ABSTRACT
In the political discourse on gender equality, a central dimension in the policy has been to strengthen women’s independence of family and husband in terms of sustenance. This has been achieved partly by emphasising the equality between the spouses in marital law, and partly by creating conditions on which women can sustain themselves. Since the mid-1970s, the political debate in Sweden has mainly given its attention to the unequal terms of working life. This is associated with the fact that many reports have revealed that the development towards gender equality in working life is not progressing according to expected time-frames. Several political actions have thus been of great significance for strengthening the rights of the individual in the family and society. These actions have been significant markers for gender equality, both culturally and normatively. The structures in working life that create and maintain unequal terms for women are connected with the division of labour in the family.
