Lund Papers in Economic History,
Lund University, Department of Economic History

Abstract: Our knowledge of the long-run evolution of gender equality is limited. We currently lack quantitative indicators capable of capturing the variations on and changes in the individual dimensions of gender equality. This paper seeks to assess the long-run evolution of gender roles and relations in Sweden. To this end, we build a database with quantitative indicators of gender equality. These indicators allow us to construct a Historical Gender Gap Index (HGGI), which isused to describe and analyze the evolution of gender equality in Sweden during a phase characterized by industrialization, urbanization and demographic transition. We find that after a period of stagnation, Sweden from the 1940s onwards made significant progress in closing the gender gap to reach the high level of gender equality that it is now famous for. All counties have made substantial improvements in closing the gap over time, although some counties have been quicker than others. Our investigation reveals the existence of a convergence pattern between counties.

Keywords: Gender Equality; Index; Development Process; Sweden

JEL-codes: J16; N33; O11

51 pages, February 3, 2021

Full text files

18d838fd-f7c9-4b33-88e2-5881069ea921  Full text

Download statistics

• Lund University, Department of Economic History
• Home page for this series

Questions (including download problems) about the papers in this series should be directed to Tobias Karlsson ()
Report other problems with accessing this service to Sune Karlsson ().

RePEc:hhs:luekhi:0217This page generated on 2024-09-13 22:16:07.