After receiving some critical words from Norway's prime minister, Ikea has agreed to feature more pictures of women assembling furniture in its catalogues.

While I'm happy for the change, I'm not quite sure what to make of Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik's remarks. He claimed that Ikea failed to picture more women out of fear of upsetting Muslim consumers--"It's important to promote attitudes for sexual equality, not the least in Muslim nations." Ikea countered that they already included women in their catalogues, but chose not to feature women assembling furniture in short skirts "to avoid giving offence in some parts of the world." Ummm, what? I don't know about you, but *I* would be offended by a manual filled with ladies in short skirts putting together furniture. grrrr...

Regardless, Ikea acknowledged that men are disproportionately featured in their catalogue and have already submitted some new sketches of female assemblers. Ikea's spokesperson assured that, "Ikea places great stress on being open for all and equality is important in the Ikea catalogue and in every other form of communication." I'll keep that in mind the next time I'm shopping for some cheap DIY furniture.