Folkhemmet och jämställdheten. En textstudie av hur det socialdemokratiska kvinnoförbundet driver kvinnointressen inom det socialdemokratiska arbetarpartiet (SAP)

This thesis aims to investigate how the interests of women are handled in political parties whose opinion programs are based on class interests. The essay constructs a theoretical framework, which shows that the descriptive representation of women is a prerequisite for their subjective interests being represented, however not a guarantee. By studying how the Social Democratic party deals with the demands from the Women's federation, the empirical material sheds light on the theoretical discussion. The study's methodological foundation consists of an ideology critical textual analysis, which focuses on the debate on the design of parental allowance that took place within the party during 2005. During the party's congress the women's federation advocated a proposition for increased individualization of the parental allowance, however the party did not accept it. The analysis confirms the theoretical argumentation that descriptive representation is not a guarantee for the representation of women's interests. It is found that the largest problem for women in advocating their interests is that the current political system does not allow basing conflicts of interests on gender