This paper investigates the evolution of gender equality in Sweden during a phase characterized by industrialization, urbanization, and demographic transition. To this end, we build a database with quantitative indicators to construct a spatial Historical Gender Gap Index. We find that after a period of stagnation, Sweden made significant progress in closing the gender gap from the 1940s onward to reach the high level of gender equality that it is now famous for. The empirical exploration of the relationship between gender equality and economic development reveals that regions displaying higher gender equality performed economically better than less gender-equal regions.

本文调查了瑞典在工业化、城市化和人口转型阶段中性别平等的演变。为此，我们建立了一个具有定量指标的数据库，以构建空间历史性别差距指数。我们发现，经过一段时期的停滞之后，瑞典从 20 世纪 40 年代起在缩小性别差距方面取得了重大进展，达到了如今闻名的高度性别平等。对性别平等与经济发展之间关系的实证探索表明，性别平等程度较高的地区经济表现优于性别平等程度较低的地区。