The overall aim of this study is to contribute to knowledge about the implementation of equality policies in public sector organisations. This is achieved through the development of a theoretical framework of feminist implementation studies. It involves the study of influential factors that impact upon the implementation process, with the aim of contributing to an understanding of the outcome of implementation processes within the equality policy field. The methodology used is based on qualitative case study research combined with a meta-analysis that allows for comparisons across cases. Four initiatives in the implementation of gender mainstreaming strategy were studied in different contexts, namely, two local municipalities and one government agency in Sweden. The main questions asked are: How was gender mainstreaming implemented? What were the main factors influencing the implementation process and why? What was the impact of change actors working to implement gender mainstreaming? The case studies were conducted using an interactive research approach where the different dilemmas encountered by the gender mainstreaming practitioners are used as a starting point for developing a joint learning process. The thesis comprises an introduction and five published papers. The main findings of the study include how the implementation process developed over time and the impact of the micropractices of the “gender mainstreamers” involved. The study provides insights into the factors influencing the implementation process, and how these factors change over time. Different types and levels of conflict, together and interlinked with different ambiguities, affect the practical work where dilemmas inherent in the concepts of “gender”, “equality” and “change” become central. Overall, the study shows how the specific preconditions for implementation of gender mainstreaming make the local arenas of implementation crucial for understanding the outcomes. / Syftet med avhandlingen är att bidra till kunskapen om implementeringen av jämlikhetsstrategier i offentliga organisationer. Detta görs genom utvecklingen av ett teoretiskt ramverk för implementeringsstudier med ett feministiskt perspektiv. För att bidra till en ökad förståelse av de resultat som nås inom jämlikhetspolitiken studeras faktorer som påverkar implementeringsprocessen. Studien är baserad på kvalitativa fallstudier och en meta-analys som möjliggör jämförelser mellan fallstudierna. Fyra olika fall av implementering av jämställdhetsintegreringsstrategin har studerats utifrån olika kontexter; i två svenska kommuner och en statlig myndighet. Avhandlingens huvudsakliga frågeställningar är: Hur implementerades jämställdhetsintegreringsstrategin? Vilka var de huvudsakliga faktorer som påverkade implementeringsprocessen och varför? Hur påverkades processen av de förändringsaktörer som arbetade med att implementera strategin? Fallstudierna har genomförts med en interaktiv forskningsansats i vilken olika dilemman i det praktiska arbetet har använts som utgångspunkt för en gemensam lärandeprocess med de som arbetat med implementeringen av strategin. Avhandlingen är en sammanläggningsavhandling och består av en introduktion och fem publicerade paper. Avhandlingens huvudsakliga resultat inkluderar hur implementeringsprocessen utvecklades över tid och den påverkan som "jämställdhetsintegrerarnas" mikropraktik haft på implementeringen. Avhandlingen visar vilka faktorer som påverkar  implementeringsprocessen samt att dessa varierar över tid. Olika slags konflikter påverkar tillsammans och sammanvävt med jämställdhetsstrategiers mångtydighet det praktiska arbetet i vilket dilemman rörande betydelsen av "kön", "jämlikhet/jämställdhet" och "förändring" blir centrala. Sammantaget visar avhandlingen hur de specifika förutsättningarna för implementering av  jämställdhetsintegreringsstrategin gör det lokala implementeringsarbetet avgörande för att förstå resultaten. / <p>The articles in this Ph.D. thesis are published in full text with kind permisson from Studentlitteratur (article I, II and V), TGV (article II) and VINNOVA (article IV).</p>

<p>The impact of trade policies on the pursuit of gender equality is often ignored. Recognising the link between trade and gender, this dissertation aims to enhance the capacity of policy-makers to mainstream gender in trade policy and to help identify ways for using trade to respond to women&rsquo / s needs in South Africa. In order to meet this objective, it analyses the impacts that trade liberalisation has had on the economy and on gender in general and in South Africa in particular. In addition, it evaluates the impacts on men and women in order to see if trade has contributed to reducing, accentuating or perpetuating gender inequality in South Africa. Findings have confirmed that Trade liberalisation has had both positive and negative impacts on women and men. But, they have also demonstrated that trade liberalisation has affected women and men differently having negative influences on the pursuit of gender equality. The research has, however, concluded that the impact of trade liberalisation on the pursuit of gender equality is influenced by other key factors. As strategy to mainstream gender in trade policies, the research suggests that policy-makers should analyse the implications for women and men of any trade policy before adopting such policy. This analysis would help him/her to see the possible imbalances of the new policy and implement policies and programmes to eradicate them. Also, it will help him/her to identify possible ways for using trade to empower women. The research is based on the idea that the elimination of the existing inequalities will put women at the same stage with men and will, therefore, contribute to women&rsquo / s empowerment in South Africa.</p>

