Aim: The aim of the study was to analyse the psychosocial factors in work- and private life and its correlation with various stress-related symptoms and ill health among employees at a faculty at the Linnaeus University. The goal was also to analyze whether there was a gender difference in these health parameters associated with a difference in psychosocial work and home conditions between women and men. Method: Data were collected through a questionnaire were the responders answered questions about demand, control and social support which emanated from Karasek's demand control model. Their professional position was determined by their pay-and educational level in accordance with the theory of the social gradient of health. Stress was measured using "SCGP scale" and mental illness with the help of the ”General Health Qestionnarie.” Two regression analyses were conducted, the first to analyze the correlation between psychosocial factors and stress-related symptoms and the other to analyze the correlation between psychosocial factors and mental ilness. Results: High demand, low control, low social support and lower professional position had a strong relationship (p<0,000)  with both stress-related symptoms ( R = 0,49) and mental illness ( R = 0,56) even after controlling for confounders.The strongest own relationship (when the overlap effects between different variables was taken into account) were found between high demands and stress-related symptoms (standardized beta 0.35) and high demands and mental illness (standardized beta 0.38). Conclusion: Due to the cross-sectional nature of the study causal inferences cannot be made. However the results showed that high demand, low control and low social support together had a strong correlation with stress-related ill-health. Furthermore, the study showed no gender differences in the psychosocial factors which is a likely explanation for the fact that there was no difference between men and women in neither stress related symptoms or mental illness. This is an important and positive finding because of the fact that the result indicates that differences in health between men and women is reduced when they have equal opportunities in work and private life. / Mål: Målet med studien var att analysera psykosociala faktorer i arbets- och privatliv och dess samband med stressrelaterad ohälsa bland de anställda på en fakultet vid Linnéuniversitetet. Målet var även att analysera huruvida det fanns en könskillnad i dessa hälsoparametrar kopplad till en skillnad i psykosociala förutsättningar mellan kvinnor och män. Metod: Data samlades in via en enkätstudie där de anställda fick svara på frågor kring krav, kontroll och socialt stöd vilka utgick från Karasek´s krav kontroll modell. Individernas plats i yrkeshierarkin avgjordes av deras lön samt utbildningsnivå i enlighet med teorin kring hälsans sociala gradient. De frågor som berörde hemarbete utgick ifrån tidigare forskning på området. Stress mättes med hjälp av ”SCGP scale”, en skala som mäter olika stressrelaterade symtom och psykisk ohälsa mättes med hjälp av ”General Health Qestionnarie”. Två regressionsanalyser genomfördes, den första regressionen analyserade samband mellan psykosociala faktorer och stressrelaterade symtom och den andra regressionen analyserade samband mellan psykosociala faktorer och psykisk ohälsa. Resultat: Höga krav, låg kontroll, lågt socialt stöd samt lägre yrkesposition hade tillsammans ett starkt samband, (p <0,001) med både stressrelaterade symtom (R = 0,49) och psykisk ohälsa (R = 0,56), även efter kontroll för confounders. Det starkaste egna sambandet (när överlappningseffekter mellan olika variabler tagits hänsyn till) återfanns mellan höga krav och stressrelaterade symtom (standardiserad beta 0,35) respektive höga krav och psykisk ohälsa (standardiserad beta 0,38). Konklusion: Resultatet visade att höga krav, låg kontroll, lågt socialt stöd samt lägre plats i yrkeshierarkin tillsammans hade ett starkt samband med stressrelaterade symtom samt psykisk ohälsa. På grund av studiens tvärsnittsdesign kan dock inte orsak och verkan säkerställas. Vidare visade studien inga könsskillnader i ovannämnda psykosociala faktorer vilket är en trolig förklaring till att det inte heller fanns någon skillnad mellan kvinnor och män i stressrelaterade symtom samt psykisk ohälsa. Detta är ett viktigt och positivt fynd då resultatet indikerar på att skillnader i ohälsa mellan kvinnor och män går att utjämna genom att skapa lika förutsättningar i arbets- och privatliv.

Abstract Is there a special discourse surrounding female politicians in Sweden? And if so, what is the current climate for female political leaders? The purpose of this article is to examine the portrayal in the public media of Anna Kinberg Batra, Ebba Busch Thor and Annie Lööf. The common denominator is that they are all heads of a political party, Anna Kinberg Batra being the chairwoman of the Moderate Party, Ebba Busch Thor being the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Party and Annie Lööf chairwoman of the Central Liberal Party. The article includes mainly printed news from the midst of 2014 to may 2015. The chosen and applied method for this article is a discourse analysis. The article portrays the fact that female political party leaders in Sweden face a different situation than their male counterparts. Media knowingly or unknowingly chooses to focus on many attributes regarding the female politicians that are not in any way relevant for their profession such as outfits, nails and daycare, to name a few. This article has resulted in the conclusion that inequalities regarding a fair portrayal in media between the two sexes, still persist and that women active in political societies still have different expectations to live up to than their male counterparts.

