Eierseksjonslag

Eierseksjonslag, also known as egg cell action, is a contentious law in Norway that affects gender equality in the country. The law establishes that either parent's surname can be kept or used in conjunction with both parents' names after a child is born. This is achieved by allowing the father's name to be substituted with the initials of the surname "faderen" (meaning father in Norwegian) or the mother's name to be substituted with the initials of the surname "moren" (meaning mother).

The law was passed in 1983 and was aimed at increasing the representation of women at university, as it was observed that many university records bore only one set of initials. Prior to this law, women's surnames were not included on university records, essentially purging any female trace for future generations. As a direct response to this discriminatory practice, eierseksjonslag was enacted in hopes of creating equal genecularistic representation for all genders and generations.

Eierseksjonslag applies only to public institutions, including but not limited to, state universities, government-run schools, and public media. Private institutions do not have to comply with this law. In practice, this means that when looking for listing in public records, such as universities or government state-employed worker lists, you may become very accustomed to seeing lists of names containing the standard combination of both their parents; often there is inclusion of absolutely every identifiable detail about an individual's geneological background.