Generations

In my family, I am a third-generation feminist. I grew up with my parents and maternal grandparents near Oslo in Norway. My grandmother was born in 1871. She was the first farmer's daughter to complete secondary education in her part of the country and became a teacher. She joined the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights (NKF), established in 1884, and fought for the right to vote. It took years of struggle, but universal suffrage was achieved in 1913. My grandmother taught and wrote articles and became a member of a local education committee. However, my grandfather got a PhD, became a university professor and minister of foreign affairs. Surely, he was an impressive man, but my grandmother was also gifted.

My mother got a university degree and fought for women's right to paid work during the recession in the 1930s. She became a senior lecturer at the university and double worked all her life. My father was a university professor, but only men obtained such high positions.

In 1945, a generation after women got the right to vote, Norwegian politics was still a domain for men. There were only seven women in parliament (5 per cent) and one in the cabinet. In addition, feminism was not accepted. At school, I was told by my classmates that I could not be a class representative because I was a girl.

Feminist breakthrough

When I started studying at the university, I joined the NKF and have been an active member ever since. In the 1950s, I met a small group of elderly ladies, impressive pioneers who had fought for equality for decades and would not give up in spite of resistance. There were still some formal rights that were reserved for men, but the pioneers advised me first of all to get involved in politics. Society would not change in practice if women did not take advantage of their formal rights and made change happen.

I attended teachers college and afterwards got university degrees in sociology, psychology and education. At the university, I joined a social-democratic student club. There were not many women and although the atmosphere was friendly, I had a distinct feeling that this was not the place for women's issues. I became chair of the club and even chair of the student parliament, but I did not raise women's issues.