Class and Gender in Conflict? Exploring Intersectionality in Practice in Swedish Gender Equality Bargaining

In 2007, a controversial gender equality fund was introduced into collective bargaining in Sweden in order to decrease the gender pay gapages The present article explores the conflict associated with the fund to shed light on why it was so controversial. It also aims to further knowledge concerning the possibility of introducing an intersectional perspective to the bargaining agenda that accounts for both gender and class. The empirical findings demonstrate that the controversy resided in differences in how labor market inequalities are conceptualized. On a theoretical level, the article illustrates the difficulties associated with applying an intersectional perspective in practice.