“It must be fun for you to help a bit on the farm” : A qualitative study of the social, institutional, and economic activities and roles of women and inclusion in livestock farming in southern Sweden

Farming women have between the year 1950 and the present time had to fight hard to participate in the farming sector in Sweden to the same extent as men. There are old, gendered biases towards women who labour on farms by people both on and outside the farms. Farm labour has been considered a “man’s work” and women were better suited to perform household labour. However, women have been recognised as proper farmers and official owners in recent years. The thesis examines the changes over time for Swedish farming women regarding their economic activities, institutional changes, and social changes that have had an impact on them. The thesis highlights factors that hinder gender equality and empowerment on farms. It also highlights elements that empower women to further establish themselves in farming. Both statistical data which brings concreteness to the research and interviews with farming women which brings a narrative has been included in the research. The findings have been analysed with the reproductive labour theory and the concept of patriarchy