The Swedish law tells us that employers and co-workers are responsible to encourage gender equality work in order to make equal opportunities for both women and men in the Swedish work force. Different organizations have different conditions to change and the gender equality work is an example of a work of change. Previous research shows that gender equality work come across opposition in several ways. The aim of this study is to explain how departmental managers in care units work with gender equality and furthermore how the organization gives them conditions to do so. The question I aim to answer is: How is the departmental managers gender equality work influenced by the organizations particular conditions? To fulfil the aim of the study and answer the question I used a qualitative approach. Four departmental managers in care units were interviewed by means of semi- structured interviews. The material was processed with a thematic approach. I searched for common themes in the interviews and interpreted it with the assistance of select theory. The theories were Göran Ahrnes and Apostolis Papakostas organization theory about mechanisms of rigidity and Yvonne Hirdmans concept gender system. The results of the study show that written gender equality documents make mechanisms of rigidity and contribute to an inability to change. The organizations give the departmental managers capacity to diminish the need of gender equality work by means of shifting in time, category and responsibility. The analysis gives an explanation of the conditions with the assistance of the gender systems involvement in the organizations structure and culture. The conclusion means that the gender system makes the gender-differentiated organization inartificial, and therefore affects the conditions of the departmental managers gender equality work.

This essay is a bachelor’s thesis in the field of International Relations. The purpose is to make visible and analyse how problem representations in policies can reproduce norms, and how this has changed over a limited period of time. The purpose includes the ambition to be able to illustrate deficiencies in the European Union’s policies on gender equality. The essay intends to analyse the representations and norms in terms of a gender system. The theoretical framework consists of theories on normalization and gender system. The method used is called "What’s the problem?" developed by Carol Lee Bacchi. To achieve gender equality the EU produces policies on gender mainstreaming, this study analyses three of these policy documents. The result of the analysis shows that there has been no major change in the representation of problems in the documents and that they are reproducing stereotypical norms. The result also shows that the representations of problems are possible to explain with the theory on gender system, which allows further studies to develop a well-grounded critique of the EU policies.

This study examines the fight for equal rights by the female school teachers during the 1930s. The purpose of the study has been to analyze the strategy and arguments that the female teachers used and how they argued for the objective of equal rights. Their arguments were published in the female union newspaper, Lärarinneförbundet, and through the critical discourse analysis the questions, considering equal rights, have been selected and catego-rized. Prior research has been used to discuss and analyze the arguments. The female teacher’s counterpart were the male teachers, which had a higher position in the society through a higher pay and positions in the workforce. The arguments and strategies between the two unions will be analyzed through Hirdman’s theory about the gender contract and gender system. The main arguments in the conflict between the unions where about equal pay, married teachers right to work, upbringing and the capability of the genders. Both female and male teachers used different arguments which were established in their strategies. By analyzing the arguments with Hirdman’s gender system the strategies would appear. The male teacher’s strategy was to protect and maintain their superior status and position in the soci-ety. This was carried out by not allowing the female teachers the same rights and argue that they were less capable to work as teachers, because they were not as physical and mentally capable as the male teachers. The female teacher’s strategy was to achieve equal rights in society through minimizing the gender differences and reduce the male dominance. The female teachers emphasized the equality between the genders, instead of the differences, which the male teachers focused on. Though the strategies the female teachers tried to over-throw and break the gender contract and by that create a more equal society.

This essay is an archival study on female care work using the group Homesisters in Umeå, Sweden, as an historical example. Homesisters were a group of women that in the 18th century during the time of urbanization in Sweden worked in homes where the housewife became sick or unable to provide the care her home and family needed. Using Yvonne Hirdmans theory of gender systems to understand the recreation of gender and female care through the work that Homesisters provided and the role they played in the households this essay states the duties of Homesisters as one expression of female care.

In this thesis, I explore how bowling frames a gendered understanding of the world. I examine style, ball weight, and relationships, and others areas to discuss the ramifications of a binary understanding of gender as it is conceived in bowling centers. To complete this examination, I use interviews and personal observations from a year of fieldwork in Louisville and Bowling Green, Kentucky. I also rely on my personal experiences with the sport to provide contextual information. Drawing primarily on scholarship from Judith Butler, Richard Bauman, and Ann K. Ferrell, I theorize about gendered performances occurring in the bowling center. These performances regularly highlight the disparities between men and women; not only are there two distinct genders, but performing outside one’s ascribed gender has negative social ramifications. I conclude with an examination of the current state of the sport and the reinstitution of the Professional Women’s Bowling Association, which occurred in 2015. Taken together, this thesis questions the binary gender system and offers insight into the ramifications of a traditionalized gender performance. This work also provides a necessary examination of recreational folklore, as that area of scholarship is not explored academically to the same degree that it is a predominant factor in the lives of many people.

