<p>Over the last decades there has been a steady increase in the representation of women on the political arena. Despite of this there are still fewer women in comparison to men in political organs particularly at the municipal level. It is therefore of great importance to examine which different factors that tend to effect the female representation at this level. Doctor of philosophy at Umeå University Jessika Wide presented in a study from 2000 that the share of women in the municipal councils tended to depend upon cultural, socio-economical and political factors. Other scholars also mean that women have specific interests and therefore are more represented in some areas. This thesis has tested if these theories and results of earlier research also can explain female representation in municipal boards in Sweden at present fiscal year. This was done by formulating hypotheses which was tested via statistical measures and regression analyzes. The main findings where that presented theories and factors stated by earlier research in general could help us to explain the female representation also in municipal boards although the variations between the single municipals are huge. Therefore one should not jump to much large conclusions of these results. Although one could say that the findings in this thesis can serves as indicators on the road of explaining female representation in municipal boards. </p>

Since its emergence two decades ago, the Nollywood film industry is fast becoming social, cultural and economic phenomenon among Malawian audiences. Every year, Nollywood actors visit Malawi and some Malawi print media have columns dedicated to Nollywood. According to unofficial statistics carried out by this study, nine out of every ten film enthusiasts in Malawi’s rural areas are Nollywood fanatics, and at least seven out of ten people in the urban areas frequently watch Nollywood films. The films are more popular than both Hollywood and Bollywood films. It could be argued that this popularity is due to the reason that the films are cheaper to buy. Another reason is that the proliferation of free-to-air satellite dishes has made these films easily accessible for the Malawian audience. Notwithstanding these perspectives, this study reveals that unprecedented appeal to Nigerian made films is first and foremost a result of cultural identity. The study, carried out among nine communities across Malawi represented by focus groups, demonstrates that viewers enjoy watching the cultural portrayals manifested in the films by the characters which, they feel, are similar to their own real life and experiences. Taking into account the widespread patronage of Nollywood films, it is safe to assume that these films are making an impact on the local audiences. Based on focus group discussions and analysis of the six case study films by 83 participants in selected areas across Malawi between 2012 and 2013, the study findings indicate that there is a problem of power relations in Malawian society based on gender and iii sex. Men have the upperhand in decision making, access to resources and education opportunities. The study reveals that emergence of the films in Malawi is offering another perspective of gender and social relations: the films’ portrayal of women shows that it is possible for them to have equal opportunities and power relations as their male counterparts. As the case study films were representative of Nollywood films owing to the fact that they represented women/gender and gender relations similary, this study therefore suggests that the films have a potential to bring about social change in Malawian communities. Through the responses of participating audiences that encompassed both men and women, the study reveals that the cinematic portrayals, especially those of female characters, have the potential to change the social perception of women and womanhood. The study uses continentalisation ( as adapted in Omoniyi, 2014b) as a conceptual framework in interpreting and analysing audiences’ responses to female representations in Nollywood films. The study observes that both Nigerian (as depicted by the film characters) and Malawian audiences share common cultural aspects that are predominantly African. The study regards Nollywood as a vehicle of intra-continental cultural flow. For this reason, the study makes an attempt to explore the extent to which Nollywood could be effective in facilitating gender notions that are identical across African societies. The study claims that despite variations in certain elements, culturally, there are more commonalities than differences among Africans. Malawian audiences and in iv particular, female audiences could get an inspiration from the portrayals that would advance their cause in society. Arguably, the portrayals of militancy and some heroism in some female characters could go a long way to inspire the female audiences and instill confidence in them. Thus, exposure to the films for a long period could improve Malawians’ perception of women or womanhood. This thesis therefore argues that Nollywood is a vehicle for the flow of these engendered notions of power relations across the continent. Thus, these engendered notions should be identified as African approaches to gender, and with their emphasis on balanced power relations between male and female members of communities, they have the ability to/ they have a potential to deconstruct social gendered female stereotypes. This study therefore claims that Nollywood films in general offer positive, empowering representation of African women. Nollywood studies are a rather young research field, and the representation of women in those films has been poorly-studied area so far, with gender relations being largely ignored by scholars. The fact that this is the first study done on the reception of Nollywood in Malawi makes it arguably a unique and valuable contribution to knowledge.

