Geographical Variation in Local Gender Contracts in Sweden

Karen Haandrikman,Natasha A Webster,Ann-Zofie Duvander

doi:10.1007/s12061-020-09371-2

Karen Haandrikman, Natasha A Webster + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-020-09371-2

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Abstract

Despite Sweden’s national gender-neutral family and social policies, local differences in gender contracts exist and have been related to differences in the structure of the labour market and cultural traditions. Existing studies are outdated and used relatively large administratively defined areas, which may lead to several measurement and interpretation errors. This paper examines geographical variation in gender contracts in present-day Sweden using individualized neighbourhoods on different scales. Gender contracts are operationalized using six indicators on the level of family, politics and labour. We identify five types of local gender contracts: the metropolitan gender contract, the progressive gender contract, the suburban gender contract, the commuter gender contract and the traditional gender contract. The most gender equal patterns are found in metropolitan and other urban areas, with high shares of fathers taking parental leave and the highest shares of women with high education and gainful employment, and low shares of young mothers. The analyses give evidence of considerable local variation instead of a dominant gender contract in each region. The findings may stimulate further research and local policies on gender inequality.

Highlights

IntroductionAs early as the1960s, an “equality contract” emerged in Sweden (Duncan 1994; Hirdman 1990), indicating that all adults should be economically independent and be able to do salaried work and care for children
Sweden has one of the highest levels of gender equality in the world
We start our analysis with a multiscalar examination of the geographical distribution of a policy-level indicator of gender contracts: fathers’ parental leave uptake, measured as the ratio of fathers of young children, whose parental benefits were at least 5% of their income divided by all fathers of young children

Summary

Introduction

As early as the1960s, an “equality contract” emerged in Sweden (Duncan 1994; Hirdman 1990), indicating that all adults should be economically independent and be able to do salaried work and care for children. In contrast to for instance southern Europe, Swedish policies have emphasized the sharing of both political and economic power as well as family responsibilities between men and women (Almqvist et al 2010; Forsberg et al 2000). Gender contract is originally a theoretical concept, defined as the outcomes of negotiations between men and women on issues like labour, family and power (Hirdman 1988, 1992, 1993). Gender contracts represent the ways power negotiations over work and home practices, in a household, translate into a broader set of gendered societal ‘contracts’. Geographical differences in gender contracts emerge from the combination of the overall structure of gender relations: the way these are arranged within local labour market conditions, in the demographic structure, in history and in cultural traditions

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