First, among upper and middle urban classes, who led Swedish society in adopting modern gender norms. Next, among urban workers. Finally, in social strata that maintained traditional gender norms and practices until late in time, such as farmers and agricultural laborers.

As gender norms evolved, emphasizing women’s personal and professional autonomy, the gap in turnout between married and unmarried women narrowed.

That process happened asynchronically across social strata, paralleling the diffusion of modern gender norms and practices.

The nature of gender norms and its evolution played a key role in the mobilization of women. Under traditional gender norms, female participation was strongly related to marital status. Married women voted at levels similar to men’s. Unmarried women participated much less.

We reconstruct the progressive electoral participation of women in Sweden between 1921 and 1960, employing official records on all eligible voters' turnout by gender, occupational group, and marital status.

We’re launching this track after a year of editorial experience. While aiming to publish excellent work, we’ve seen strong but focused papers struggle in review. This track is meant to support theory- or empirics-heavy work and shift reviewer expectations accordingly.