Magister Legum - LLM / The impact of trade policies on the pursuit of gender equality is often ignored. Recognising the link between trade and gender, this dissertation aims to enhance the capacity of policy-makers to mainstream gender in trade policy and to help identify ways for using trade to respond to women's needs in South Africa. In order to meet this objective, it analyses the impacts that trade liberalisation has had on the economy and on gender in general and in South Africa in particular. In addition, it evaluates the impacts on men and women in order to see if trade has contributed to reducing, accentuating or perpetuating gender inequality in South Africa. Findings have confirmed that Trade liberalisation has had both positive and negative impacts on women and men. But, they have also demonstrated that trade liberalisation has affected women and men differently having negative influences on the pursuit of gender equality. The research has, however, concluded that the impact of trade liberalisation on the pursuit of gender equality is influenced by other key factors. As strategy to mainstream gender in trade policies, the research suggests that policy-makers should analyse the implications for women and men of any trade policy before adopting such policy. This analysis would help him/her to see the possible imbalances of the new policy and implement policies and programmes to eradicate them. Also, it will help him/her to identify possible ways for using trade to empower women. The research is based on the idea that the elimination of the existing inequalities will put women at the same stage with men and will, therefore, contribute to women's empowerment in South Africa. / South Africa

There is a considerable body of literature on the transportation activities of rural households. Still, efforts to address rural women's specific travel and transport needs have met with limited or no success. Because rural women are vulnerable members of society, their productive roles are sometimes not fully reflected in sector strategies. Considering how transport policies and projects address rural women's needs is important for socially and economically sustainable rural transport policy. The main argument presented in this research is based on the expectations raised by the democratic elections of 1994 in South Africa. After the elections many people, particularly those in the rural areas, were expecting improvement in service delivery. However, ten years later, rural African women still face daunting challenges in terms of access to basic services. The main argument in this thesis is therefore that rural transport policy and plans in South Africa, as elsewhere, have failed to adequately address specific gender issues. Since studies of this nature are complex, and the issues involved cannot be clearly understood from the outside, it is essential to have an inside perspective. The research, therefore, was not viewed simply as an abstract process of knowledge-seeking but as a means through which to acquire a more complete understanding of rural women's transport needs. Hence, a qualitative feminist approach was adopted, and a gendered perspective was followed in addressing the transport needs of rural women. Using a non-gendered perspective for studying patterns and processes of rural conditions would not only have provided an incomplete understanding of rural transport, but also would have constituted a disservice to efforts to generate an informed basis for rural women's emancipation. Just as feminist research often draws on multiple disciplines, this study too draws on several: human geography, sociology and feminist methodology, in particular. Moreover, the use of multiple methods in this project, rather than a single method, was chosen not only because of its feminist concerns but also because of a commitment to thoroughness and the need to be responsive to the rural women studied. To this end, multiple research methods, such as participant observation, focus group discussions, document and photograph analysis, and photographs were used. These methods made it possible to provide some insights into the roles of rural women and to their related travel and transport needs in the three villages studied in Limpopo: Mamoleka, Tshitwi and Babanana. The question of whether transport empowers or is disempowering rural women was addressed. Three main themes emerged in this study. These themes suggest that rural women use the transport system in order to satisfy their multiple roles. Transport practitioners, however, provide transport facilities and services that are often characterised by constraints that create problems for these women and hence impact on their opportunities. Consequently, unresolved problems lead to opportunities denied. Therefore, policy makers should generate new strategies to address African rural women's transport needs. One thing immediately apparent in reviewing the findings of this research is that gender biases in rural transport stem from the multiple roles that rural women perform in society and at home. Because the total workload of a rural household is rarely shared equally among its members, the burden of transport falls on women. Inadequate and inappropriate transport increases the amount of time necessary to perform their multiple roles, leaving rural women perform with little or no spare time to develop themselves by participating in socio-economic and political activities. The burden of transport not only deprives rural women of participation in development activities, it also makes them lose out on opportunities to earn higher incomes and to improve their financial resources. Finally, because they already have limited financial resources and opportunities, they are unable to invest in personal means of transport, through which they might reduce their transport burden and improve their incomes. A close linking of gender perspective and rural transport policy is proposed in order to improve rural transport systems and initiatives and to make them more gender-responsive and sustainable. Making rural transport policy more responsive to the needs of rural women requires developing a structural approach to understand their needs, identifying instruments to address those needs, and establishing an appropriate policy framework. To this end, this thesis identifies some approaches that would help in developing a gender-responsive rural transport policy through paying attention to rural women's travel and transport needs. These approaches include recognition of the need for an integrated rural transport policy, in which both transport and non-transport interventions applicable to addressing rural transport problems for self-employed and unemployed rural women, as found in Limpopo, are promoted. Furthermore, the need for awareness of rural women's multiple roles is outlined. What remains is the need for development of a comprehensive, gender-sensitive strategy in all fields of rural transport research, policy and projects to help explore ways of correcting existing biases in rural travel and transport for rural women. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / Unrestricted

