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Asa Regnér, (born 24 August 1964 in Malmberget, Norrbotten) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician. On October 2014, Regnér became Minister of Children, Elderly, and Gender Equality under Stefan Löfven. In March 2018, Regnér resigned from her position in the Swedish government to become the Deputy Executive Director of United Nations Women. Regnér’s policy work emphasizes gender equality, education for girls, and decreasing gender violence through practices that mobilize young boys and men.

Early Life, education and early political career
Åsa Regnér was born on August 24, 1964, in Malmberget, Norrbotten (Norrbotten County 2018). From 1984 to 1985, before she officially attended university, Regnér studied at the Masters of Arts level in Political Science, Sociology, and German literature at Fredrich-Alexander-Universität in Erlangen, Germany. In 1991, Regnér graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in German, Spanish, and Art History from Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2011, Regnér graduated from Uppsala University with a Masters in Arts in Democratic Development.

Early Political Career
While an undergraduate, Regnér began her career in gender equality by volunteering for a Swedish non- governmental organization in La Paz, Bolivia from 1990 to 1991. After graduating, Regnér began an active career in politics by working for the Swedish government. During 1991 to 1993, Regnér worked as the Assistant Inquiry Secretary in the Ministry of Employment, previously known as the Ministry of Industry, during when the ministry was headed by Börje Hörnlund, a member of the Centre Party. From 1992 to 1994, Regnér then served as the Desk Officer for the Ministry of Employment, also under Hörnlund December 6, 2018. After working for the Ministry in Employment, Regnér then worked for a non-governmental organization, the Confederation of Professional Employees from 1994 to 1996. During her time at the Confederation of Professional Employees, Regnér served as a researcher.

Following her stint at the Confederation of Professional Employees, Regnér served as the Inquiry Chair into the inquiry into the labour market for women. In 1996, Regnér returned to working for the Swedish government. From 1996 to 1998, Regnér worked at the Ministry of Employment, headed by Ulrica Messing, and served as the Special Advisor for Messing, also a member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party Persson Cabinet 2018). Then from 1998 to 1999, Regnér served as a Political Advisor for home affairs in the Prime Minister Göran Persson’s office Persson Cabinet 2018). From 1999 to 2004, Regnér still worked for the Prime Minister’s office and was promoted as the Political Advisor for European Union (EU) Coordination. In 2000, Regnér took a six-month leave of absence to co-author a report in the research project, Temus Genus (Topic: Family) at Linköping University, in Linköping, Sweden.

Ministry of Justice (2004-2006)
In 2004, Regnér took a new position in the Ministry of Justice, under the Minister of Democracy and Gender Equality which was then headed by Jen Orback, member of the Swedish Socialist Democratic party Persson Cabinet 2018). In this new position, Regnér served as the Director of Planning . As Director, Regnér took up and evaluated issues such as abolishing gender pay gaps and spoke to other European Union countries on how they could implement legislation similar to Sweden’s that was pro-active in abolishing pay discrimination . In 2006, Regnér resigned from her post as the Director of Planning to take a position at a nonprofit organization.

The Swedish Association for Sex Education (2007-2013)
In 2007, Regnér started her new post as the Secretary-General for the Swedish Association for Sex Education (RFSU). RFSU is a non-profit organization and non-governmental organization in Sweden that works with public opinion formation on sexual and reproductive health (This is RFSU n.d.). RFSU also creates material and agendas that share information and education about sexuality and relationships (This is RFSU n.d.). While Regnér served as the Secretary-General, RFSU worked in Tanzania with Sida (Regnér and Herrström 2009). Sida is a government agency working on behalf of the Swedish government, with the emphasize on implementing Sweden’s Policy for Global Development (Regnér and Herrström 2009). Regnér ran the Young Projects for Equal Partners (YMEP) (Regnér and Herrström 2009). This project increased men’s involvement and understanding of sexual health, reproductive rights, attitudes towards women’s health, and the prevention of gender-related and sexual violence (Regnér and Herrström 2009). The Young Projects as Equal Partners was also implemented in Zambia, Uganda, and Kenya (Regnér and Herrström 2009). The program lasted three years from 2006 to 2009 (Regnér and Herrström 2009). The target population was men and boys, and the RFSU’s research found that integrated programs that discuss the involvement of young men in work to promote sexual health, attitudes towards women’s sexual health and rights, and the prevention of gender-related and sexual violence topics with interventions are the most effective in changing behaviors towards gender (Regnér and Herrström 2009).

United Nations Women, Bolivia (2013-2014)
From 2013 to 2014, Regnér served as the Country Director for Bolivia for United Nations (UN) Women. During this time, Regnér lived in Bolivia and worked at the UN agency in La Paz, Bolivia. As the Country Director of United Nations Women Bolivia, Regnér worked with creating better living conditions for young girls and women. Also during Regnér’s stint in Bolivia, Bolivia’s UN office participated in UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign. This campaign was coordinated by UN Women and was implemented by Latin American countries http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/7/innovative-campaign-tackles-soccer-and-violence-against- women-together. The campaign was intentionally soccer-related so as to engage men in a conversation to end violence against women http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/7/innovative-campaign-tackles-soccer-and-violence-against- women-together.