In the paper we examine the childbearing trends in Iceland during 1982-2013 by analyzing theprogression to parities one, two and three, as well as changes in the birth spacing patterns over theperiod. Emphasis are placed on the years after the turn of the century. In the first decade of the 21stcentury two potentially influential events took place in Iceland in relation to subsequent fertilityoutcomes; a reform was made to the parental leave scheme between 2001 and 2003 and a deepeconomic crisis came ashore in late 2008. Special attention is given to the trends following thesetwo critical junctures. As well as looking at the parity progressions over time we also investigate theevidence of sex preferences for children among Icelandic parents. In three of the other four Nordiccountries a preference for daughters has been found. As Iceland shares the same egalitarianemphasis within a universal welfare regime it is interesting to investigate if the same applies toIceland. Individual longitudinal register data are used in the calculations; the dataset consists of thetotal female population born in Iceland between 1941 and 1997. The data are of high quality and arestored and processed at Statistics Iceland. The findings are presented in the form of relative risksand are derived from piecewise constant exponential models. In terms of findings, the first birthtrends are characterized by postponement of motherhood at the younger ages and trends ofrecuperation at the older ages. The second and third birth rates indicate that the reform in theparental leave had positive influence on continued childbearing but the elevation in the rates mayalso be associated with the upswing in the business cycle at the same time. The second and thirdbirth rates did not fall at the onset of the economic crisis but three years into the recession. Finally,estimations indicate that Icelandic parents have a preference for having daughters.

This qualitative study aims to explore the status of gender equality and to provide background to the extensive sexual violence in India from the male perspective through the eyes of seven Gujarati men. The brutal rape of a young student, by whole world known as Nirbayha in December 2012 in the Indian capital, was the tragic event that started a mass reaction in India against the extensive sexual violence and has put the whole worlds light on the unequal conditions of men and women in the country. Being sexually abused as a woman is one extreme expression for female subordination in relation to men, accordingly “men´s violence to women” is a most current topic under social work research today. Social constructions and social structures need to be considered when studying sexual violence as well as gender issues.     This thesis is based on a four weeks minor field study in Mandvi in Gujarat, India, where I conducted the interviews. The result is based on answers towards my main research question How do the interviewed men in Mandvi perceive gender equality, and what do they think of sexual violence? The answers clearly show the gendered thinking of the interviewed men. In the analysis I have tried to interpret and understand the data mainly based on the secondary research questions Are there any perceived connections between sexual violence and gender equality, and if so, how do these look? How do the interviewed men´s perceptions look in relation to earlier research and theoretical frames?  What can be done, in a place such as Mandvi on different societal layers (individual, family, society) to prevent sexual violence? In the analysis I show the data through the mirror of theoretical frameworks and the earlier research, such as social work theory, critical theory, gender theory and contemporary Indian masculinity research. / Denna kvalitativa studie avser att undersöka jämställdhet som bakgrund till det omfattande sexuella våldet i Indien, genom ett manligt perspektiv, utifrån intervjuer med sju män från Mandvi i Gujarat. Den brutala våldtäkten på en student i december 2012 i den Indiska huvudstaden, startade en massreaktion i landet, och satte hela världens ljus på de ojämställda villkoren kvinnor och män lever under. Detta våld är ett tecken på strukturell kvinnlig underordning, vilket liksom mäns våld mot kvinnor är ett mycket aktuellt forskningsämne.      Resultatet baseras på de svar jag fick runt den primära forskningsfrågan, hur männen upplever jämställdhet och vad de tänker om sexuellt våld. I analysen undersöker jag samband däremellan, och diskuterar vad som kan göras på olika samhällsnivåer samt speglar datan genom teorier och tidigare forskning inom socialt arbete, kritisk teori, genusteori samt samtida indisk maskulinitetsforskning.

