Sharing fairly? Mobility, citizenship, and gender relations in two Swedish city-regions

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the centrality of women’s mobility in relation to urban citizenship and how this is influenced by underlying gender relations. A theoretical framework is developed concerning mobility, citizenship, and the gender contract. Focusing on the Swedish situation, the relationship between gender, domestic work, and commuting is discussed. Drawing on theories concerning mobility and the concept of the gender contract and using the findings from a questionnaire survey, these issues are explored in two Swedish city-regions, Göteborg and Umeå. The focus is on whether, when both in a couple are in paid employment and commute, a more egalitarian gender contract develops where the unpaid domestic work is shared more equally. The study concludes that, irrespective of commuting, there continues to be a traditional gender contract in which, despite being in paid employment, the woman continues to be responsible for the brunt of the unpaid domestic labor, with the exception of tasks relating to childcare, where responsibility is more equally shared between both parents, reflecting a strong norm in Swedish society where fathers are also expected to be actively involved with their children.

Acknowledgment

The research for this article has been carried out within the project Swedish City-Regions— Citizenship and Political Institutions, financed by the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond) between 2009 and 2011.

Notes

1. In the descriptive statistics, 2,374 responses are used. However, in the indexes only respondents who had answered all five questions are included (i.e., 1,548).

2. Ale, Alingsås, Härryda, Kungsbacka, Kungälv, Lerum, Lilla Edet, Mölndal, Partille, Stenungssund, Tjörn och Öckerö.

3. Bjurholm, Nordmaling, Robertsfors, Vindeln, Vännäs. Örnsköldsvik only became part of the Umeå city-region in 2013 and thus was not included in the survey.

4. Based on high female levels of economic activity, high women’s representation in local politics, and similar levels of education.

5. The Pappaindex is an appraisal of the proportion of all parental leave days taken out by fathers and the percentage of men among those on parental leave. It is based on figures from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.

6. There were only very minor differences between the two city-regions and therefore they are treated together.

7. 480 days paid leave at 80% of salary.

8. These earmarked months (60 days each for the mother and father) are forfeited if the father or mother does not take them.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christine Hudson

Christine Hudson is a Professor in the Department of Political Science, Umeå University, Sweden. Her main research focus is on urban and regional policy and development from a gender perspective. Recent publications include “Citizenship as Lived Experience in the City,” in Å. Gunnarsson, (Ed.), Tracing the Women-Friendly Welfare State: Gender Politics of Everyday Life in Sweden (2013), and “The Gendered Aspects of the Strong Region Discourse,” in S. Andersson et al., Promoting Innovation. Policies, Practices and Procedures (2012). She is a member of the European Gender, Diversity and Urban Sustainability (GDUS) network.