Kvinnors rätt till högre statstjänster - Diskussionen om behörighetsfrågan i Sverige 1919–1923
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Summary, in English
This essay examines a part of the history of the Swedish women’s rights movement, the story about women’s right to be appointed to higher state offices. Women had been largely represented at the public labour market since the middle of the 19th century and since the year of 1870, they had access to university education. Nevertheless, they had no legal right to apply for higher government positions and could thereby not advance within their area of expertise and become for example university teachers, judges, officers, hospital doctors or provincial doctors. A committee of inquiry was appointed in 1919 to further investigate the matter of women’s access to higher state offices. The reports of the committee and the parliamentary debates held in the Swedish parliament regarding women's right to access higher state offices, form the basis for this paper.
The discussion of women's access to higher government positions was conducted during a time when the democratic breakthrough was already a fact, with the proclamation of the bill that recognised women’s right to vote in 1919. Gender equality seemed to already have been recognized, but it was more complicated than that. The beliefs of women's unsuitability for some public positions were still present and the debate was ambiguous. As gender equality was praised by some, the deviant nature of the woman was used both as a reason for, and against the reforms.
The essay addresses the alleged issue of women’s lack of competence based on the reasonings and opinions expressed by the parliament and the committee of inquiry. The purpose has been to try to determine the nature of the issue of women’s right to higher state offices, whether it was perceived as a democracy issue or as a so-called women’s issue. I have also sought to seek an answer to if it is possible to distinguish any common views about women among the advocates and the sceptics. In my final analysis, I find that advocates and sceptics shared the perception of the woman as an owner of specific characteristics. I also come to the conclusion that in the context of the issue of women’s access to higher state offices, the question was essentially regarded as a women's issue. Arguments based on pure justice principles, women's civil rights to compete on the same terms as men on the labour market weighed heavily, but not necessarily heavier than arguments based on social benefits and economic gains.
The discussion of women's access to higher government positions was conducted during a time when the democratic breakthrough was already a fact, with the proclamation of the bill that recognised women’s right to vote in 1919. Gender equality seemed to already have been recognized, but it was more complicated than that. The beliefs of women's unsuitability for some public positions were still present and the debate was ambiguous. As gender equality was praised by some, the deviant nature of the woman was used both as a reason for, and against the reforms.
The essay addresses the alleged issue of women’s lack of competence based on the reasonings and opinions expressed by the parliament and the committee of inquiry. The purpose has been to try to determine the nature of the issue of women’s right to higher state offices, whether it was perceived as a democracy issue or as a so-called women’s issue. I have also sought to seek an answer to if it is possible to distinguish any common views about women among the advocates and the sceptics. In my final analysis, I find that advocates and sceptics shared the perception of the woman as an owner of specific characteristics. I also come to the conclusion that in the context of the issue of women’s access to higher state offices, the question was essentially regarded as a women's issue. Arguments based on pure justice principles, women's civil rights to compete on the same terms as men on the labour market weighed heavily, but not necessarily heavier than arguments based on social benefits and economic gains.
Department/s
Publishing year
2018
Language
Swedish
Full text
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Document type
Student publication for Bachelor's degree
Topic
- Law and Political Science
Keywords
- rättshistoria
Supervisor
- Emma Ahlm