The aim of this study was to examine four women’s experiences of and attitudes towards breastfeeding. In order to achieve this end, the four women were interviewed individually. Breastfeeding is a controversial subject, which is also mirrored by the women and the different advice and recommendation that they meet. Consequently, each woman has to take a stand for what she thinks is suitable regarding her individual situation. Moreover, breastfeeding is embedded in complex historical, political and cultural systems. This becomes obvious in the contemporary principle of breastfeeding on demand, according to which breastfeeding is adapted to the child’s needs. Thus, a majority of the interviewees have difficulties with combining breastfeeding on demand with ideas of gender equality. Due to breastfeeding on demand, the women must also breastfeed in public. In those situations, the women are keen on breastfeeding as discretely as possible. / Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att undersöka fyra kvinnors erfarenheter av och attityder till amning. Av den anledningen blev de fyra kvinnorna individuellt intervjuade. Amning är ett kontroversiellt ämne, som också speglades av kvinnorna och de råd och rekommendationer de möter. Konsekvensen av detta är att varje kvinna måste ta ställning till vad som passar deras individuella situation. Dessutom, amning är inbäddat i ett komplext historiskt, politiskt och kulturellt system. Detta blir tydligt genom den rådande fria amningsprincipen, som innebär att amningen är anpassad efter barnets behov. Majoriteten av kvinnorna har därför svårigheter med att kombinera fri amning med idéer om jämlikhet. På grund av fri amning, måste kvinnorna ibland amma offentligt. I de situationerna är kvinnorna måna om att amma så diskret som möjligt.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether an increase in the level of human capital and reduction of gender inequality in the labor market affect developing nation’s growth rate and welfare. The data used in this thesis cover 74 emerging and developing countries for the years of 2001 and 2007. Solow’s augmented growth model has been used to estimate how increased rates of females and males completing primary school effects economic growth in order to see what effect the Millennium Development Goal’s (MDG) target of universal primary education has on the economy. The rates of female and male participation rates in the labor force are also tested for to see if one can determine how reduced gender inequality affects economic growth. The main findings are that increased female and male completion rates in primary school do affect economic growth positively as expected. However, what was not expected was that an increased participation rate of female and male in the labor force affect economic growth negatively. The conclusion is that increased levels of primary education among males and females will increase economic growth. Hence the MDGs of achieving universal primary education and homogenous education between females and males in 2015 are important for economic growth and increase of welfare.

This study have two purposes, one is to examine the ideological consistency between Sida’s gender policy and the gender policy of an implemented project, and the other purpose consists of an attempt to identify a relation between the implementation of Sida’s/LAMP’s policies and actual changes on gender equality in the partnering country. Three research questions were formulated around the topics of women’s situation in Tanzania; the ideological origin of Sida’s gender policy and the reflection of these in the LAMP policy; and the consequences of an implementation in terms of equality between men and women in Babati District, Tanzania. The analysis is carried out with the help of different theoretical perspectives on women and gender in development, perspectives that have been selected on the basis that they have been influential and dominating in the contemporary planning and policy making of development agencies. The method used was a functional idea analysis and a field study where semi-structured interviews were conducted. The conclusion regarding the ideological consistency is that a comparison between the policies of Sida and LAMP shows patterns of great ideological resemblance, and that both have a somewhat stronger connection to the GAD approach. The conclusion regarding actual changes on gender equality reveals that an integration of gender aspects into the LAMP programme has had several consequences for women. The programme has helped to reduce women’s work load, increased their chances of income, and promoted women’s participation in decision-making on different levels. These are all aspects that may challenge the traditional order of women’s relationship to men and the subordination of women.

Trots allt jämställdhetsarbete i dagens samhälle innehar män fortfarande en större andel chefspositioner än kvinnor. Det finns många teorier som försöker förklara varför det förhåller sig så. Syftet med denna uppsats är att förklara eventuella skillnader i rekryterares attityder till kvinnors och mäns förutsättningar att nå chefspositioner inom dagligvaruhandeln. Vi har genomfört intervjuer med rekryteringsansvariga i tre dagligvarubutiker i Skåne. Resultaten från dessa har sedan jämförts med befintliga teorier och tidigare undersökningar i ämnet chefsrekrytering. Vi har kommit fram till att det finns hinder för kvinnor att nå chefspositioner i de organisationer vi undersökt. Dessa hinder verkar främst ligga i rekryterarnas attityder. Vi har funnit faktorer som verkar missgynnande för jämställdheten, men också sådant som verkar gynnande. / Even though the society of today promotes gender equality, men still hold a greater proportion of managerial positions than women do. There are many theories aiming to explain why things are this way. The purpose of this paper is to explain potential differences in recruiters’ attitudes towards the conditions of men and women reaching managerial positions in food stores. We have interviewed the recruitment managers in three food stores in southern Sweden. We then compared the results from the interviews with existing theories and previous studies in the subject. We found that barriers to women reaching managerial positions in the organizations exist. These barriers appear to be found in the attitudes of the recruiters. We have found things that appear to disadvantage gender equality, but also things that seem favourable.

