Equal opportunities : the right to be unequal?

Sammanfattning: This Licentiate thesis exhibits the progress of the research in which I have been involved for the past four years. The thesis considers the influence of structural change on equal opportunities in the labour market in respect of gender. The objective is to better understand gender segregation in the labour market in the north of Sweden. A position is taken in the thesis that explores social construction in a late-modern society. Engaging neo-liberalism and gender equity, the four papers presented here draw on primary empirical data, both quantitative and qualitative, to investigate current understandings of gender segregation in the labour market in the north of Sweden. The evidence suggest that the way to participate in neo-a liberal society emerging in late-modern society is considered by some, especially by women, to be unwanted. Thereby offering a broader understanding of the influences engendering the concentration of men and, especially, women in occupations within the labour market.