Fewer women reach the top of politics

This summer, when Nyamko Sabuni was elected new party leader for the Liberals, half of the parliamentary parties were led by women. At the municipal level, the situation is quite different.

The top political post in a municipality, chaired by the municipal council, is held in 193 municipalities by men, in 93 women are chaired, statistics from Sweden's municipalities and county councils show, SKL. In 57 municipalities, more than one in five, there has never been a female chairman.

A skewed gender distribution in politics can be important in two ways, says Lena Wängnerud, professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg, who is researching women's representation and gender equality in democracy.

- It can reduce confidence in politics. If women are not included in these contexts, it can give women a feeling that politics does not concern them.

- There is also research that clearly shows that gender affects how politicians act. Female politicians increasingly prioritize social issues and raise issues related to family, gender equality and concrete how to resolve the conflict between family and professional life, says Lena Wängnerud.

Since the municipal reform in the 1970s, the proportion of female municipal council chairmen has increased slowly but steadily. Last year's election, however, became a trend breach as the number of female chairmen decreased compared to 2014 - from 108 to 93.

Whoever becomes the chair of the municipal council often has long political experience and, above all, a large network of political contacts. Precisely the political networks may be one reason why the gender equality process in municipal politics is going so slowly, says Gerd Lindgren, professor emeritus of sociology at Karlstad University.

- In politics, networks of tradition are very male-dominated. When men then elect members, they choose among their known loyal, with whom they feel relaxed. As long as a group is male-dominated, it will reproduce itself. It simply becomes new men.

Breaking the process is difficult.

- A great deal of power is needed from a community to break strong reproductive networks. There is a need for a social movement in the population, in public opinion, that is pushing for change, says Gerd Lindgren.