Kvinnor i brytningstid

The essay Women in Transition examines how three Swedish women born between 1939 and 1955 perceive their and their mothers' living conditions during the post-war transition from the ideal of housewifery to paid work. Through oral history, semi- structured interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using Donna Haraway's situated knowledges and Yvonne Hirdman's gender contract. The aim is to shed light on how welfare reforms, the sexual revolution and increased participation in the workforce reshaped women's scope for action, identity and economy. The results show persistent gender roles: mothers bore the main responsibility for home and children even when working full-time, and daughters only reflected on the inequality afterwards. At the same time, clear shifts took place. All three emphasized economic independence; none chose full-time housewifery, and the 1971 special taxation, the contraceptive pill and expanded childcare are described as central factors of freedom. Britta's career after the divorce and Anna's reluctance to "ask for money" illustrate how structural changes were negotiated in everyday life. The conclusion is that the welfare state opened up new opportunities, but that the gender contract was both reproduced and renegotiated through women's reflexive actions. The study contributes a microhistorical complement to macro-oriented research on Swedish gender equality.