This research uses a modified version of Carol Bacchi’s (2016) “What’s theProblem Represented to Be?” approach to conduct a critical discourse analysison the 2016-2020 National Plan for Gender Equality for Greece published bythe Greek General Secretariat for Gender Equality under the auspices of theGreek Ministry of the Interior (MoI, 2018). The aim of this research study is toshow how gender equality is represented by the Greek General Secretariat forGender Equality and which are the implications and allegations throughdifferent problem representations.

<p>This dissertation investigates the forms of marginalization and exclusion, particularly of women, produced by state-fostered large-scale projects and nation-state building processes in Gilgit-Baltistan, located in the northern frontier region of Pakistan. In a context where state-led development projects and policies are primarily motivated by nationalism and territorial integration, the strategic interests of the state undermine the promised people-centric objectives of economic development and exacerbate gendered inequalities in economic development that lead to the exclusion of women. My ethnographic research, involving participant observations, semi-structured interviews, group discussions, and my personal encounters during fieldwork, explores the underrepresented local counter-narratives of development that are mostly overshadowed by the hegemonic nationalist narrative. By focusing on women’s narratives, my research examines the real barriers and constraints shaping their everyday lived experiences. This dissertation engages with the theoretical frameworks of state-making, critical development, and feminist approaches to studying women’s empowerment and economic development. The chapters in this dissertation center on three main topics: First, this dissertation analyzes women entrepreneurs in Gilgit-Baltistan as disciplined development subjects forged by the development discourse and practice prevalent in the Global South since the last quarter of the 20th century. Second, this dissertation explains the differential subjectivities and variations in women’s experiences and engagement with development as an outcome of the nation-state building processes carried out by both ideological and infrastructural apparatuses: the institutionalization of Islam and Muslimness to construct a uniform national identity, on the one hand, and the Karakoram Highway and the military-state’s strategic intervention to integrate Gilgit-Baltistan into Pakistan’s national territory, on the other. By laying out the politico-historical context in the postcolonial era, this dissertation situates women in the larger geopolitical realities and argues that social differentiation among women is a consequence of hegemonic state interventions. Third, this dissertation is a work of anthropology at home that draws from my personal experiences and encounters during fieldwork in my home region. It engages with questions about the positionalities of the researcher as sites of challenge and opportunity in the field and larger disciplinary practices.</p>