The purpose of this study is to find out from a didactic perspective, how traditional gender roles emerge in the classroom and the conceptions of traditional gender roles. This is explored from a student’s perspective. The theoretical frame of this study is gender system, which consists of the principles of separation and hierarchy. The survey is conducted in two classes in third grade. This study answers following questions: How do traditional gender roles appear in the classroom from a student´s perspective? Which conception exist about traditional gender roles from a student's perspective? The study is based on observations and interviews, which is analysed of the gender system theory and the theoretical concept traditional gender roles. The results of this study show that the students' behavior in the classroom and their thinking are mostly based on the traditional gender roles, which is characterized mostly by the principles of separation and hierarchy.  However, some situations and statements show a change, in which the principles of separation and hierarchy are questioned. The individual situations reflect that the transfer of the gender contract is minimized from one generation to another.

<p>The aim and purpose of this paper is to identify and investigate the effects of affirmative action as a tool to improve the equality of the sexes in a male dominated organisation such as the Swedish armed forces. The study takes a qualitative approach, using feminist theory as a point of departure. Primarily socially based differences between men and women are identified and the resistance towards change is taken into account.</p><p>To understand the impact of affirmative action I have observed the political debate on the subject and contrasted it to the ongoing debate from within the armed forces. Extensive interviews have been held with both men and women from varying ranks and ages to understand what the overall opinion of the method is.</p><p>My results show that there is a widespread animosity towards affirmative action as a method of improving equality. Both in the political debate and within the organisation in question. It is perceived as a method that rather compromises the balance and the equality that already exists in the Swedish armed forces, since women can be accepted on lower merits than men.</p><p>The theoretical framework helps us to understand both the reaction towards the first women that were allowed into the organisation and the response to the latest efforts taken in improving the equality between the sexes.</p>

<p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Essay in political science, C-level by Chris Baldebo spring semester 2010. Tutor: Arne Larsson. “Women’s conditions in municipal politics in the municipality of Karlstad - Six politicians tell”. </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The purpose of this paper is to explore women’s conditions in the municipal political work in the municipality of Karlstad. Based on the objective, one research question is formulated: How is women’s political acting space limited on the basis of gender power relations in local politics in the municipality of Karlstad? To be able to say something about the women’s conditions my approach has been to interview six active local politicians to collect empirical data to analyze from Maria Höjer Wendts & Cecilia Åses theorizing about women and politics, and Yvonne Hirdmans theory of a gender system.</p><p>My conclusions are that women’s political room for maneuver is limited in several ways in municipal politics in Karlstad. Foremost it is a restriction by various prevailing beliefs about the characteristics men and women are supposed to have and should have, and which behaviors that are legitimate in the local political process. These become the norm for their genders and contribute to various social practices are created and maintained. There is also a clear male dominance in terms of speaking in various political forums, where men to a higher extent compared with women are talking. Therefore women do not have the same opportunity to exercise half the real power when they are subjected to oppressive treatment, while local politicians are characterized by the male norm from which women are not valued as highly. The municipal politicians in the municipality of Karlstad (at various levels) is thus far from equal, although the lack of gender varies in different degrees depending on the forum politicians find themselves in.</p>

This thesis is based on qualitative text analyses of four works of fiction, used as teaching materials in the school subject of Swedish, from a queer theoretic perspective. The purpose of the study is to examine how sexual identities and expressions are being presented, as well as what positions are offered a reader, in relation to the heterosexual norm. Basis for this thesis are the schools fundamental values, which highlights the importance that intolerance be confronted through both knowledge and active measures, and the syllabus, which states that fiction should be viewed as a tool for identity development as well as an understanding of the outside world. The analyses reveals a distinct connection between the generally accepted heterosexual norm and a professed (or taken for granted) heterosexuality which is being carried out by the characters or the books as a whole. Out of the four titles only one disputes this norm, by offering a wide range of sexual identities and expressions. These expressions, however, are being invalidated – through insufficient ability to relate to the norm – or made invisible – through an imagined heterosexuality which, by superiority over other expressions, excludes them.

Equality between the sexes has been discussed in Sweden for more than 50 years. In the 60´s and during the 70´s the discourse that dominated the debate was based on the assumption that both men and women needed to liberate themselves from their traditional gender roles. In this approach information and education was perceived as the key to equality. During the 80´s however, power and subordination became the main focal point of concern within this debate, and focus upon changing the patriarchal power structures dominating society were perceived as the principal key for establishing equality between the sexes. Today, the latter discourse still dominates both the scientific and the political perspective upon equality. By examining the debate on equality from two different fields of occupation this paper tries to analyse the fact that the Swedish equality discourse looks very different on male - versus female domination. Although the proportion of male teachers in Swedish preschools is about 3 % and the amount of women serving as public company directors is about 20 %, the current discourse views male dominance within the business sector as problematic, whilst, the dominance of women in the preschool childcare sector as less problematic. In respect of the theory supported by Bourdieu (1999), Hirdman (1990 & 2003) and Foucault (1998 & 2002) this paper advocates that the discourse is biased and simplified and that a perspective that only focuses on areas of male domination sets the wrong priorities. With regards to equality ideals prevalent throughout Norway this paper concludes that the Swedish equality discourse needs a broader and more open approach to assure that Swedish institutions promote equality between men and women in the best possible way.