. Sweden has come far, but we still have a lot of work to do before women’s and girls’ rights are fully respected and fulfilled.
Liza: In 2020, you described access to menstrual products as a gender equality issue, highlighting the impact menstruation can have on women’s health and finances. At RedLocker, we believe menstrual products should be as basic a provision as soap and toilet paper. Six years later, why do you think they have still not become a standard part of workplaces and schools — and what needs to change for that to happen?
Åsa: I still believe access to menstrual products is a gender equality issue. No student should miss a lesson, and no employee should feel stress because they lack access to a basic health product. However, menstruation is still often treated as a private matter rather than a public health and workplace issue, which slows down progress. This needs to change. Schools, workplaces and public institutions should provide menstrual products. The cost is small, but the impact on wellbeing, inclusion and equality is significant.
Liza: Looking back over the past six years, what do you think has been most important in driving the change we have seen around menstrual health in Sweden? And how do you view the development, particularly in our schools, where access to free menstrual products has become increasingly common and the issue has moved from something many saw as an individual responsibility to something schools and organizations are expected to take responsibility for?
Åsa: Even though more needs to be done I am happy to see the progress that has been made over the past years, especially the development in schools. It reflects a growing understanding that access to basic hygiene products should not depend on a student’s financial situation. The growing shift from individual responsibility to institutional responsibility is important, and I believe that organizations and companies such as RedLocker have played an important role in driving this change by raising awareness, challenging stigma and demonstrating practical solutions. Well done!
