Understanding changes in levels of occupational sex segregation in Sweden and Europe during half a century

Previous research points out that despite ranking high on gender equality Sweden and other Nordic countries have relatively high levels of occupational sex segregation (OSS).

Explanations for this paradox often emphasize institutional factors, eg high female labor force participation and large public sectors. Also, it has been argued that gender equality per se is linked to higher levels of OSS.

The logic is that occupational preferences are essentially different for men and women which manifests as gendered occupational choices in countries with high levels of gender equality, as these countries also are characterized by high individualism and self-realization.

There is however one fundamental problem with the above reasoning: recent studies show that Sweden no longer is among the countries with high degrees of OSS. Nor are the Nordic countries homogeneous in terms of the levels of OSS. There is currently no consensus as regards what factors that are associated with changing levels of OSS.

Since OSS implies a skew distribution of power, high wages and good working conditions between men and women it is important to comprehend underlying mechanisms of OSS.

The aim of this project is to understand changing trends in OSS focusing on Sweden across time and in a comparative European perspective.

The analyses will use Swedish population register data 1965-2018 from Censuses and the Salary Structure Statistics, and the EU Labor Force Surveys 1996-2018 for 20 European countries including Sweden.

In addition to detailed labor market and family policy explanatory indicators, the European Values Study (five waves 1981-2017) and the Swedish Level of Living Surveys (2010, 2020) provide attitudes to gender equality and questions related to personality traits and main work content that could be categorized as typically (fe)male.

This information will be aggregated on occupational level to evaluate claims of the connection between gendered preferences and changing levels of OSS.