Geographical Variation in Local Gender Contracts in Sweden

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 Existing studies are outdated and used relatively large administratively defined areas, which may lead to several measurement and interpretation errors.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.