Jämställdhet är en mänsklig rättighet, men trots det präglas idrotten fortfarande av en mansdominerad kultur. Hur de aktiva spelarna som ligger till grund för att idrottsrörelsen finnssjälva upplever jämställdheten i sin idrott, är däremot ett till stora delar outforskat område. Genom att ta reda på spelarnas egna upplevelser av jämställdhet, kan man få en tydlig och bred bild av vilka faktorer man bör utveckla inom sporten. Som kvinna och aktiv elitidrottare inom innebandy, föll mitt val på att undersöka just innebandy. Syftet med föreliggande undersökning, är att genom en kvantitativ metod undersöka om föreningsinnebandyn bland seniorer i Värmland är jämställd sett ur aktiva spelares perspektiv.En webbaserad enkätundersökning gällande spelarnas upplevelser av jämställdheten i respektive förening i form av resursfördelning, samt vad gäller attityd och inställning i de olika lagen har blivit genomförd. Arbetet avgränsades genom att endast föreningar med både herr- och damlag kontaktades. Totalt besvarade 176 spelare enkäten fördelat på 53 män och 123 kvinnor. Slutsatsen av resultatet är att spelarna generellt upplever seniorinnebandyn i Värmland som jämställd, då med en något bättre upplevelse av jämställdheten i laget än i föreningen. Det förekom signifikanta skillnader i upplevelser vad gäller kön och nivå, men inga baserat på ålder.Utvecklingspunkter för jämställdheten baserade på spelarnas upplevelser berör framför allt machokultur, ekonomi, funktionärer, arrangemang, engagemang samt domare. Att generalisera resultatet bör ske med största försiktighet, då flertalet faktorer talar för att de spelare som till slut svarade på enkäten inte är helt representativa för populationen. Enligt min personliga åsiktsäger dock upplevelserna något om hur verkligheten är beskaffad. / Gender equality is a human right, despite this, sport is still characterized as a culture made of and for men. An unexplored territory is the opinion of the active players who are fundamental for the sport. By investigating the players own thoughts on gender equality, a clear and broad perception on which factors to develop can be obtained. Since I am a female and an active elite athlete in floorball, I decided to investigate equality in this precise area. The purpose of this project is to investigate if the senior floorball in Värmland is gender equal from an active athlete’s point of view. This will be investigated through a quantitative method.A web-based survey was implemented regarding the active players experiences based on resource allocation and attitude. The project was defined by only reaching out to clubs with both male and female teams. In total the survey was answered by 176 people, of which 53 were male and 123 female. The conclusion of the survey is that the players consider the senior floorball in Värmland to be equal, with the team being somewhat more equal than the club. There were some significant differences in terms of gender and athlete level, but not in age. Areas of development in order to become more equal are, based on the players experiences, macho culture, economy, arrangement, commitment and referees. Generalizing the result should be done with great caution, because the players who answered the survey are not representative for the population. In my opinion though, the experiences are somehow defining reality.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) recognized a need for external help to implement a gender perspective in their project on improving air quality in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) extending from 2018-2022, which this thesis is a contribution to. To collect empirical material for the analysis, a cluster interview was conducted on site in Sarajevo with female representatives from ten CSOs working with gender equality nationally, in addition to a household survey targeted at six different cities in BiH through social media with the help of SEPA’s partnering ad agency network. The empirical findings of this study hence consist of local representations of problems regarding gender equality and its links to environmental issues, which were subsequently used to put the goals and problem representations present in the Swedish Foreign Service action plan for feminist foreign policy 2019-2022 and the Strategy for Sweden’s reform cooperation in the Western Balkans and Turkey 2021-2027 in context. This was specifically done with the help of Carol Bacchi’s policy analysis approach “What’s the Problem (Represented to be). Throughout the analysis, it became evident that there was a gap between the discourse of gender equality problems on site in BiH versus how gender equality problems were represented in the analysed Swedish policies steering the project. It also became evident that there was a gap between the horizontal goals of gender equality in these policies, and the resources available at SEPA for the actual implementation.  The conclusion of the analysis implicates the occurrence of shortcomings in Swedish reform cooperation when mainstreaming gender into environmental policies, and that this could potentially lead to efforts reproducing and entrenching gendered and socio-economic inequity.  By exemplifying the relevance of implementing a context-based gender perspective in this specific case, this thesis is hoped to encourage improving the prerequisites for mainstreaming gender into all international reform cooperation projects and applying the Swedish Feminist Foreign Policy accurately.

Farming women have between the year 1950 and the present time had to fight hard to participate in the farming sector in Sweden to the same extent as men. There are old, gendered biases towards women who labour on farms by people both on and outside the farms. Farm labour has been considered a “man’s work” and women were better suited to perform household labour. However, women have been recognised as proper farmers and official owners in recent years. The thesis examines the changes over time for Swedish farming women regarding their economic activities, institutional changes, and social changes that have had an impact on them. The thesis highlights factors that hinder gender equality and empowerment on farms. It also highlights elements that empower women to further establish themselves in farming. Both statistical data which brings concreteness to the research and interviews with farming women which brings a narrative has been included in the research. The findings have been analysed with the reproductive labour theory and the concept of patriarchy.

