Equal Democracies? Gender and Politics in the Nordic Countries is the result of a joint effort between several Nordic scolars specialising in the study of gender and politics. Representations of the Nordic countries often conjure up an image of homogeneity within the region that is noted, among other things, for the central position of social democracy and the extensive equality between sexes. This book sets out to re-examine this conception by posing two fundamental questions: How equal are women and men in the Nordic countries? How homogeneous are the Nordic countries?

The book sheds light on processes of mobilisation and official policies on welfare and gender equality in the Nordic countries (including the self-governing islands of the Faeroes, Greenland, and Åland). The book shows that these countries have many characteristics in common, which justifies the use of the term "Nordic model". In spite of this, the processes of equality in the Nordic lands differ in many respects, and these differences are greater in quantity and kind than has hitherto been recognised. Such diversity is not only a reflection of the fact that the countries have developed under different frame conditions - structurally, culturally, and politically - but also that the political actors have arrived at different strategies with respect to gender equality policy.