Liv Johanne Syltevik

In much of the literature, the Nordic states are presented as models for woman-friendly and gender equality policy. Differences between the gendered dimensions among the Nordic countries are less frequently explored. From a historical perspective, Norway was a latecomer in supporting women working outside the home, yet the Norwegian welfare state pioneered support for motherhood and lone mothers. Norway is one of the few countries in the world with a specific allowance for lone mothers. Today, the need for special welfare benefits for lone mothers is in question. This article follows the rise and reduction of the Norwegian allowance for lone mothers throughout the 20 th century and into the early 21 st century. While a core reason for developing welfare benefits for lone mothers at the start of the 1900s was to support women in their traditional, unpaid motherhood roles, this article shows how today's dual-earner and dual-career model and workforce policies exclude lone motherhood as a social category in need of particular support. The Nordic welfare states are often seen as forerunners of gender equality. Key indicators of this are women's high rates of participation in the labour market and politics, generous parental leave policies and state-sponsored childcare and unemployment benefits. Many have pointed to Scandinavia as an example of best practices, best-case scenarios and as a " Nordic Nirvana " (see Lister 2009 for a review of this literature). What has often been left out of such accounts is the historical differences between the Nordic countries with regard to motherhood and paid versus unpaid work. While from a Nordic historical perspective the Norwegian welfare state has been regarded as a latecomer in supporting women workers, Norway was actually early in its support for motherhood and lone mothers. 1 The Norwegian case can be characterized as collaboration between traditional family values and gender equality ideas (Ellingsaeter & Leira 2006). In this article, the rise and reduction of the Norwegian allowance for lone mothers 2 is followed throughout the 20 th century and into the early 21 st century. Norway is one of the few countries in the world with a specific allowance for lone mothers (Kamerman & Kahn 1988; Kilkey 2000; Skevik 2005). Why did Norway develop a benefit that included support for women who care for their children at home as well as for education and childcare benefits for women who worked outside the home? Further, why has the legitimacy of supporting women who provide care for their children gradually disappeared in the 21 st century? The valuing of unpaid care has always been a Gordian knot in discussions about the welfare state and gender equality (Lister 2003, 2009; Pateman 1989). To support women in a traditional mothering role has been considered a way of keeping women in this role. On the other hand, to only support women as workers outside the home may be seen as supporting women 1 Hageman (2007) suggests economic as well as political and cultural traditions as reasons for the Norwegian case. She underlines the existence of a progressive maternalism in Norway in the early 20 th century, with connections to liberal feminism and an organized feminist movement. 2 I chose to use the term 'lone mothers' because it covers all groups (divorced, unmarried and widowed) who have children and who live without men. I use 'mothers' since this has been and is now a group of predominantly women.

The main objective of this article is to explore the institutionalization of cohabitation that occurred in Norwegian law in the period 1972–2010. From being (officially) illegal until 1972, cohabitation in its contemporary form has become majority practice, a child-rearing institution, as well as recognized in law in ways that blur the differences between cohabitation and marriage. Although cohabitation is common in many European countries, Norway is one of the few to have gone full circle. This article focuses on the changes in politicians' ideas and norms regarding intimate relationships during this period. The empirical analysis is based on political documents and debates in the Norwegian parliament about cohabitation, marriage, single motherhood and the family.

The Norwegian system of benefits for lone mothers was revised in the late 1990s. The reform entailed an altered conception of the interrelations between gender, the labour market and the welfare state in Norway – basically shrinking the period it is possible to stay at home with your children as a lone mother. This article discusses the implementation and the consequences of these new policies from a gender and power perspective. The reform was meant to give lone parents more power over their own life, independence, higher income and self-realisation. Lone parents own statements about their experiences show the problematic aspects of dependency on welfare, as well as the difficult aspects of dependency on the market. The reform was based on two assumptions, namely that the market provides work-opportunities and that gender equality has now been achieved in Norway. The article concludes that since both assumptions are questionable, those lone parents least capable for this struggle have been turned into pioneers struggling for a place in the market and for that very gender equality.