Equal opportunities in transition?

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to focus on the attitudes of women and men in relation to gender-appropriate domestic responsibilities and equal opportunities in the changing context of neo-liberalism. Design/methodology/approach - The authors draw on results from an empirical investigation involving 1,731 questionnaires investigating the attitudes of women and men in a town in the north of Sweden. Findings - The tentative conclusions suggest that even if they appear to co-exist in contradictory ways, ideas of gender-appropriate domestic responsibilities and equality of opportunity are in the respondents' minds, alongside neo-liberal notions of individualisation. The prevailing attitudes in respect of gender suggest that women and men make apparently free "choices"; the influence of age on attitudes to gender issues is also considered. Originality/value - This paper considers neo-liberalisation and its impact on gender equity in Sweden, a country with a strong reputation for gender equity and a tradition of collective, inclusive social democracy, somewhere we would be unlikely to find its embedded presence. Using a quantitative self-reporting approach to attitudes relevant to the choices made by men and women, the study raises questions about gender-appropriate domestic responsibilities and equality of opportunity in a country that has been and continues to be regarded as one of the most gender-friendly in the world and likely to be resistant to the influence of neo-liberalism. The implications are explored, with the evidence indicating the presence of neo-liberalism co-existing, albeit perhaps uneasily, with traditions of equality of opportunity and attitudes to gender.