The objective of this thesis is to investigate if the share of women in the municipality board affects the municipalities spending patterns. The study is based on the assumption that women as a group have particular needs, interest and concerns, and when represented, the political decision making will be affected. I used panel data over all 290 municipalities in Sweden over the years 2011, 2015 and 2019, to study the following public spending areas; reception of refugees, elderly care, education and childcare. I conducted a panel regression model with entity and time fixed effects and also added several control variables. The result suggests that there is a significant effect of female representation on spending related to the reception of refugees, but the effect of the other spending areas examined; childcare, education and care of elderly is negative but not significant.

This study takes a closer look at the screenplay of the 2019 coming-of-age film, Booksmart. Using critical discourse analysis, and Fairclough’s three-dimensional method, it examines the way girls are portrayed based on the screenplay and its audience reviews. The main theories used in order to find the right perspective for this analysis, are Steiner’s (2014) feminist media theory. Gendered Language theories are also taken into account in order to find the right components in the text, such as word choices in the dialogue. Previous studies used to guide this study include Henesy (2020), Yue (2019), Shapiro (2017), Edwards (2016) and Nairn et. al. (2014). Using gendered language, performed gender and feminist values to decode the screenplay, the findings of this study show that the choices made in the screenplay of Booksmart (2019) are to distinguish the difference between the two female protagonists. The main component being how they deliver their dialogue and how certain characteristics in both conversation and personality can change the power dynamic between the two protagonists. The film also manages to split its audience into two groups: the ones who hate it, and the ones who love it.

Esta dissertação reflete sobre o papel da televisão na construção da memória sobre a representação feminina no Brasil. Através de percepções sobre memória, relações de gênero e do papel social do jornalismo e da televisão, nos dedicamos a analisar o TV Mulher. Procuramos compreender de que forma o programa constrói a memória sobre a representação feminina no passado e no presente e problematizamos a importância da televisão nessa construção. O corpus foi delimitado em três programas do TV Mulher de 1980, disponibilizados pela Globo Universidade para esta pesquisa, e na captação em tempo real do remake do TV Mulher em 2016. O material foi investigado a partir da Análise de Conteúdo, sistematizada por Laurence Bardin (2016), a partir da qual foi possível construir categorias temáticas que permitiram compreender os dois momentos de exibição do TV Mulher e pela análise do modo de endereçamento de Itania Gomes (2011) que, através de operadores, viabiliza a compreensão sobre como o programa se relaciona com a audiência. Na fundamentação teórica utilizamos, entre outros, os conceitos de Alfredo Vizeu (2005; 2009), Carlos Scolari (2014) e Joan Ferrés (1998) sobre televisão, Ivàn Izquierdo (2006), Marialva Barbosa (1995), Michael Pollak (1992) e Pierre Nora (1993) sobre memória, Branca Alves e Jaqueline Pitanguy (1991), Gilles Lipovetsky (2000) e Joan Scott (1995) sobre relações de gênero e Ana Carolina Rocha Pessôa Temer (2005) e Rosa Maria Bueno Fischer (2002) sobre a representação feminina na televisão. Os resultados finais mostraram que o TV Mulher constrói a memória sobre a representação feminina no Brasil ao se constituir em um lugar de memória, em que os temas discutidos em diferentes épocas podem ser revisitados. / This thesis reflects on the role television plays in constructing memory about female representation in Brazil. We seek to analyze TV Mulher [literally,Women TV, a TV show directed towards a female audience] through perceptions about memory, gender relations and the social role of journalism and television. We aim to comprehend how that particular television show constructs the memory on female representation in the past and in the present and we question the importance of television on that construction. The corpus consists in three programs of TV Mulher in 1980, which have been made available by Globo Universidade for the present research, and also of real-time capture of TV Mulher’s remake in 2016. The material was investigated based on Content Analysis Theory, systematized by Laurence Bardin (2016), allowing for the construction of thematic categories that made possible understanding the two historical moments the show was on air. We also follow Itania Gomes’ (2011) addressing mode, which, through certain tools, enables the apprehension about how a television program relates to the audience. Our theoretical framework applies, among others, the concepts of Alfredo Vizeu (2005; 2009), Carlos Scolari (2014) and Joan Ferrés (1998) on television; of Ivàn Izquierdo (2006), Marialva Barbosa (1995), Michael Pollak (1992) and Pierre Nora (1993) on memory; of Branca Alves and Jaqueline Pitanguy (1991), Gilles Lipovestsky (2000) and Joan Scott (1995) on gender relations; and of Ana Carolina Rocha Pessôa Temer (2005) and Rosa Maria Bueno Fischer (2002) on female representation on television. The final results show that TV Mulher builds the memory on female representation in Brazil by being a place of memory where the themes discussed in different times can be reviewed.

