What does the Discrimination Act say?

The Discrimination Act (2008:567) prohibits sex discrimination in working life, education, goods and services, healthcare, social services and more. Gender segregation is presumptively direct or indirect discrimination — but may occur if objectively justified, serving a legitimate aim, and proportionate.

What does the Equality Ombudsman say?

DO has tested questions on gender-separated swim sessions, gender-separated teaching and gender-separated festivities. The conclusion is that separation can be allowed as a voluntary complement when both sexes receive equivalent access — but not as a general regime that excludes one sex.

How has the Schools Inspectorate acted?

The Schools Inspectorate has in several oversight decisions criticised or revoked permits for confessional schools where gender separation occurred in teaching, dining halls, school buses or playgrounds. The decisions are published on the agency's website and are legally binding.

What does the European Court say?

In Osmanoğlu v. Switzerland (2017) the European Court of Human Rights held that compulsory swim lessons for all children are compatible with the Convention even when Muslim parents oppose mixed teaching. Compulsory education and the child's right to schooling weigh heavier. S.A.S. v. France (2014) accepted France's ban on full-face veils in public.

May a mosque have gender-separated spaces?

Yes. Religious activity within faith communities falls outside the Discrimination Act's scope when it comes to the religious activity itself. This applies to all religions — mosque, synagogue, church. Prayer halls can be arranged according to the community's faith.

What applies at gyms and pools?

Municipal pools are covered by the Discrimination Act — separate sessions for women are allowed as a complement (DO practice), but not as a general regime. Private gyms may offer women-only facilities if the activity is objectively justified (safety, comfort); borderline cases have been tested individually.

How many cases have been reported?

Sweden lacks coherent national statistics. DO publishes complaint statistics per discrimination ground but not per type of alleged treatment. The Schools Inspectorate publishes individual oversight decisions. An overall picture therefore requires a review of decisions, not a single number.

What is the difference between individual cases and national incidence?

Individual documented cases (e.g. Schools Inspectorate decisions against a given school) show that the phenomenon exists — not how often it occurs nationally. We report individual cases as cases and avoid generalising to national figures where data is missing.

What is international practice?

EU law (Council directives 2004/113/EC and 2006/54/EC) and the European Convention set common frames. Member states have some freedom to balance religious freedom and gender equality — e.g. France, Belgium and Denmark have introduced various veil bans that the European Court has tested and accepted within a margin. Sweden has not introduced comparable general bans.

Gender segregation & honour norms in school — 7 % (2009) → 20 % (2018)

What happened to Sweden?

Honour norms & schools

Gender segregation & honour norms in school — 7 % (2009) → 20 % (2018)

Two urban-area studies — Ungdomsstyrelsen 2009 and Jämy 2018 — find that the share of 14–18-year-olds under honour-based restrictions rose from ≈ 7 % to ≈ 20 %. No running national annual series exists.

Sources for this page

The data comes from official primary sources.

Jämställdhetsmyndigheten · Irregular
Jämställdhetsmyndigheten — hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck
Hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck — definitioner och nationella kartläggningar
Latest data point 31 Jul 2026 · Source published 31 Jul 2026

Read the full investigation of how Sweden has changed.

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The question this page answers

In what contexts does gender segregation occur in Sweden, and how do legislation, agency practice and research view the question?

At a glance

Key figures — the most important numbers on this page

Legal starting point

Discr. Act 2008:567

Gender segregation in activities covered by the Act is presumptively discrimination unless objectively justified and proportionate.

Teaching

School: prohibited

Education Act ch. 1 § 8 and Schools Inspectorate practice: gender-separated teaching in compulsory school is not allowed except for isolated, objectively justified elements.

Municipal practice

Pool: allowed in special sessions

Gender-separated swim times have been tested by DO — allowed as a separate session when both sexes receive equivalent access; not allowed as a general regime.

Exception

Religious service: allowed

The Discrimination Act does not cover religious services within faith communities. Mosques, synagogues and churches may have gender-separated spaces.

European Court

Osmanoğlu 2017

Switzerland: compulsory swim lessons for all children regardless of religion are compatible with the Convention. Compulsory schooling trumps parents' religious demands.

Government report

SOU 2017:44

Together with Schools Inspectorate reports documents demands for gender separation in individual schools.

Confessional schools

≈ 6 %

Share of compulsory-school pupils in confessional independent schools (Skolverket). A subset of these have had gender-separation issues.

