What Do Swedish Women Want? The Death of Patriarchy Scandinavian Style
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“What do you think of Swedish women?” – I’m often asked this question, and for a while, I had no idea why. Before moving to Sweden permanently, I had never thought it was even a topic for discussion. Swedish women are... blondes? Women, like women in every country, struggle with similar problems. So why are Swedish women a matter to discuss?
Content
- Introduction
- Feminism in Sweden
- Women's Occupations in Sweden
- Gender Equality in Daily Life
- Male-Female Relationships
- Independence and Relationship Dynamics
- Representation in Media
- Gender Representation in Government and Business
- Pay Gap and Workforce Participation
- Epilogue
Feminism in Sweden
Let’s start with an undeniable fact – Sweden is a stronghold of feminism. The strong feminist influences stem from frustrations a century ago. Did you know that Swedish women received the right to vote the latest among all Scandinavian countries? They first went to the polls in 1921. In 2005, the Feminist Initiative was founded in Stockholm, which, as a legitimate political party, never made it to the Riksdag but has a representative in the European Parliament.
Women's Occupations in Sweden
Strong feminist influences are visible on Swedish streets, in Swedish institutions, workplaces, and daily life. It’s not surprising to see women in positions once considered “typically male”: CEOs, truck drivers (wink to my sister-in-law), online shopping delivery workers, builders, engineers (when I first met my Swedish partner, I assumed that since he worked as a construction engineer, he worked in a male-dominated environment – nope...), and many other professions with no female equivalent in many other countries. In Sweden, these are completely standard female occupations.
Gender Equality in Daily Life
Swedish women not only demand equality but also acknowledge all the “inconveniences” that come with it. They fully embrace the feminist package: no leniency because of gender, significant responsibility, and many duties. In colloquial terms: their feminism doesn’t end when they have to carry a refrigerator to the third floor – because then they would call their female friends. Thus, there is no place in Swedish relationships for opening doors, paying for dinners and drinks, carrying bags, letting them go first in line, giving up seats, kissing hands, and many other things that many Europeans associate with socially normalized kindness towards the “weaker sex” and... with romance.
Male-Female Relationships
When it comes to male-female relationships, there is no ethos in Sweden of a fragile princess protected for life by a valiant knight. Relationships are based on partnership, kindness, and respect for the other person and their individuality. "Living with a Swedish woman is a bit like having a roommate. Swedes are not taught at home to perform social roles, especially those resulting from gender differences, because these roles blur. Tasks like cleaning, cooking, and laundry are not inherently performed by Swedish women – these activities require a household schedule," says my Swedish partner. "Setting up a romantic dinner, buying flowers, letting someone go first – these sound like things for which a typical Swedish woman might even... get offended," he adds.
Independence and Relationship Dynamics
Swedish men seem to be reconciled with this state of affairs – they support women in their careers and share responsibilities: often taking care of the children, taking their paternity leave, cooking and cleaning when needed. Swedes don’t "help" their partners – everyone simply supports the functioning of the household as best as they can.
Swedish women are certainly not the "weaker sex" and do not feel the need to seek men's favor. They like being independent – both financially and in life. If their relationship does not satisfy them for any reason, they end it regardless of the circumstances. In Sweden, there is no social understanding for "staying together for the sake of the child" – everyone agrees that unhappy parents mean an unhappy child. Such couples separate, and they take care of the children alternately – each parent for a week.
Representation in Media
An interesting phenomenon can also be observed when watching Swedish films and series. Compared to picture-perfect actresses from other countries (who all seem to look like they came off the same production line), Swedish actresses are far from Barbie dolls. Because of this, they are very distinctive and impossible to confuse (you know that it happened to you as well).
In Swedish series, women cheat, have one-night stands while drunk, leave the fathers of their children for younger lovers, and refuse to take the kids during "dad’s week" because they prefer to spend time with their current partner.
Currently, 11 out of 24 government ministers in Sweden are women. 47% of Swedish parliamentarians are female (the European average is 28%). 37% of the executives of listed companies in Sweden are women.
Pay Gap and Workforce Participation
The gender pay gap is decreasing year by year; however, the Swedish pay gap is currently 8,2%, meaning women earn less than 90,1% of men’s salaries (more if considering occupation and industry). For comparison, the European average is 12,7%. Sweden, however, has the highest percentage of working women in Europe – as much as 80%. This is possible, among other things, due to the exceptional family policy.
Epilogue
Once, a small woman in her forties arrived with our online-ordered groceries in a big van. She was hauling ten huge bags from the van to the mezzanine. My Swede stood in the doorway, checking if everything matched the order, while I watched the situation. The small woman made five trips back and forth up the stairs, carrying one bag in each hand. In the end, she and my Swede exchanged friendly smiles and a polite "tack, hej då!" Both the service provider and the client – everyone was happy. It’s so natural and simple!
