FRIHET ELLER JÄMSTÄLLDHET?
This study in Public Administration uses feminism and historical institutionalism toanalyze a highly debated contemporary policy problem that concerns genderequality in the policy of parental leave. The parental insurance was introduced in1974 with the governmental goal of gender equality. In 1974 only 0,5 percent of thenumber of days of parental benefit was paid to men. Today, 40 years later, the goalremains the same and the numbers of days of parental benefit paid to men are 24,8percent.The debate that has characterized the Swedish policy of parental insurance andspecifically the design of the parental benefit is the debate of freedom of choiceversus quota.Our study focuses on ideas and arguments that influence the policy of parentalbenefit. The study assumes, with basis in the theories of feminism and historicalinstitutionalism, that a policy like parental benefit is slow-moving and that pathdependency has lead to a slow development of gender equality.