I dagens Europa är stora löneskillnader mellan kvinnor och män samt låg representation av kvinnor på höga befattningar fortfarande ett stort problem. Mot bakgrund av detta har EU framlagt ett lagförslag om kvotering till börsbolagens styrelser. Debatten om jämställdhet är livlig och högaktuell. Parallellt med detta agerar näringslivet i en kamp om kompetensen där jämställdhet anses vara en viktig komponent för att vara en attraktiv arbetsgivare. Då studien antar ett nyinstitutionellt perspektiv har antagandet varit att organisationerna anpassar sig till omgivande krav för att vinna social legitimitet och således att jämställdhet är en viktig legitimitetsskapande faktor i denna process. Detta medför att jämställdhet är på väg mot en utveckling som innebär att den institutionaliserade jämställdheten blir allt mer löskopplad från organisationen. I samband med detta har studien avgränsat sig till två uppmärksammade fall där stora företag inom näringslivet samverkat för att offentligt hantera jämställdhet. Syftet har varit att undersöka hur dessa organisationer agerat utifrån omgivande krav på jämställdhet. Då detta innefattar att undersöka handlingar och meningsskapande valdes för studien ett diskursanalytiskt förfarande för att undersöka de rapporter och texter som organisationerna själva producerat för sitt offentliga framträdande. Även en intervju genomfördes med en av initiativtagarna. Resultatet visar att två tydliga mönster kan urskönjas i olika former av institutionell påverkan. Den legitimitetsskapande mekanismen ligger i uppfattningen om jämställdhet som ett kvantitativt mått som innefattar andel kvinnor. Organisationernas anpassning skiljer sig något åt då den ena tydligare härleds till att uteslutande skydda medlemmarnas autonomi medan den andra uppvisar vad som tolkas som ett försök till standardisering av jämställdhet i näringslivet. Kanske följer jämställdhet en utveckling från lag till standard. / In Europe today the wage gap between men and women and the low representation of women in top positions remains a major problem. Because of this, the EU has tabled a bill on quotas for listed companies' boards. The debate on gender equality is lively and topical.  In parallel with this act the enterprise companies is competing to attract the most competent employees and gender is considered an important component of being an attractive employer. As the study adopts a perspective of new institutionalism the assumption has been that the organizations adapts to ambient requirements to overcome social legitimacy and thus gender equality is an important factor of legitimacy in this process. This means that gender equality is moving towards a development whereby the institutionalized gender equality is becoming more loose coupled from the organization. In this context, the study has limited itself to two high-profile cases in which large companies in the industry worked together to publicly address the issues of gender equality. The aim has been to investigate how these organizations acted on surrounding equality requirements. This includes to examine the reports and texts that organizations themselves produced for its public appearance to find their purpose and underlying ideas of gender. Also, an interview was conducted with one of the initiators. Because of this a discourse analysis procedure were chosen for this study. The results shows that two distinct patterns can be detected throughout the various forms of institutional impact. The legitimacy formation mechanism lies in the quantitative discourse that includes participation of women. The organizations’ adaptation differs slightly. One clearly deduced to mainly protect members' autonomy while the second shows what is interpreted as an attempt at standardization of gender equality in the enterprise business. Maybe that the gender equality throughout these cases is following a development from a bill towards a standard.

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjamas lygių galimybių principų įgyvendinimas viešųjų institucijų personalo valdyme. Šis bakalauro baigiamasis darbas susideda iš trijų pagrindinių dalių. Pirmoje dalyje nagrinėjama lygių galimybių samprata, jų problematika mokslo požiūriu, taip pat lygios galimybės darbo rinkoje teoriniu požiūriu. Antra darbo dalis skirta ištirti lygių galimybių principų vietą viešųjų institucijų personalo valdyme, analizuojant personalo valdymo funkcijas, jų atlikimo uždavinius, apžvelgiant šiandieninę lygių galimybių situaciją Lietuvoje ir pasaulyje. Trečia dalis yra empirinė, joje tiriamas lygių galimybių principų taikymas Lietuvos viešųjų institucijų personalo valdyme. Tyrimas pradedamas bendra lygių galimybių darbo rinkoje teisinio užtikrinimo apžvalga. Norint ištirti kaip lygių galimybių principai yra reglamentuojami viešųjų institucijų personalo valdyme, atlikta dokumentų turinio (content) ir statistinių duomenų analizė. Tyrimas patvirtino hipotezę, kad skiriamas didelis dėmesys lygių galimybių principams teisiniame personalo valdymo reglamentavime dar negarantuoja lygių galimybių principų įgyvendinimo ir diskriminacijos reiškiniai viešajame sektoriuje dar vis egzistuoja. / The main aim of bachelor conclusive work "Implementation of the principles of equal opportunities in public institutions personnel management" was to review the equal opportunities principles to the management staff of public institutions. This work consists of three main parts. The first part deals with the concept of equal opportunities, their problems in terms of education, as well as equal opportunities in the labor market in terms of theoretical. The second part of the work is to explore the principles of equal opportunities in personnel management. The third empirical part studied the application of equal opportunities for Lithuanian public institutions personnel management. In research made the analysis of document contents and statistical data analysis confirmed the hypothesis of this bachelor conclusive work. Analysis of the equal opportunities in the public sector's labour market shows that despite advanced laws assuring equal opportunities and positive changes in society, the problems of discrimination still exist.