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Mayor of Stockholm: ‘You can be a mother and a fantastic politician’

Mayor of Stockholm Anna König Jerlmyr talks about her vision for the city's future, why she wants more girls to play chess and what makes Stockholm 'A Woman's Place'.

Published: 8 March 2019 09:01 CET
Mayor of Stockholm: ‘You can be a mother and a fantastic politician’
Mayor of Stockholm Anna König Jerlmyr

I think Stockholm is a fantastic place to be a woman. We are very aware of things like gender issues, equality and women’s rights. Though we have our challenges, of course! For example, two days ago I was sitting on a panel and we talked about FemTech and investment into female founders. A small percentage of venture capital goes to female founders and I think it’s such a big possibility for Stockholm — we need more investment to go to female entrepreneurs.

But we also see progress. According to a new study by Dr. Nima Sanandaji, CEO of the think tank European Center for Entrepreneurship and Policy Reform, women in Sweden now make more money than men in 9 percent of all occupations. And furthermore, a majority of Sweden’s young CEOs today are women.

When I was young, I felt like I had a lack of female role models. When I started in politics, I was 16 years old and the female politicians tried to be like men. They dressed like men and almost acted like men, and I could never relate to that. I feel really feminine and I like to dress feminine and be myself. But I think that’s changed now. You can be both, you can be a strong woman but you can also wear a dress, you can be a mother and a fantastic politician.

Read more about Stockholm’s ‘A Woman’s Place’ initiative

I think it was a British member of parliament who once said to me: ‘What are you doing here, you should be home raising children!’. I was also a member of parliament, it was at one of these European meetings and I was shocked. I think of Britain as an equal country, he was much older. But sometimes you get these questions and of course you remember these comments. They are very rare I would say. Most people are very positive. Now I’m president of Eurocities and when we went to Brussels they were so positive, saying this signalled a change.

I want to see more girls playing chess. I asked my son how many girls are in his chess club. None! I think chess is also a subject, if they are good in chess they are good in programming and mathematics. And we need more women to study engineering and become role models for others.

I am a really strong supporter of ‘feminist urban planning’. I work with NGOs about how we can have inclusive city planning. It’s also gender based, of course. If public spaces are safe for women, they’re safe for everyone. So we have to address women’s needs: it could be lighting, making sure it’s clean and that ground level is lit by lots of shops and restaurants. Safe play areas for children, too. 

Stockholm is a good city for women when it comes to the possibility to achieve your goals. It’s almost like the American dream but it’s the Stockholm dream! You can do so much. You have fantastic possibilities because of the flat hierarchies and lots of the employers are also very open to flexible working. And you have a tax deduction on services like cleaning and home help. Now I think women can combine a career and have quality time with the children because they are not cleaning all the time!

In Stockholm, we have a lot of informal networks for women. It would be best if both men and women meet in the same informal networks in the long-run. But for now, it’s an answer to the traditional male-only networks. I see the younger generations meet together but even at an early age they separate at school, they tend to play differently. It’s really important to encourage girls to do engineering or for boys to be creative. 

Find out what makes Stockholm ‘A Woman’s Place’

We are very tolerant and interested in new people. I hope so anyway! We are also quite a big city, and it’s a beautiful city. It’s a good place to raise a family. When people are asked why they chose Stockholm, it’s because it’s an equal city; men and women have the same opportunities and it’s a good place to raise children. 

In the next ten years, I want half of Stockholm’s unicorn companies to be created by women. It would be great to have a female prime minister in Sweden and to see more female leaders in the business community, as well as female innovators. I want more girls to go to KTH and study engineering and programming and to work with safety in the segregated areas. I don’t want to see any ‘honour’ crimes, it’s the goal that in ten years these will disappear. 

I want Stockholm to be an inclusive and open city in every way. Today Spotify can attract programmers from many countries where the culture is not so open and tolerant to, for example, LGBTQ people. Therefore, to work with LGBTQ rights is also a way of showing that this city is open and welcoming to everyone.

This article was produced by The Local Creative Studio in partnership with Invest Stockholm.

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PROPERTY

Should you buy a home in Sweden this summer?