No description available.

This thesis aims to clarify how the Single market policy and the Social policy of the European Union has changed since the Treaty of Rome (1957) and what opportunities and/or constraints there might be for integrating gender mainstreaming within the policies.  In order to determine how the policy development affects the prospects of integrating gender mainstreaming, a case study supplemented with the method of content analysis is carried out. Furthermore, the thesis adopts a historical institutionalist perspective. Thereby, policy change is operationalised with the help of Peter Hall ́s theory of the three orders of change. It is therefore assumed that the concept of path dependency will explain how policy changes opens up opportunities for or constrain the integration of gender mainstreaming in the policy-making process.  The main findings show that the Single market policy mostly changed in accordance with the first order of change and that the Social policy mostly changed in accordance with the second order of change. These findings imply that a paradigm shift of the fundamental ideas and objectives of the policies have not occurred since the signing of the Treaty of Rome which complicates future integration of gender mainstreaming in the policies.

The purpose of this study is to examine the integration of gender and environmental policies in Stockholm municipality. The study seeks to address the integration of these policy areas as itbuilds on previous research that have already established that the integration of the two can support the achievement of sustainable development. However, as tensions and synergies between these policies are not that well-explored, this study adds to literature by identifyingtensions and synergies in terms of policy integration between gender and environment. The study seeks to answer to what extent these policies are integrated, what challenges, tensions,and possibilities to find synergies there are. This is done through a single case study and content analysis. The study presents a merging of the two theories policy integration and ecofeminism, which is divided into five themes and numerous codes for the analysis. Five policy documents from the municipality and eight interview transcripts with civil servants is analysed. The study found that there are some aspects of integration between the two already, but to a limited extent. It identifies tensions between gender and environment as well as structural and organisational challenges for integrating these policy areas. Moreover, synergies were identified between these policy areas. Some interesting findings of the data was that it indicated success to integrate these policy areas in some parts of the policy-process, whereas there were limitations to integrate in other parts. Therefore, the study concludes that there needs to be ensuring mechanisms for the integration in the whole policy-process and to take advantage of the synergies that appears. Hence, this study suggests that for future research it would be interesting to investigate other aspects of the policy-process. The study also concludes that the results can be extended to other municipalities or local governments that are facing the same challenges to consider many aspects while working in silos.

The Polish Law and Justice party has initiated domestic policies and regulations that challenge women’s rights. Poland is a member of the European Union where the gender inequality issues have never had such a high priority before and the union is currently operating under the Gender Mainstreaming strategy alongside with additional approaches. The two folded aim of this thesis is to create an understanding on how the Polish politicalauthorities can present backsliding tendencies of women’s rights by studying how thedomestic political institutions frame gender equality policies and Gender Mainstreaming followed by how the Polish political agents can legitimize the framings and implementations to the Polish society through the public discourse. A qualitative discourse analysis will be applied on materials from the EU, Polish politicalprograms and secondary sources such as news articles. The empirical findings suggest that the backsliding is part of a non-linear process where the Polish framing and implementation of policies on gender equality both converge and diverge from the EU. In the latest years, an incremental process of backsliding tendencies has appeared. As for the political discourse, the gender equality policies often end up in the background, overruled by pro-family policies. Also, the inadequate implementations and domestic framings is legitimized by the referencesto the foundational ideas of Polish society, where the EU challenges the traditional familywith “harmful gender ideologies”.

