ABSTRACT
Since the 1960 all three societies studied here have experienced considerable modifications of the gender arrangement. In the Netherlands the modification of the gender arrangement started relatively late and took a particularly dramatic course; it was part of a 'cultural revolution' of society. In contrast to West Germany and the Netherlands the gender arrangement in Finland was based on a relatively egalitarian variant of the agrarian family economic model until well into the 1950s. The decisive factors for the transformation of the gender arrangement in the three countries were the escalation of existing and the development of new contradictions, the availability of alternative cultural ideals, and collective actors actively dealing with these contradictions. The Netherlands also experience a trend to a relatively widespread new family model that is – more than the West German one – based on the concept of enabling both genders to combine individual labour market integration and family work.