Everyday incidence

No national measurement

Sweden has no recurring national measurement of gender separation in pools, gyms, cultural centres or private settings.

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

Gender segregation is under Swedish law a form of sex discrimination — but only in activities covered by the Discrimination Act (working life, education, goods and services, healthcare, social services, etc.). Religious services within faith communities fall outside the Act.
In schools, gender-separated teaching is prohibited under the Education Act and Schools Inspectorate practice. Isolated elements (e.g. swim lessons in some ages, sex education in groups) may be allowed if objectively justified and proportionate.
In public swimming pools, DO has tested gender-separated sessions. The conclusion: separate sessions for women may be allowed as a complement when both sexes receive equivalent access; a general gender split is not allowed.
The Schools Inspectorate has in several oversight decisions revoked permits or ordered confessional schools to end gender separation in teaching, dining halls, school buses and playgrounds. Documentation is available in the agency's open decisions.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled on the issue in several cases. Osmanoğlu v. Switzerland (2017): compulsory swim lessons are compatible with the Convention even for Muslim parents who oppose mixed teaching. S.A.S. v. France (2014): a ban on full-face veils in public is accepted.
Sweden lacks systematic national statistics on how often gender segregation occurs in pools, gyms, cultural centres or private settings. Data exists in individual DO complaints, municipal reviews and journalistic investigations — not as an annual series.

Method note
We report (1) the legal position as it appears from the Discrimination Act, the Education Act and case law, (2) individual agency decisions (DO, Schools Inspectorate, JO, JK) and (3) research documentation. We distinguish carefully between (a) allowed, (b) not allowed and (c) contested/untested. We do not report national incidence figures where data is missing. Individual cases are just that — not automatically evidence of a national trend.

Definitions

How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover

Gender segregation: Separation of people by sex in an activity, space or service. Can be voluntary or compulsory, temporary or permanent.
Discrimination: Discrimination Act (2008:567): being disadvantaged on the grounds of sex, gender identity/expression, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation or age.
Direct discrimination: A person is disadvantaged by being treated worse than a comparable person in a corresponding situation, on one of the Act's grounds.
Indirect discrimination: A rule or practice that appears neutral but disadvantages a protected group — unless objectively justified and proportionate.
Objective justification: Discrimination Act requirement: differential treatment must have a legitimate aim, and the means must be suitable and necessary.
Proportionality: Legal principle: a measure must not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the legitimate aim. Central to EU and Convention law.
Gender equality: Equal rights, obligations and opportunities regardless of sex. Distinct from 'equal treatment' which covers all discrimination grounds.
Equal treatment: Education Act concept: all pupils shall have equal access to and quality of education regardless of background.
Religious service: Gathering within a faith community. Exempt from the Discrimination Act's scope with respect to religious doctrine and religious activity as such.
Public activity: Activity run by state, municipality or region. Fully covered by the Discrimination Act and by the equality requirement of the Instrument of Government (1:9).
Private activity open to the public: Business supplying goods or services to the public. Covered by the Discrimination Act ch. 2 § 12.
DO — Equality Ombudsman: Agency supervising the Discrimination Act, investigating complaints and pursuing test cases in court.
Schools Inspectorate: Agency for oversight of preschools, schools and adult education. May order operators to correct shortcomings and revoke permits for independent schools.
JO — Parliamentary Ombudsman: Ombudsman appointed by the Riksdag. Supervises agencies and courts, examines individual cases and publishes decisions of principle.
JK — Chancellor of Justice: The government's ombudsman. Guards state interests, supervises lawyers and considers damage claims against the state.
Case law: Guiding court rulings. In discrimination matters: the Labour Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Administrative Court and European Court of Human Rights.

Primary sources

Agencies and research institutions behind this page

agencies/institutions

reports & studies

primary datasets

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed

It depends on the context. In school teaching: normally not allowed. In religious services within faith communities: allowed (exception in the Discrimination Act). In public pools: separate sessions allowed as a complement, general separation not allowed. In private businesses: only if objectively justified and proportionate.

Logical next steps if you want to understand the background

Gender segregation & honour norms in school — 7 % (2009) → 20 % (2018)

How to read this

The Nordics — same metric

Human consequence

Sources for this page

At a glance

What does the data show?

Definitions

Primary sources

Frequently asked questions

Related topics

Islam in Sweden

Mosques