abstract: 'In many respects, Sweden is maybe the country where public policies to

  increase the equality between men and women have been most prolonged and

  advanced. In 1996 the UN declared Sweden to be the most gender-equal

  country in the world. However, women still take much more responsibility

  for children and domestic work than men do, leading to the reproduction

  of gender inequality in the labour market and in society at large. A

  causal mechanism is used to analyse this phenomenon, starting from the

  observation that men are on average three years older than women and

  thus already have a stronger position on the labour market when a

  heterosexual couple is formed. This increases the risk that the woman

  will lose the first negotiations on how to divide household and wage

  labour when they have children. This will in turn lead to increasing

  returns for the man, increasing the risk that she will lose subsequent

  negotiations about the division of labour. What seems to be a rational

  arrangement for both (increasing the total income for the family)

  results in the reproduction of gender inequality. The analysis shows

  that gender inequality in a country like Sweden is reproduced behind the

  backs of the agents.'
affiliation: 'Rothstein, B (Corresponding Author), Univ Gothenburg, Dept Polit Sci,
  Box 711, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden.

  Univ Gothenburg, Dept Polit Sci, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden.'
author: Rothstein, Bo
author-email: Bo.Rothstein@pol.gu.se
author_list:
- family: Rothstein
  given: Bo
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2010.00517.x
files: []
issn: 0968-6673
journal: GENDER WORK AND ORGANIZATION
keywords: 'gender inequality; asymmetric mate selection; Swedish gender policy;

  causal mechanisms'
keywords-plus: WORKING TIME; MARRIAGE; FAMILY
language: English
month: MAY
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '40'
pages: 324-344
papis_id: fa14e89f160914a9818349a2e7383387
ref: Rothstein2012reproductiongender
times-cited: '22'
title: 'The Reproduction of Gender Inequality in Sweden: A Causal Mechanism Approach'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000302909200005
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '24'
volume: '19'
web-of-science-categories: Management; Women's Studies
year: '2012'