Mot bakgrunden av den könsneutrala värnplikten var uppsatsens syfte att identifiera diskurser om gender och jämställdhet inom Försvarsmakten. För att undersöka detta användes en diskursanalys där dagstidningsartiklar och Försvarsmaktens jämställdhetsdokument analyserades utifrån frågeställningarna om hur gender respektive jämställdhet diskuteras och förstås i dessa material. Analysen resulterade i elva identifierade diskurser; sex för gender och fem för jämställdhet. För gender identifierades en binär uppfattning av gender, drivande manlig sexualitet och kvinnliga offer som diskursiva ramar i jämställdhetsdokumenten. I dagstidningarna identifierades diskurser om mäns och kvinnors olika intresse, om maskulint förhållningssätt och manlig sexualitet. I analysen av jämställdhet identifierades en diskurs där kvinnor synliggörs och jämförs mot en osynlig manlig standard samt en diskurs om sexuella trakasserier i jämställdhetsdokumenten. I dagstidningsartiklarna identifierades diskurser om att kvinnor bidrar till försvarets operativa förmåga, att sexuella trakasserier utgör hinder för jämställdhet och att jämn könsfördelning ses som jämställdhet. Diskurserna i jämställdhetsmaterialen och dagstidningarna överlappade varandra till viss del, exempelvis gällande manlig sexualitet och sexuella trakasserier. Utifrån analysen konstaterades att Försvarsmaktens jämställdhetsarbete har ett fokus på sexuella trakasserier. Femininitet associeras till offerskap medan mäns sexualitet formuleras som aggressiv, vilket underbygger förståelsen av sexuella trakasserier inom Försvarsmakten. Den slutsats som dras från uppsatsen är att uppfattningarna om jämställdhet baseras på diskursiva uppfattningar om gender. Likaså baseras uppfattningarna om gender inom organisationen på de diskursiva förståelser som finns om jämställdhet. / In the context of the Swedish conscription being reformulated as gender neutral, this thesis aimed to identify discourses about gender and equality in the Swedish Armed Forces. A discourse analysis was used to identify how gender and gender equality is understood and discussed in newspaper articles as well as in the Swedish Armed Forces’ documents on gender equality. The analysis resulted in six identified discourses on gender. A binary understanding of gender, aggressive male sexuality and female victims were discourses about gender in the gender equality documents, whereas men’s and women’s different interests, masculine attitudes and aggressive male sexuality was discursive perceptions of gender in the newspapers. The analysis resulted in five identified discourses on gender equality. In the gender equality documents a discourse about women being compared to an invisible male standard was identified as well as a discourse about sexual harassment. In the newspapers one discursive notion was that women contribute to the efficiency of the defense; another was that sexual harassment is an obstacle for gender equality and a third discourse regards even gender ratio as gender equality. To some extent, the discourses in the newspapers and the gender equality documents overlapped, for example regarding male sexuality and sexual harassment. The analysis showed a skewed focus on sexual harassment in the Swedish Armed Forces’ gender equality work. Femininity is associated with victim hood while men’s sexuality is articulated as aggressive, which underpins the understanding of sexual harassment. The conclusions that are drawn from this thesis are that perceptions of gender and gender equality are co-constructed, meaning that they mutually depend on and construct each other.

This study aims to identify and analyse the actions the Swedish Armed Forces take working towards gender equality. This is done by examining various governing documents, reports, and media coverage. An interview with an employed women with relevant competence of the organisations active work and policies regarding gender mainstreaming is also conducted. These aspects are analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and a liberal feminist theoretical approach. A brief background of previous research and history is also presented. As a conclusion of this study, the resulting framing and consequences of the Swedish Armed Forces gender mainstreaming is presented.