The development of earnings inequality and the earnings gender gap is analysed among full-time, full-year workers in Sweden using an additively decomposable inequality index. Earnings inequality is found to first decrease then increase and the earnings gender gap is found to move similarly. The results show that the changed earnings gap has some importance for the changed inequality. However, most of the changes were due to changes in inequality within the categories male and female. Between one tenth and one fifth of the inequality in particular segments of the labour market would be eliminated if its gender gap were to be totally eliminated. If the gender gap were to be eliminated in specific segments of the labour market, to what extent would earning inequality decrease?