The Feminist Government (2016-2018)
Minister of Children, Elders, and Equality, Government of Sweden In September 2014, Regnér was appointed as the Minister for Children, Elders, and Equality under the Ministry of Health and Human Services by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, a member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party (Löfven Cabinet 2018; UN Women Representative appointed Minister of Equality in Sweden 2014). Regnér was one of the twelve female Ministers out of twenty-four Ministers, producing gender parity in Löfven’s cabinet (Löfven Cabinet 2018; UN Women Representative appointed Minister of Equality in Sweden 2014). Löfven’s government created gender parity in order to push a gender equality agenda and coined itself the first “Feminist Government”. The main goal of the Feminist Government is the centrality of gender equality during decision making and resource allocation. The idea in this government is that men and women need to have the same opportunities and to fully reach equality. Sweden’s Feminist Government argues that the most critical way to implement gender mainstreaming, the process of assessing planned policy’s impact on different genders, is through “gender- responsive” budgeting. Regnér agrees with the Feminist Government view, citing that because of gender equality in governmental leadership, there is constant awareness and questioning of power structures that inhibit equality in government which will move to public sphere Vu 2017). During Regnér’s time as the Minister for Children, Elder, and Equality, Regnér studied caretaking of elders and how it disproportionally affected women since they experienced pressure to care for elder family members . In response, the government started investing two billion Swedish Krona (219 million dollars USD) per year to increase adequate and professional staffing for elders . The increase in professional staffing goal is to improve not only the lives of women who would normally take care of the elders in their family but also the improvement of caring for elders since they will be cared for by professionals.

Pushback
In an interview with Zeit Online, Regnér stated that conservative groups in Sweden thought the Feminist Government would go too far, especially pertaining to gender roles (Vu 2017). In response, Regnér stated, “Mockery, in my opinion, is the only means of ridiculing a serious question of power” (Vu 2017). Further adding that people have always laughed at women and their policies pertaining to equality, but those who fight for gender equality are on the winning side of history (Vu 2017). Impacts of the Feminist Government In Regnér’s interview with Zeit Online, Regnér stated that empirically the numbers of public support on their Feminist Government is on their side (Vu 2017). Regnér followed up by asserting that a majority of women in Sweden have their own income, and although the wage differences exist, it is smaller than other developed countries (Vu 2017). Furthermore, after the 2014 elections, 152 (44 percent) out of 349 parliament members were women (Vu 2017).

Sexual Assault National Action Plan
As Minister for Children, Elders, and Equality, Regnér created a National Action Plan to combat sexual violence in Sweden (Vu 2017). Regnér stated that typical plans that try to end sexual assault are positioned towards female empowerment (Vu 2017). However, Regnér argues that this approach does not decrease the number of sexual attacks on women perpetrated by men (Vu 2017). Regnér’s age-specific program taught boys and men about healthy relationships, how to handle “big emotions,” and emphasized that violent behavior and actions are not the answer and the importance of gender equality (Vu 2017). Regnér hoped that this national action plan helped boys gain more freedom to express their emotions and in turn reduce the sexual attacks on women (Vu 2017). The program has four objectives: Increased and effective preventable work to combat violence; Improved detection of violence and stronger protection for and support to women and children subjected to violence; More effective crime-fighting; and Improved knowledge and methodological development. Additionally, during Regnér’s tenure are Minister, the Swedish government also increased monetary support for local women’s shelters for the years 2015-2019, totaling 425 million Swedish Krona (47 million dollars USD).

United Nations Women (2018-present)
In May 2018, Regnér left her position as Minister for Children, Elders, and Equality to become the United Nations Women’s Secretary General Director of Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnerships. She succeeds Lakshmi Puri of India ( . While currently at the UN Women, Regnér works with different countries throughout the world, primarily with developing countries to help include gender equality in their policies; countries include: Brazil, Argentina, and Guatemala in Latin America; South Korea in East Asia; and Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uganda and others in Africa Speech by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Asa Regner on eliminating child marriage in Africa 2018; UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér on first official visit to the Republic of Korea 2018).

Latin America
In September 2018, Regnér affirmed a joint commitment with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund in ending femicide in Latin American countries by 2030. UN Women will help countries create National Action Plans that combat gendered-violence towards women like femicide. Furthermore, UN Women is also working with parties within Latin American countries on creating anti-femicide laws; similar model laws have already passed legislation in Brazil and Argentina.

