Gender Equality as a Closed Case: A Survey among the Members of the 2015 Danish Parliament

Abstract

Despite almost unanimous adherence to the principle of gender equality in contemporary Denmark, a society with a long historical record of gender equality policies and almost 40 percent women in parliament, are there still divergences to be found among the members of parliament concerning gender equality principles and policies? This article argues that in order to identify underlying cleavages it is necessary to pose fundamental questions that go beyond the day-to-day disagreements on policy issues. Based on a new survey of the members of the Danish parliament, this study finds that the support for gender equality is not just a matter of lip service insofar as few MPs hold traditionalist views on women. However, the study reveals conflicting perceptions, left-right cleavages and gender gaps, sometimes also within the parties. A new discourse is identified, supported by a large minority that includes all of the male MPs from the four right-wing parties; this minority considers gender equality to be a 'closed case'that is, as having by and large been achieved. This may provide clues to the puzzle of the stagnation in gender equality reforms in spite of the general support for 'gender equality'. The article discusses the possible connection between the 'closed case' discourse, present neoliberal trends in society and the recent construction of gender equality as an 'intrinsic Danish value' -an argument familiar in other countries with a harsh debate over immigration.

Equality prescribed? Contextual determinants of citizens’ support for gender boardroom quotas across Europe

“…These distinct national framings are likely, in turn, to affect the ideological frames with which individuals interpret regulations and policies such as the implementation of binding gender quotas in company boards. For example, the strong opposition to gender quotas in Denmark might be related to the belief that gender equality has already by and large been achieved, therefore is a 'closed case', as identified by Dahlerup (2018) among a large minority of conservative MPs in the Danish parliament. Disentangling the ideological frames behind support for gender quotas at the individual level and relating it with the respective national frames in all EU countries is beyond the scope of this article.…”

Framing Gender Justice

“…In comparison, the majority of party leaders in Sweden declare themselves feminists (Dahlerup, 2011;. Overall, the general conservative and neoliberal turn in Denmark in the past decades has given prominence to the widespread idea that feminism has "gone too far" (Dahlerup, 2018). Such ideological currents of recent years should be understood in relation to Denmark's historical role as "the libertarian of the north", where resistance to quotas and state interventionism in general is pervasive.…”

“…4 Previous research, however, has identified a gender equality paradox in the Nordic countries following the notable discrepancy between the official governmental optimism with regards to gender equality and the experiences of young women in their everyday lives (Karvonen & Selle, 1995). A recent survey among Danish MPs, for example, showed how a large minority in parliament, including all the male MPs from the four right-wing parties, considered gender equality to be a "closed case", thus pointing to discrepancies in politicians' adherence to gender equality principles and actual policies (Dahlerup, 2018). Overall, statistics on employment, education and representation of women and men indicate striking similarities between the two countries (Dahlerup, 2011), although the gap seems to be widening somewhat as Denmark in recent years has dropped from the top tier of countries that have progressed furthest towards gender parity.…”

“…In Denmark, a key theme in male-authored articles was instead "critique of #metoo". We might partly understand these stark differences by taking into consideration that it is not uncommon to see men engaging in "gender-consciousness positionings" in public debates in Sweden (Holmgren & Hearn, 2009) and that generally there is much less of a stigma related to being a declared feminist or to openly assuming a feminist standpoint as a man in Sweden compared to Denmark (Dahlerup, 2018).…”

The Populist Elite Paradox: Using Elite Theory to Elucidate the Shapes and Stakes of Populist Elite Critiques

“…Similarly, the Danish People's Party and the Norwegian Progress Party turned from their former resistance to gender-equality policies -typically an issue supported by the cultural elites -to embrace of gender equality as a national value threatened by immigrants from Islamic countries. Gender-equal attitudes and practices thus became a sign of willingness to integrate into 'our' culture (Dahlerup, 2018;Teigen & Wägnerud, 2009).…”