Gender diversity within the boardroom is an important theme in the research of corporate governance. The lack of female directors during recent years have raised attention where the prejudice against women have been a central theme. Especially, in a gender egalitarian country as Sweden. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between female directors and financial performance, but also the presence of the “glass cliff” theory. The study is based on companies listed on Large Cap in Sweden, where data are collected from annual reports and a database. The collected data are analyzed by several statistical methods. The findings show that female directors do have a positive impact on a company’s financial performance, in terms of accounting-based measurements. However, the market-based measurement does not a provide a significant relationship to female directors, indicating that the Swedish stock market does neither positively or negatively react to a more gender diverse board. As no differences in performance are seen preceding the appointments of females compared to males, no evidence for the “glass cliff” is found. The findings suggest that female directors may enhance the performance of a company and disproves the prejudice against women. Further, the findings indicate that the Swedish boards are becoming more diverse, where precarious situations are not the reason for women to be appointed to the board.

Femvertising is a relatively new concept that describe the use of feminism in advertising. Femvertising aims to both strengthen the image of women and overrule stereotypical representations of women in advertising, whilst at the same time aims to sell products. This highlights a conflict within the concept, which is what makes femvertising an interesting subject to study. This study investigates the representation of women in contemporary fashion commercials withfemvertising messages. Further, it examines how young Swedish women create meaning in relation to these messages, and finally, how they interpret the conflict within the concept of femvertising.The main material consists of semi-structured interviews with ten young women, the secondary material consists of advertisements from three Swedish fashion brands; H&amp;M, Gina Tricot and Monki. The theoretical framework consists of Stuart Hallsrepresentation theoryand encoding/decoding theory, as well as parts from the consumer cultural framework, a critical view on identity and fashionand finally, two critical theories on feminist messagesin advertisement. Through these theoretical perspectives the study has demonstrated that young female consumers care relatively little about feminist messages in advertising. Instead, consumers want companies to work with feminist values internally and throughout. Further, the results points to that young female consumers want a more including representation of female bodies in advertising and that consumers react in a positive way towards advertising that represents bodies which they can relate to. In conclusion the results suggests that it is not enough for companies to use feminist messages and values in their advertisement, if these messages are not reflected in the company itself.

