Entanglements between gender equality and multiculturalism discourses: the case of Sweden

ABSTRACT

Sweden has been a pioneer in the construction of comprehensive and progressive multicultural and gender models that have influenced multiple spheres in Sweden’s society for several years. Multiculturalism has been focused on diversity accommodation, while feminism has been concerned with the struggle to achieve gender equality. This has led to essential debates questioning how contemporary democracies can manage diversity while at the same time pursuing the commitment to gender equality. Our discourse analysis is based on the representations of multiculturalism in the last two policies launched by the Swedish Government: The Gender Equality Policy from 2016 and the Feminist Foreign Policy from 2019–2022. The results show that these policies embody the ideas of a ‘multiculturalism without culture’ model, sustained by a common ground in human rights, where diversity is legitimized without being homogenized. Moreover, both policies manifest different forms to apply intersectionality and emphasize the conception of ‘destructive masculinities.’ Finally, we found that the documents might reproduce a binary approach between men and women, reinforcing a heteronormative understanding of ensuring gender equality.

KEYWORDS:

• Sweden
• multiculturalism
• gender equality
• policy
• human rights

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Gini index measures the distribution of income among individuals or households within the economy. Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality. In the evaluation of the World Bank in 2017, the Sweden Gini index scored 28.8 out of 100 (World Bank, 2019).

2. The Multiculturalism Policy Index evaluates three levels of diversity: Immigrant minorities, Indigenous Peoples and National Minorities. According to the latest evaluation in 2010, Sweden scored seven out of eight in Immigrant Minorities and three out of eight in Indigenous Peoples. National Minorities was not evaluated (Queen’s University, 2020).

3. There are different schools of thought that conceptualize multiculturalism: The conservative, corporative, neoconservative, liberal, left-liberal, critical and postcolonial (Luksic Hacin, 2007).

4. As Parekh (1998) argues, society seeks to maintain its cultural identity while removing inequalities and unfairness in the cultural practices that may harm minorities. Indeed it needs to find a balance between them. However, this balance depends on several factors such as the importance of practices for minorities daily lives, the type, extent, and cost of the changes needed in the society’s way of life, and its capability to transform without changing its coherence and stability (p. 398–399).

5. For Okin (1999) Western cultures, still practice many forms of sex discrimination, however, they have departed far further than non-Western cultures.

6. She refers to the majority culture as the Western society.

7. This can be found in the Bill 1997/98: 16 Sweden, the future and diversity – from immigrant policy to integration policy.

8. For instance, there is not legal cultural defence for practices such as female genital mutilation or honour killings.

9. All decisions in all policy areas and at all levels shall be characterized by a gender equality perspective.

10. Created in 2018. Its main task is to coordinate, follow up, and provide various forms of support and knowledge to fulfill the sub-goals of the policy.

11. The concept of intersectionality refers to cross-disciplinary interventions that analysed the intersections between inequalities such as race, gender, and class, that shape women’s lives in distinctive ways (Fernandes, 2013, p. 177).

12. For more information refer to Table 1.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alejandra Castellanos Breton

Alejandra Castellanos Breton is currently a Masters student on the European Masters in Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR). She obtained her Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and International Relations from the Javeriana University, Bogota, Colombia. She is interested in topics of gender, home-migration nexus and art-based research methods. For the last few years, she has worked in Colombia with NGOs and the United Nations on humanitarian affairs, armed conflict, forced displacement, gender and Venezuelan migration.

Jose Guillermo Ricalde Perez

Jose Guillermo Ricalde Perez is a currently a student on the European Master in Migration and Intercultural Relations (EMMIR). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master’s degree in Human Rights and the Rights of Native Peoples, in which he focused primarily on intercultural mediation and alternative legal processes for ethnic groups. For the last few years, he has worked on the topics of gender equality and LGBTIQ+ rights within NGOs and government institutions in Mexico.