The Politics of Gender Equality

Abstract

A consensus has emerged that gender-friendly policies can promote higher fertility in rich democracies (Esping-Andersen 1999). This paper supplies a political explanation for why these fertility-enabling policies diverge across countries. Using Sweden and Germany as our primary case studies, we argue that the strength of the left party's hold on government, rather than economic or social factors, underpins the expansion of the public sector that draws women into the labor force and allows them to balance family and career.