The Norwegian Labour Party's Women's Federation ( no, italic=no, Arbeiderpartiets kvindeforbund) was established in Christiania in 1901 and extended to cover the whole of Norway in 1909. Initially concerned with

working conditions {{Short description, 1=Overview of and topical guide to working time and conditions This is a list of topics on working time and conditions. Legislation * See :Employment law Working time * See :Working time * Flextime Working conditions * Bios ...

and

voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

, its interests were extended over the years. The movement was dissolved in 2005 when the Labour Party adopted equal gender distribution in all its bodies, both national and local. In its place, a looser "women's network" was set up within the party in order to bring women into leadership roles at all levels.

History

The Women's Federation has been the most important organization in Norway's labour women's movement despite challenges in 1937 from the Labour Housewives Group (Norges Husmorlagsforbund) affiliated with the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

and in 1954 from the Norwegian Women's Federation (Norsk Kvinneforbund) which was active until 1999. Both these organizations represented a minority of political workers. For many years the organization was concerned mainly with better living conditions for working-class families and increasing the acceptance of housewives in society at large. From the late 1960s, the focus turned to gender equality at work and in politics. As international discussion developed on whether women's organizations should continue in their own right or as part of an integrated party approach, in Norway it was decided to bring the movement closer to party priorities. In 2005, the organization was dissolved and replaced with a women's network with the Labour Party.

Key figures

Important figures in the organization over the years include Gunhild Ziener (1868–1937), Martha Tynæs (1870–1930), Hanna Adolfsen (1872–1926),

Thina Thorleifsen Thina Nilsine Thorleifsen (1885–1959) was a Norwegian politician who was active in the women's movement. She was a prominent member of ''Den Kvinnelige Tjenerstands Forening'' (The Women's Servant Class Association) from 1910 and its chair from ...

(1885–1959), Johanne Reutz Gjermoe (1896–1989),

Aase Lionæs Aase Wind Lionæs (10 April 1907 – 2 January 1999) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party, and a socialist feminist. She was born in Oslo. She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 1958, and was re-elected on fou ...

(1907–1999),

Rakel Seweriin Rakel Seweriin, née Solberg (26 June 1906 – 17 September 1995) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She was the Norwegian Minister of Social Affairs from 1953 to 1955. She was born in Hof as a daughter of Casper Fredrik Solberg ...

(1906–1995),

Aase Bjerkholt Aase Ingerid Nathalie Bjerkholt (16 January 1915 – 17 August 2012) was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She was born in Oslo. She was consultative councillor of state for family and consumer affairs during the third cabinet Gerhar ...

(1915–2012) and Sylvia Brustad (born 1966). Karita Bekkemellem (born 1965) became the organization's leader in 1998 and headed the newly formed women's network until 2009.

References

{{reflist Labour Party Women's Federation Women's Federation .Labour Party Women's Federation Women's Federation Women's Federation 2005 disestablishments in Norway Organizations established in 1901 Organizations disestablished in 2005 Women's Federation