<p>The purpose of this study is to map out and to analyze the spatial variation of female representation at the national level in established democracies. The aim is also to explain the variation in the female representation. The main questions that the paper tries to answer are:</p><p>1.How does women representation in established democratic parliaments vary?</p><p>2.Why does women representation in established democratic parliaments vary?</p><p>This study is a comparative and statistic study, i.e. a study that includes a bigger number of countries and where quantitative analysis methods are used in order to achieve comparative analyses. This study is both a descriptive and an explanatory study. The statistical method that is used in this study is mainly bivariat analysis and multivariat regression.</p><p>The results show that the variation in female representation in the established democracies is quite considerable. Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Netherlands feature high female representation at the national level during the period 1995-2005. The result also implies that the proportion of women in parliament increases during the current period. The result also shows that political institutions, socio-economic -and cultural factors, are important and necessary in order to explain the variation in female representation. The overall standards that can be discerned of the statistical analyses is that the proportion of women in parliament is higher in countries with a proportional electoral system, high number of parliament members, high socio-economic development (high HDI, GDI and GNP per capita) contemporary as the country introduced female suffrage in an early stage and have a more positive attitude toward female leadership.</p>

Background: Female representation on boards is an ongoing debate. The European Parliament voted in November 2013 in favour of a proposal that it should be at least 40 percent women on company boards by 2020. Jens Spendrup, president of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, was interviewed on Swedish Radio in February 2014 and stated that there are not enough qualified women to recruit to the company boards. The listed companies in Sweden only have 22 percent of women in their company boards and given Jens Spendrup’s statement should they have difficulty reaching up to 40 percent by 2020. Nevertheless, the state-owned companies has shown that it is possible with a female representation of 50 percent. The question then is what the private companies are doing wrong? Aim: The study aims to investigate the recruitment process within listed companies and state-owned companies in Sweden to see if it affects the representation of women on corporate boards. This study intends to explain why female representation is so low in the private sector relative to the state sector. Methodology: The study is qualitative in nature where empirical data is primarily collected through interviews with representatives that have insight in the recruitment process in each sector. Theory and empirical data were alternately collected which implies an iterative approach. Conclusion: We have distinguished organizational differences in the recruitment process, which is crucial for female representation. Time and resources have been identified as key parameters and age as well as experience affects the selection of candidates. We also discovered that normative regulations do not work in the private sector and therefor there is a need for a mandatory regulation. / Bakgrund: Den kvinnliga representationen i bolagsstyrelser är en aktuell debatt. Europaparlamentet röstade i november 2013 ja till ett förslag att det ska vara minst 40 procent kvinnor i bolagsstyrelser senast år 2020. Jens Spendrup, ordförande i Svenskt Näringsliv, uttalade sig i Sveriges Radio i februari 2014 om att det inte finns tillräckligt med kompetenta kvinnor att rekrytera till bolagsstyrelser, vilket blev väldigt uppmärksammat i media. Som synes pågår debatten både nationellt och internationellt. Börsbolagen i Sverige har 22 procent kvinnor i sina bolagsstyrelser och med tanke på Jens Spendrups uttalande borde de ha svårt att nå 40 procent till år 2020. Dock har de statligt helägda bolagen visat att det är möjligt och har en kvinnlig representation på 50 procent. Frågan är då vad de privata bolagen gör för fel? Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka rekryteringsprocessen inom börsbolag och statligt helägda bolag i Sverige för att se om den påverkar den kvinnliga representationen i bolagsstyrelserna. Denna studie ämnar att förklara varför kvinnlig representation är så låg inom den privata sektorn i förhållande till den statliga sektorn. Metod: Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär där empirin främst är insamlad genom intervjuer med representanter som har insyn i rekryteringsprocessen inom respektive sektor. Teori och empiri insamlades växelvis vilket innebär en iterativ ansats. Slutsats: Vi har i studien urskilt organisatoriska skillnader i rekryteringsprocessen vilket är avgörande för den kvinnliga representationen. Tid och resurser har identifierats som viktiga parametrar samt att ålder och erfarenhet spelar en viktig roll vid urvalet av kandidater. Vi konstaterar även att normativa regelverk inte fungerar på privat sektor och därmed finns behov av tvingande regelverk.