I den här uppsatsen utforskas en jämställdhetsdiskurs i en kommunal översiktsplan. Den studerade kommunen är Kiruna kommun i Norrbottens län. Syftet med uppsatsen är att med ett intersektionellt perspektiv analysera hur en jämställdhetsdiskurs kan skapas i en kommunal översiktsplan samt att diskutera hur detta kan bidra till att (re)producera makt-, över- och underordningar i samhället. Syftet uppfylls med hjälp av tre frågeställningar: Vilka förbindelser mellan sociala kategoriseringar och planeringsområden kan identifieras i jämställdhetsdiskursen? Vad karaktäriserar de förbindelser som kan identifieras i jämställdhetsdiskursen? Hur kan dessa förbindelser förstås utifrån ett intersektionellt maktperspektiv? I uppsatsen görs en diskursanalys med utgångspunkt i Laclau och Mouffes diskursteoretiska begrepp diskurs, artikulation, moment, nodalpunkt, det diskursiva fältet, element, flytande signifikanter och ekvivalenskedjor. Analysen visar på komplexa relationer mellan olika sociala kategoriseringar av individer och olika planeringsområden i översiktsplanen samt hur och vilka betydelser dessa fyller jämställdhetsdiskursen samt begreppet jämställdhet med. Det diskursteoretiska ramverket bidrar till att skapa förståelse för dessa komplexa relationer genom att ekvivalenskedjor kan formuleras och att jämställdhetsdiskursens form och innehåll därmed kan analyseras. Analysen behandlar också vilka element som får sin slutliga betydelse i översiktsplanen och varför samt hur förbindelserna mellan sociala kategoriseringar och planeringsområden sker. Analysen och diskussionen visar vidare, genom några exempel, på relevansen av intersektionella analytiska ansatser samt hur jämställdhetsdiskursen skulle kunna (re)producera maktrelationer i det samhälle där diskursen rör sig och hur detta kan bidra till att vissa (grupper av) människor privilegieras medan andra exkluderas. / In this degree project a gender equality discourse is explored in a comprehensive plan adopted in the Swedish municipality of Kiruna, located in Norrbotten county. The purpose of this degree project is to, with an intersectional approach, analyse how a gender equality discourse could originate in a comprehensive plan and subsequently discuss how the gender equality discourse could contribute to the (re)production of relations of power, superiority and subordination in society. These were the research questions: <li aria-level="1">Which associations between social categorisations and planning departments can be identified in the gender equality discourse? <li aria-level="1">What are the characteristics of the associations identified in the gender equality discourse? <li aria-level="1">How could these associations be understood based on an intersectional perspective of power? In this degree project a discourse analysis is made based on Laclau and Mouffes discourse theoretical concepts discourse, articulation, moment, nodal point, the discursive field, element, floating significant and equivalence chain. The analysis indicates complex relations between social categorisations and differing planning departments and which meanings the gender equality discourse and the concept of gender equality is being filled with in the comprehensive plan. The discourse theoretical framework contributes to a deeper understanding of these complex relations through the formulation of equivalence chains and therefore enables the possibility to analyse the gender equality discourse form and content, which elements acquire their definite meaning and why but also how the associations are made in the comprehensive plan. Furthermore, the analysis and the discussion indicate a few ways that the gender equality discourse could (re)produce power relations in the community where the discourse exists and how this could contribute to the privileging of some (groups of) individuals and the exclusion of others.

Bakgrund: Offentlig information som finns tillgänglig visar att det är en stark majoritet män i bolagsstyrelser. I takt med att mångfald diskuteras i samhället och allt fler yrken blir mer jämställda, har styrelserummens könsdiversifiering inte omvandlats på samma sätt jämfört med andra yrken. Vissa skandinaviska länder har vidtagit åtgärder för att öka jämställdheten i företagens styrelser. Det kan berika att veta om de vidtagna åtgärderna ger det förväntade resultatet. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om det finns något samband mellan avkastningen och könsfördelningen bland styrelseledamöterna i nyintroducerade bolag på Stockholmsbörsens, Large Cap, Mid Cap och Small Cap. Metod: Studien utgår från en kvantitativ metod med multipel regressionsanalys för olika oberoende variabler för att undersöka korrelationen mellan lönsamhet och könsdiversifiering inom bolagsstyrelser på kort sikt samt lång sikt. Därtill utfördes t-tester för att pröva om skillnader mellan genomsnittlig avkastning finns. Slutsats: Resultaten från denna studie finner inga evidens på statistiska samband mellan könsdiversifiering i styrelsen och lönsamhet i avkastning över durationen på ett år från att börsnotering skett. / Background: Public information that is available indicates that there is a strong majority of males ruling in the board rooms. As diversity is becoming widely debated in society and different occupations are becoming more gender equal, the boardrooms do not convert in the same past as other occupations. Some Scandinavian countries have gone to long measures to increase gender diversity in the corporate boardrooms. Furthermore, it can enrich to know if the measures taken give the anticipated outcome.  Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate whether there is any relationship between the profitability and the gender distribution among the board members of newly listed companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Large Cap, Mid Cap and Small Cap. Methodology: The study approaches a quantitative method with multiple regressions analyses with separate control variables to examine the correlation between profitability and gender diversity in corporate boards on short-term and long-term. In addition, t-tests were performed to investigate differences between average returns. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that there is no statistically determined relationship between the gender diversity of the board and the stock return over the duration of a year from going public.

