Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, 2001. / In the context of social development, the developmental perspective on Social Welfare, and gender equality (gender theory and gender analysis), an extensive literature and empirical study was undertaken, to explore the contribution of Social Work to the social and economic development of women as a special population of the poor in rural communities. Exploratory and descriptive research, using documents, interviews and direct observation, was used to study the rural neighbourhood, the demographic profiles of the general public and decision making participation of a sample of household heads and community leaders. From both the theoretical and empirical studies, it was evident that women's contribution to development was being systematically undervalued in the rural communities, and within households. Essential to this analysis was that there was an overall socio-cultural framework for stereotyping women's roles in rural communities. Not only were they overburdened by the multiple roles, their practical and strategic gender needs were marginalised, leading to their further subordination. In addition, as an institution of society, the way both the department of social welfare and population or department of social development and the social service system functioned, was influenced by institutionalized gender in equality actually many considerations of gender in relation to welfare and health tended to remain focussed on women as users or service providers (volunteers), rather than assessing how health and welfare or social services, reinforced gender in equalities and, in doing so undermined social justice while also at times undermining women's and family welfare. k At the local level, it was very apparent that all important decisions were made by men, especially those determining access and allocation of productive resources needed to survive. This study also revealed that local government and other service providers in rural areas often developed projects in a top-down fashion, where local people were informed or consulted, but were not expected to make decisions that would be acted upon. Local economic development (large scale government or heavily funded public works projects) were often treated as technical and administrative issues, with very marginal, if any, political and socio-economic considerations from the viewpoint of the disadvantaged majority, the women and the poor, in particular. In the latter even the tribal leaders were essentially marginalized. Based on the findings of the study, the thesis proposes a model, which provides a framework that is inclusive enough to serve both the clinical and community - work orientated social workers and generalist social workers. The polarization, where either the personal (individual) or the social (institutional) are emphasized at the expense of a holistic integrated consideration, is rejected. Instead, the feminist perspectives involving the reconceptualization of power, viewing the 'personal' as 'social' and the validation of people's experiences, interalia, are emphasized. Project planners should ensure the inclusion of multi-disciplinary teams with both males and females at all stages of the research process, that is, the problem identification, the design, the implementation and evaluation. Data must be disaggregated by socio-economic strata and gender, and there must be an examination of inter-household and intra-household processes, particularly in the spheres of decision making, responsibility and labour input. This is important because of the importance of empowerment of the individuals and groups to access resources they need, and to have a role in the production of personal and public services in order to improve the quality of their lives and that of their communities.

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Background: A movement to improve women’s healthcare was started in 1885. Since then a lot of improvements have been made, but in order to provide all genders with equal healthcare, society has to pay more attention to gender disparity. Purpose: The aim of this study was to get an understanding of whether employees of The Tibetan settlement experience that a patient’s gender is affecting how they and/or their colleagues treat a patient.  Method: The data were collected by eight semi-structured interviews and semi-structured observations. The collected data were analyzed with a qualitative content analysis and three themes and five sub-themes were identified. Result: The result showed that there are experiences of gender-based approach in healthcare in the form of a more polite approach towards women. These differences were explained by the experiences that women and men need different approaches because of culture, gender inequality in society and because women are more sensitive than men. The participants experienced that except for the approach they treat all patients the same regardless of gender and they think this is because of their culture and training in awareness. Conclusion: The study showed experiences of differences in the approach depending on gender. Some health care workers approach female patients more gently and politely than they approach male patients. From the study’s result it is also concluded that except for how they approach patient’s there are no experienced gender differences in healthcare.

In this study I want to explore and give voice to the lived embodied experiences of women affected by vulvodynia in Italy. Through an autoethnography and two qualitative interviews, I will try to investigate if their embodied experiences question or not the normative construction of female body in Italian context.

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<p>The aim of this investigation work " What was it called...Equality...? is to study a clinics current gender equailty plan from a gender approach and by a field survey see if, and in that case, how it can be improved. A connection between existing gender norms and gender power strukctures is applied in the results of this survey in order to illustrate their significance from an individual as well as a structural perspektive.</p><p>The survey has been carried through by a field survey as well as a discourse analysis as method. Yvonne Hirdmans gender power system is on of the main theoretical points of departure.</p><p>The results that I have achieved in this essay is that gender can be looked at in different ways within the labour market where women have the main responsibility over the family and are considered more nursing then men. Men on the other hand are thinking of their carriers and have higher salary requirements. Gender rolls and their maintanace are the reason of the existing gender segregation on the labour market. The importance of an increased knowledge of how gender is created and recreated within the organisation are necessary to make a difference and that knowledge are important for men as well as for women.</p>

The aim of this investigation work " What was it called...Equality...? is to study a clinics current gender equailty plan from a gender approach and by a field survey see if, and in that case, how it can be improved. A connection between existing gender norms and gender power strukctures is applied in the results of this survey in order to illustrate their significance from an individual as well as a structural perspektive. The survey has been carried through by a field survey as well as a discourse analysis as method. Yvonne Hirdmans gender power system is on of the main theoretical points of departure. The results that I have achieved in this essay is that gender can be looked at in different ways within the labour market where women have the main responsibility over the family and are considered more nursing then men. Men on the other hand are thinking of their carriers and have higher salary requirements. Gender rolls and their maintanace are the reason of the existing gender segregation on the labour market. The importance of an increased knowledge of how gender is created and recreated within the organisation are necessary to make a difference and that knowledge are important for men as well as for women.

The most common approach to examining gender equality in organizations is through quantitative measures, which can miss important aspects of gender equality. This study analyzes Sweden's most gender equal organization according to Nyckeltalsinstitutet to see if the experience of gender equality reflects the organization's good quantitative measures. Based on previous research in the field of gender equality, we assume the working hypothesis that women in organizations are generally treated as the subordinate gender. The study consists of a survey and four semi structured interviews with employees at Sveriges Radio. The questions we aim to answer with the study are: (1) Do experiences of inequality exist in Sweden's most gender equal organization? and (2) does the experience reflect the good quantitative measures of gender equality within the organization? Our working hypothesis is supported by the results of the study. The main conclusion is that there are experiences of inequality within the organization and that experiences of gender discrimination and an unequal work environment do not necessarily reflect the good quantitative measures of gender equality. All relevant aspects of gender equality are therefore not captured by quantitative measures.