ABSTRACT
One of the defining characteristics of gender relations in modern society is that women earn clearly less money than men on average, and most earn less than the man they live with. This economic dependence of women on men has been seen as the major bulwark of systems of gender inequality (Chafetz 1990), and as a central mechanism by which women’s subordinate position in society is maintained. Economic dependence on men is an important means of support for the majority of women, but it entails a lack of control, a lack of rights and a sense of obligation (Lister 1990). By contrast, income from earnings brings not just money but control, independence and self-esteem. During the twentieth century, women’s labour force participation increased, entry barriers to occupations were lowered and wages improved (Reskin and Padavic 1994). The sexual division of labour has changed, and a convergence of women’s life course towards men’s has been observed in all the rich industrialised countries, although to varying degrees. The Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, enjoy the reputation of having approached gender equality much more closely than the three other countries discussed in this chapter, namely Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. There is good evidence that this is indeed the case with respect to labour force participation and wages (Blau and Kahn 1992; Asplund et al. 1996; Blossfeld and Hakim 1997; see also Chapter 4). However, it is less clear how distinct the Nordic countries are from the other three in terms of gender earnings inequality, which is the focus of this chapter.
