as it will appear part of the literature points to how womens desire of moving away from the peripheral areas to some degree is combined with the womens wish to gain access to more opportunities as well as a bigger sense of freedom or less social control forsberg defines gender contracts as unwritten rules and norms that regulate the relations between men and women and that contribute to the creation and maintenance of gendered structures of opportunities in these areas in her work forsberg has additionally used the term escalator regions rulletrapperegioner to describe the swedish regions close to the cities which in opposition to the peripheral areas are dominated by what she calls contemporary gender contracts meaning a less traditional gender division and a less traditional perception of the opportunities and freedom of choice for men and women forsberg has later together with stenbacka taken the notion of gender contracts even further