Jämställdhetens skygglappar

Sammanfattning: In order to successfully identify as well as solve a certain societal problem, an adequate causal idea is crucial. Stern has shown how sociological research is characterized by theoretical blinders, which has made the biological perspective on understanding humans and society, despite its status as somewhat of a scientific consensus in natural sciences, close to invisible. This study follows in Sterns steps, as it examines to what extent the biological perspective is considered in the, in many ways unsuccessful, Swedish gender equality policy. Through an ideal type analysis, consisting of a social constructivist view on gender on the one hand, and a sociobiological view on the other, the paper analyses the Swedish Government’s policy on gender equality. The results show that a social constructivist view on sex is completely dominant while the biological perspective is conspicuously absent. This has great impact on how Swedish gender equality policy is designed and is a possible explanation to why such an ambitious policy still shows such weak results.