Norwegian gender roles in transition: the masculinization hypothesis in the past and in the future

Abstract

This paper discusses the so-called masculinization hypothesis which states, in the Norwegian context, that the female share of the agricultural labour force has been declining for the past four decades. Historically, the female contribution of agricultural labour has been under-estimated, but in recent times, social scientists and politicians have ‘discovered’ the important role of women in agriculture. Nevertheless, women are still leaving the farming industry and, while gender equality is on the political agenda as never before, it has not been easy to mobilize rural women to enter the troubled farming sector. The female exodus from farming is deeply embedded in changing gender roles. While the role of Norwegian women in the labour market saw major changes in the 1970s and 1980s, changes that gave women a greater share in wages and welfare benefits, the inequality between agriculture and other industries is growing again. Young rural women seem reluctant to join a low-paid industry in which they have to work on their own most of the day, without enjoying the recent social gains of women employed in other industries.