Regeringsformen och jämställdheten. En granskning av könsperspektivet i Grundlagsutredningen

Abstract

Gender and Constitutional Reform

The Swedish Committee on Constitutional Reform worked during the period 2004-2008. It was charged with conducting a comprehensive review of the Instrument of Government, which is the fundamental law regulating the governing of Sweden. A gender researcher was engaged by the Committee to conduct an analysis of the Instrument of Government and to propose necessary changes. In the end no changes were made in the content of the law. Rather, the main result was the adoption of genderneutral language. In this article I show that that gender was basically a non-issue for the Committee. There are two main explanations for this. First, gender is the basis of a hierarchical power structure in society. Issues of gender tend to be seen as deviant and not as priorities. Thus, gender is not easily formulated as a constitutional rule. Second, the Swedish tradition of constitutional minimalism makes it difficult to incorporate new issues into the constitution, because to do so violates institutionalized norms and traditions.