Status of the sexes before and after opening the Héðinsfjarðartunnels: Transport, attitudes towards labor market and division of labor in households

Abstract

In this article we focus on the daily lives of men and women living in Fjallabyggð before and after the opening of the tunnel through Héðinsfjörður in 2010. The findings are based on two surveys conducted among the inhabitants of Fjallabyggð during the fall of 2009 and 2012. The effect of the tunnel are viewed from gendered attitudes towards the labour market, the time spent on travelling within and outside the community of Fjallabyggð and the gendered division of household labour. The findings reveal interesting changes regarding the time spent on travelling both within and outside the area, showing that both men and women spend more time travelling after the opening of the Héðinsfjörður-tunnel, and that women are increasing their travelling time even more than men. The inhabitants‘ optimistic views on rapid changes towards increasing labour opportunities in the community where not met over the period between the surveys, but there are signs of a more gender equal division of labour in the community and it seems that the opening of the tunnel has not strengthened traditional division of household labour.