The importance of actions towards sustainable operations and corporate social responsibility has increased over the years, and the awareness of the phenomenon has increased. Good environmental-, economic- and social actions are all essential in order to achieve sustainable development. Social sustainability as a part of sustainable development seems to be overlooked or underrepresented area in the field of sport and exercise research, especially in Finland. In this research gender equality is seen as an aspect within social sustainability, and the deeper focus is in it. In Finland, gender equality has gone far, but issues have also raised and for instance women are minority when it comes to decision-making regarding sport and physical activity. This research aims to examine and problematize how and if social sustainability, with a focus on gender equality is perceived and experienced in Finnish sport organisations and their practices. Furthermore, this study examines the role and possible potential of Finnish Olympic Committee’s guidelines regarding equality and equal opportunity in sport. The research follows a qualitative case study approach. Five people working in different Finnish sport organizations participated in the research. Semi structured written interviews were conducted to obtain data, and thematic analysis was used to interpret the data from the interviews. The concepts of social sustainability, gender equality and gender theory by Meyerson and Kolb was applied as a theoretical framework. In the Finnish sport field, social sustainability and its aspects are acknowledged and perceived important regarding responsible actions in and towards communities and society. Organizational practices are perceived equal, but issues are recognized in sport practices and sports themselves. The direction seems to be towards neutralizing gender and seeing and treating everyone as individuals over genders. Guidance is perceived important and useful, but more different level cooperation is hoped, especially when considering larger issues like gendered sports. The imbalanced numbers in representation of genders does not seem to impact on how the practices within the sport organizations are perceived. The main gender issues are caused by gender norms in sport, and in order to shape those, it requires larger push from more powerful operators.

This study examines two EU-funded sustainability projects within the Swedish transport sector. The projects are initiated by the County Administrative Board of Gotland and the County Administrative Board of Västmanland. The purpose of the study is to investigate which “problems” that are represented within the projects, what kind of change these particular interpretations of the problem bring about, and, how this could be understood from a feminist perspective. Through analysis of project documents and interviews, the study investigates how the concept of gender equality is understood and implemented in these projects. The analysis is based on five analytical questions inspired by Carol L. Bacchi’s approach “What´s the Problem Represented to be”. The study answers the following research questions; how is the connection between gender, gender equality and sustainability understood in the projects? What obstacles and opportunities for sustainable gender equality work is expressed through people on leading positions within the projects? And; how can this be interpreted from an ecofeminist perspective? The study shows that sustainability and gender equality are linked within the projects through a focus on gender and accessibility. In summary, there are three dominant problem representations. These problem representations are; Gendered climate impact, gendered transport habits and behaviors, The lack of female professional drivers and Gendered jargons and attitudes within the organizations. The study shows that the problem representations form a basis for measures that emphasize that, for the most part, women as a group are expected to be the ones responsible for the change. The concluding discussion illuminates some of the alternative problems and possible changes that these particular problem representations obscure. The awareness of the effects of these problem representations within the transport sector opens up to broaden the societal and scientific conversations on the matter.

Considering the persisting issue of gender inequalities, this thesis aims to examine the European Commission’s role in the development of gender equality policies in member states. Illustrating the Commission’s role by conducting a case study on the development of equality policies in Poland during the years 2004 – 2020. The Commission’s influence was analysed using the three integration mechanisms: positive, negative, and framing integration through the application of the top-down Europeanization approach. The influence was thereafter measured by examining the extent of compliance to and implementing the Polish government's EU policy. The analysis indicated the Commission’s role as the supervisor of the implementation process as an important factor in transposing a number of EU directives on gender equality in Poland. Moreover, the pressure from the Commission in the form of Reasoned Opinions contributed to the advancement of gender equality policy from 2004 through 2015. The institution’s strategies on gender equality also resulted in compliance with EU objectives and necessary institutional changes. Resulting in instances of positive integration. The strategies also resulted in some framing integration, where some of the political and social debate on gender equality policy came to comply with the discourse of the Commission. Yet, the analysis also demonstrated that the transposing varied in level of compliance with the measures stated in the directives. The implementation of the policies also varied greatly. When the Law and Justice party formed a majority government in 2015 there was a significant regression of certain areas of gender equality policy and the former institutional changes of the national equality body. This development in Poland resulted in an infringement procedure and the first instance of negative integration. Demonstrating the Commission’s capability to directly affect national legislation that contradicts EU law. The main conclusion of this thesis is therefore that the Commission has had an important role in the development of gender equality policy in Poland, but the advancements in this policy area vary in levels of compliance and implementation.