Making Agreements and Managing Conflicts: Swedish Dual-Earner Couples in Theory and Practice

In order to practise equality, individuals have to strike a balance between the articulation of their individual selves and their norms and moral concerns about mutuality. Strategies for balancing mutuality and autonomy in relationships are vital parts of the process of accomplishing equality. Styles of negotiation and conflict management are involved in the process. This article discusses how styles of conflict management maintain inequality or promote gender equality. It draws on a qualitative study of 22 couples in Sweden. Men and women were interviewed separately about how they share household labour, dispose of and allocate their material resources, and relate to children.