Equal opportunities in transition?

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the attitudes of women and men in relation to gender‐appropriate domestic responsibilities and equal opportunities in the changing context of neo‐liberalism.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on results from an empirical investigation involving 1,731 questionnaires investigating the attitudes of women and men in a town in the north of Sweden.

Findings

The tentative conclusions suggest that even if they appear to co‐exist in contradictory ways, ideas of gender‐appropriate domestic responsibilities and equality of opportunity are in the respondents' minds, alongside neo‐liberal notions of individualisation. The prevailing attitudes in respect of gender suggest that women and men make apparently free “choices”; the influence of age on attitudes to gender issues is also considered.

Originality/value

This paper considers neo‐liberalisation and its impact on gender equity in Sweden, a country with a strong reputation for gender equity and a tradition of collective, inclusive social democracy, somewhere we would be unlikely to find its embedded presence. Using a quantitative self‐reporting approach to attitudes relevant to the choices made by men and women, the study raises questions about gender‐appropriate domestic responsibilities and equality of opportunity in a country that has been and continues to be regarded as one of the most gender‐friendly in the world and likely to be resistant to the influence of neo‐liberalism. The implications are explored, with the evidence indicating the presence of neo‐liberalism co‐existing, albeit perhaps uneasily, with traditions of equality of opportunity and attitudes to gender.

Citation

King, A.D., Barry, J. and Berg, E. (2011), "Equal opportunities in transition?", Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 86-104. https://doi.org/10.1108/02610151111116490