Southeast Asia
While during her first visit to South Korea, Regnér spoke about the importance of education (UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér on first official visit to the Republic of KoreSecretary-Generalcretary- General and Deputy Executive Director, Regnér has pushed for increased educational opportunities for girls in South Korea to combat child marriages in South Korea and Southeast Asian region (UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér on first official visit to the Republic of Korea 2018). Regnér spotlighted different non- governmental organizations teach girls about their right to education, so girls know they can deny unpaid work such as working as unpaid childcare in the home instead of attending school (UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér on first official visit to the Republic of Korea 2018).

Africa
In September 2018 while speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York City, Regnér noted that there are government commitments to end child marriage in Africa (Remarks by Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér at She Is Equal 2018). Additionally, during this speech, Regnér stated that the UN Women organization/committee will join Phase II of the UNICEF-UNFPA Global Program to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage (Remarks by Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér at She Is Equal 2018). Furthermore, UN Women is also designing a spotlight initiative that supports and enhances regional approaches to ending violence against women, through a partnership with the African Union (Speech by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Asa Regnér on eliminating child marriage in Africa 2018).

Europe
During her first official visit as Deputy Executive Director in 2018, Regnér visited Brussels, Belgium to strengthen the partnerships with the European Union, the Government of Brussels, as well as civil society to accelerate progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment (UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér visits Brussels 2018). During her trip, Regnér spoke at the Global Girls Summit and encouraged young girls to become leaders in driving change for gender equality (UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér visits Brussels 2018).

2030 Agenda
During Regnér’s first year as Deputy Executive Director, the 2030 Agenda was created (Remarks by Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér at She Is Equal 2018). The main principle of the agenda is to “leave no one behind” in regards to gender equality (Remarks by Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér at She Is Equal 2018). The 2030 Agenda not only emphasizes women equality in politically, economically, and socially but gender equality especially the most marginalized communities (Remarks by Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér at She Is Equal 2018). The 2030 agenda includes increasing girls’ access to education with the hopes that it leads to economic opportunities prohibiting child marriage and female genital mutilation, which increases the likelihood of young girls staying in school; and to align countries’ laws with international human rights standards and protect women from violence and sexual harassment, including safety in the workplace (Remarks by Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér at She Is Equal 2018).

Care Giving
Regnér, in an interview with the National Center for Expertise – For a Family Friendly Society, stated that she sees the danger in the increased pressure and responsibility of women becoming caretakers for their families or others. Regnér also views caregiving for elders an important issue due to demographic changes in the increase of elders and the decrease in young professionals. Furthermore, Regnér argues that families should not increase their caregiving responsibly towards elders in their family, but rather the government should create policies that improve welfare towards elderly care and increases funding for caretakers. This includes creating technology that assists with simple tasks for elders. In response to women responsible for taking care of elders, Regnér emphasizes that there should be special knowledge for caretaking. Families employing knowledgeable caretakers will decrease the risk of women putting their lives on hold to take care of an elder.

Gender Equality
Regnér states that gender equality is something that does not happen overnight, but rather, it should be achieved through conscious choices of gender equitable policy that governments need to implement in order to meet gender equality https://player.fm/series/tbs-efm-this-morning-1273459/ep-0914-news-focus-1-with-asa-regner-gender- equality-and-womens-rights-issues. Regnér also states that ODAs play a “well directed” role in gender equality due to conditionalities that are placed on ODAs to receiving countries (Remarks by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér at the ODA International Conference in Seoul 2018). Regnér argues that money and assistance has an influence on elevating gender equality since women participating in different markets produce positive economic impact as well (UN Women Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér on first official visit to the Republic of Korea 2018).

Prostitution
Regnér argues that prostitution is exploitation of women and not a profession (Vu 2017). Regnér argues that prostitution is a restriction on the freedom of action and life choices of women and girls. She states that a 1999 Swedish law that allows prostitutes to offer their services and punishes the buyer disproportionately gives power to the buyer rather than the prostitute (Vu 2017) Regnér argues the buyer has more power because the buyer has the ability to decide whether not to exploit the body of the prostitute (Vu 2017). In this relation, Regnér contends that prostitute themselves never acquire the power that the buyers have (Vu 2017).

Violence Towards Women
Regnér claims that in order to decrease the amount of gender violence towards women and girls perpetrated by men and boys, the involvement of men and boys anti-gender violence programs are necessary. This includes breaking the norms and hegemony that justify violence towards women, including the purchase of sexual services (.

Women’s Economic Empowerment
In September 2018, Regnér argued that women economic empowerment is critical in elevating poverty, and that women’s contribution to the economy, paid or unpaid should be recognized (Remarks by Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér at She Is Equal 2018). Regnér stated that there are five dimensions to women’s economic empowerment: equal rights and access to decent work, social protection, economic resource, and entrepreneurship opportunities; equal access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property; equal access to financial services, inheritance, and natural resources; solidarity in child and elderly care and right to decide over their own body and their own destiny (Remarks by Deputy Executive Director Åsa Regnér at She Is Equal 2018).

Personal life
Regnér speaks five languages: Swedish, English, Spanish, German, Portuguese. Regnér has two children.