Submitted by Yasmin Ribeiro Gatto Cardoso (yasmingatto@faac.unesp.br) on 2018-08-20T19:21:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação finalizada enviada FAAC com ficha.pdf: 5498737 bytes, checksum: 0b487def51418ec809bae5cf9e318a26 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Lucilene Cordeiro da Silva Messias null (lubiblio@bauru.unesp.br) on 2018-08-21T12:08:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 cardoso_yrg_me_bauru.pdf: 5498737 bytes, checksum: 0b487def51418ec809bae5cf9e318a26 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T12:08:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 cardoso_yrg_me_bauru.pdf: 5498737 bytes, checksum: 0b487def51418ec809bae5cf9e318a26 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-08 / Esta pesquisa analisa a representação jornalística do gênero feminino dentro da principal manifestação popular da Região Norte: Festival Folclórico de Parintins (Boi-bumbá Garantido e Caprichoso). A investigação se dá com base nos enquadramentos construídos pela cobertura noticiosa dos dois principais jornais impressos do estado do Amazonas nos anos de 2015e 2016. Na região Amazônica, o destaque que as mulheres recebem na mídia relaciona-se majoritariamente com a questão das manifestações culturais existentes, o que nos leva a refletir sobre como os meios de comunicação regionais vislumbram a mulher e a representam. Por isso, a pesquisa procura responder as seguintes perguntas: como as mulheres que participam do Festival Folclórico de Boi-bumbá estão sendo apresentadas nos meios de comunicação e de que forma esse enquadramento representa a figura feminina? Concluiu-se que as mulheres são apresentadas primeiramente como item de boi, ou seja, personagens de uma representação popular. Depois elas são apresentadas como mulheres brancas, que tem cabelos longos, negros e lisos. Quando se responde às questões de pesquisa, tem-se 1. “Quais aspectos da manifestação de cultura popular de Boi-bumbá foram destacados nas edições?” entende-se que ambos os jornais creem que o Festival Folclórico e suas nuances são parte da cultura popular, pois, quando o assunto é cultura popular, eles sempre destacam o boi e os demais personagens envolvidos nessa manifestação. 2. “Qual o papel da mulher nos enquadramentos jornalísticos construídos sobre as manifestações, em amostras de jornais?”, percebeu-se que os jornalistas enxergam a mulher apenas como parte dessa manifestação, pois a grande maioria das reportagens as apresenta como item, bela, nova, rainha, linda, como uma mulher que sonha em ser item desde criança. A terceira e última pergunta é: “Qual a representação das características obrigatórias das mulheres que participam dessas manifestações?”, identificaram-se que as características das mulheres é em sua maioria ter a cor branca, ser magra, ter cabelos longos e pretos, dentes muito brancos. / This research analyses the journalistic representation of the female gender within the main popular manifestation of the Northern Region: Folklore Festival of Parintins (Boibumbá Garantido and Caprichoso). The research is based on the framings built by the news coverage of the region's two main print journals in the years 2015 and 2016. In the Amazon region, the emphasis women receive in the media is almost always related to the issue of cultural manifestations, which leads us to reflect how the media of the region itself see the woman and make a representation of it. Therefore, the research has the following problem question: how are the women participating in the Boi-bumbá Folk Festival being presented in the media and how does this framing represent the female figure? It was concluded that women are presented first as a bumba item, that is, characters from a popular representation. Then they are presented as white women, who have long, black and smooth hair. When answering the questions of research, we have 1. "What aspects of the manifestation of popular culture of Boi-bumbá were highlighted in the editions?" It is understood that both newspapers believe that the Folk Festival and its nuances are popular culture , because when the subject is popular culture, they always highlight the ox and the other characters involved in this manifestation. 2. "What is the role of women in the journalistic framings built on apresentation in newspaper samples?", It was noticed that journalists see women only as part of this manifestations, since most of the reports present them as an item, beautiful , new, beautiful, queen, like a woman who dreams of being item since child. The third and last question is: "What is the representation of the obligatory characteristics of the women who participate in these manifestations?", The characteristics of the women were identified as being mostly white, thin, having long, black hair, teeth very white