スウェーデン女性とEU : 国民投票を中心として  [in Japanese] Swedish Women and the EU : Focusing on referendums  [in Japanese]

Sweden has actively promoted a gender equality policy. However, distinct differences on political preference between men and women have emerged in recent years. In the referendums on EU issues, these differences were especially evident. The purpose of thi

Sweden has actively promoted a gender equality policy. However, distinct differences on political preference between men and women have emerged in recent years. In the referendums on EU issues, these differences were especially evident. The purpose of this article is to investigate political preferences of Swedish women. Two referendums on EU issues are examined, and the investigate differences among women by political party sympathy and socio-economic categories are analyzed. Although forty-eight percent of the workers in the Swedish labor market consists of women, many of those are engaged in what is traditionally termed "women's work". Fifty-seven percent of working women are employed in the public sector and the women's work force is concentrated in specific work places. Representatives in the decision-making processes in central power are still mostly dominated by men. In the Swedish politics, traditional differences between men and women have disappeared. Women's seats in the Swedish Parliament have exceeded forty percent since 1994. According to female politicians, the increase of women's participation in the political realm has led to more attention being given to family policies, environment protection issues, gender equality and so on. By 1996, forty-three percent of political power's elite became women. The referendum on Swedish EU-membership was held on November 13, 1994, and the "yes" vote triumphed with 52.3%. Fifty-nine percent of men voted for Swedish EU-membership, and fifty-two percent of women voted against it. On September 14, 2003, Sweden held the referendum on the introduction of the "euro" and 55.9% of the electorate voted "no". Forty-nine percent of men and nearly sixty percent of women voted against the euro. Women's political attitude on EU issues has remained essentially unchanged over nine years compared with that of men. In general, women attach much more importance to social welfare, family and gender equality as their political preference. Additionally, young women display an outstanding feature in political party sympathy, thus "gender" rather than "class" becomes a more important factor for political preference in the younger generation. Young women's support for the Left Party and the Green Party is higher than that of the older generation. These two parties have taken an anti-EU stance since the 1990s. During the campaigns on EU referendums, the anti-EU camp laid stress on its disadvantages for Swedish women. The reason that women voted "no" to Swedish EU-membership was fear of a decline in the level of social welfare, environmental protection, employment in the public sector and gender equality policies. In the referendum on the euro specifically, three major reasons to vote against it were loss of democracy, independence of the nation and social welfare. The percentage of "no" voters among women was larger as a whole than men in both referendums. The majority of women in some socioeconomic categories voted "yes" on the EU issues. Women who live in metropolitan areas, with professional occupations, high education and large incomes have supported the EU and the euro. The majority of supporters for the Moderate Party (conservative) and the People's Party (liberal) voted for in both referendums. Many employees in the national public sector voted "yes", and this was highest among female employees in other sectors.