Considering the fickle trends in the Swedish housing market, prospective homebuyers might find themselves at a crossroads this summer.

Published: 4 July 2024 14:41 CEST
Should you buy a home in Sweden this summer?

After a period of falling prices driven by increased interest rates, the Swedish housing market is seeing a rebound, particularly in the biggest cities.

However, it’s also taking longer to finalise home sales.

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Recent data from Swedish property listings site Hemnet indicates that while home sales – and housing prices – are on the rise, the time to complete transactions has notably increased.

For instance, the average sale time for an apartment in Sweden increased to 27 days in the first half of the year, up from 22 days during the same period last year. Similarly, houses now take an average of 31 days to sell, compared to 30 days previously.

The slowest market is in the Gävleborg region, where it takes an average of 44 days to sell a home. The fastest transactions occur in Stockholm, with apartments selling in just 16 days and detached homes in 23 days.

This variation in market activity across the country calls for a deeper look into where the best opportunities might lie for homebuyers this summer.

Renewed market confidence in Sweden’s biggest cities

The confidence in the Swedish property market is on its way up in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, Erik Holmberg, a market analyst at Hemnet, told The Local.

“I would say that we have seen a weaker market in the last couple of years, almost everywhere in the country, since the Swedish central bank started to increase the interest policy rate, which affected the market a lot,” he said.

“But in the last half of the year or rather in the last year, the confidence has come back in bigger cities – in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö… When we look at price developments last year, in three of Sweden’s biggest cities, we see prices increasing again.”

However, the analyst warned that the opposite is currently true in other areas of the country, which have seen a continued decrease in market activity and flatter developments in the same time interval.

A new trend emerging in Stockholm?

As Hemnet’s analyst explained, in Sweden, housing market trends usually start in Stockholm, when the market begins to change, causing a ripple effect.

“And that’s what we have seen. Now, market activity and prices are increasing again in the bigger cities. Usually, when the market changes, other areas in the country follow, and that could be the case now,” said Holmberg.

“When the rates and inflation situation become clearer, other parts of the country might follow the market in the big cities. Our main scenario is that we will see this spread,” he said, adding that prices in Stockholm have picked up quite fast in the last year but that the demand is still affected by the high interest rates.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw swift price developments in some areas with the highest demand, such as city centres.”

The effect on the rental market

Another aspect to consider is the rental market, which could see significant changes in the short to mid-term.

Holmberg pointed out that properties which fail to sell might enter the rental market.

“What we’ve seen is that it’s harder to sell properties today, so, probably, more people who own homes and can’t sell them will put these unsold homes on the market for a while. This could affect the supply of apartments for rent and, in turn, prices,” the analyst said.

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What different types of homebuyers should know

For buyers, the current market presents a mixed bag.

“In Sweden, we often talk of having a seller’s or buyer’s market. Today, it’s good for buyers that they have a lot to choose from; there’s a record-high supply almost everywhere in the country. That means it’s easy to find something,” said Holmberg.

However, he also cautioned that the slow market makes agreeing on terms with sellers challenging, with sales times at record highs.

“Sales take some time in today’s market, and that’s important to understand for both sellers and buyers, especially for homeowners who are changing homes, meaning they’re both buying and selling something; it’s a tough market for them.

“Today, this group often chooses to sell their home before they buy something new. That makes up a big part of record high sales times; we have people waiting for the right bid before moving from the selling to the buying side…” Holmberg said, noting that the market is different compared to two to three years ago when it was “very hot”.

“So, remember that even if prices grow, it’s still a tough or slow market.”

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On the other hand, first-time buyers might find a silver lining in the form of lower prices compared to a couple of years ago, making it a potentially favourable time to enter the Swedish housing market.

“First-time buyers are in another situation, which may be better because the prices are lower than two years ago, of course, and if you’re just buying something, you don’t need to worry about the selling part,” Holmberg told The Local.

“That’s why this could be a good situation to enter the housing market this summer, but even so, despite supply being really high, it could still be tough because many sellers have put down a listed price but don’t necessarily plan to sell at this price.”

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