Still segregated? Temporal and intersectional analysis of the residential, occupational and political segregation of sexual minorities in Sweden

While sexual orientation is considered to be an important factor contributing to residential, occupational and political segregation, only few large-N studies on the link between sexuality and segregation exist, mainly due to limited data availability. Using a unique method for identifying same-sex households in the population register, this three-year project will examine whether non-straight persons in Sweden face spatial or occupational segregation and inequalities in terms of educational attainment, income or participation in democratic action. This is the first time population-wide data will be used for this kind of inquiry and a pioneering study of different kinds of segregation faced by sexual minorities. Owing to the richness of the data, we will be able to estimate long-term trends in the segregation of sexual minorities and thus investigate whether changes in public attitudes to this social group might facilitate the group’s gradual desegregation/social integration. What is more, we will be able to consider asymmetries in segregation between different subgroups of sexual minorities, thus breaking the veneer of LGBTQ+ homogeneity traditionally necessitated by limited data availability. Taken together, this project promises to deliver a timely, comprehensive analysis of contemporary processes of outgroup segregation and is likely to generate empirical and theoretical insights about the factors that might facilitate the desegregation of minorities, more broadly.

Principal Investigator: Michal Grahn (Department of Government)

Period: 2023–2026

Funding: SEK 4 221 000 from the Swedish Research Council