Gender equality is a fundamental pillar of democracy, and its absence significantly impacts societal development. Educational institutions play a central role in fostering democratic citizens who actively champion gender equality. The principle of equal rights and responsibilities is integral to the educational mission, placing a significant onus on schools and their staff (Skolverket.se). From an early age, children encounter gender stereotypes, presenting challenges for gender equality efforts in childhood and education. These challenges persist into adulthood, emphasizing the crucial role of schools in shaping ongoing progress towards gender equality. The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether professional teachers employ diverse strategies to fulfill the Swedish National Agency for Education's guidelines on gender equality. Additionally, we aimed to explore the challenges, difficulties, and opportunities encountered by these teachers in implementing their strategies. Our research drew upon gender theory, incorporating key concepts such as gender systems and gender contracts to comprehend and analyze gender equality issues. Compensatory pedagogy also played a vital role in understanding teachers' chosen strategies. Furthermore, leadership and collegial collaboration were essential components of our investigation, revealing significant disparities in how gender equality issues are addressed in the various schools where our semi-structured interviews were conducted. We interviewed 5 practicing teachers from three different schools, and through comprehensive data collection and analysis, we discovered that the concept of gender equality is complex. There are both similarities and differences in the strategies used by teachers, and schools encounter distinct challenges in their gender equality initiatives. However, a common theme among all teachers was their dedication to establishing and maintaining a gender-equal classroom and school environment. We extend our gratitude to the 5 teachers who participated in our interviews, contributing to a deeper understanding of gender equality issues. We also express our thanks to the university and our supervisor for their invaluable support throughout the entire process.

Jämställdhet är en grundläggande princip som strävar efter att skapa likvärdiga möjligheter och behandling för alla oavsett kön. I Sverige har steg tagits för att främja jämställdhet på samhällsnivå, men när vi fördjupar oss inom olika sektorer blir det tydligt att utmaningar kvarstår. Inom arbetslivet och speciellt inom industrin växer insikten om behovet av en mer jämställd företagskultur och arbetsmiljö.Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur jämställdhet implementeras och följs upp samt identifiera utmaningar och möjligheter inom industriföretags jämställdhetsarbete. Resultatet visade att industriföretagen var genomgående av åsikten att jämställdhet inte bara är en fråga om rättvisa utan även en faktor som bidrar till en mer inkluderande, effektiv och attraktiv arbetsplats. Det framkommer trots en ökad medvetenhet och enighet om jämställdhetens betydelse, att det finns utmaningar i att implementera konkreta jämställdhetsintiativ och att övervinna historiskt rotade hinder.

Violence against women has been acknowledged both nationally and internationally as a violation of women's basic human rights, an issue which weakens the overall development of women globally. India enacted the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act in 2005 in order to address the issue of domestic violence. This work examines the impact of the law and women's education and economic status on reported cases of dowry deaths and cruelty by husband and his relatives in 28 states of India between the years 2001 to 2016. My study hypothesizes that the states' female literacy rate and female workforce participation are negatively associated with the rate of reported cases of dowry deaths and cruelty by husband and his relatives. This study supports the ameliorative hypothesis that higher literacy rates and advanced economic and political status help reduce the victimization of women. Also, variations are seen among the 28 states for the cases of reported dowry death rates and cruelty by husband and his relatives' rates, suggesting that rates of dowry death are significantly higher in the eastern region and rates of cruelty by husband and his relatives are significantly higher in the south and the west (compared to the north). / Master of Science / Domestic violence is a global issue. It can be understood as arising from patriarchal values and gendered norms which relegate women to a subordinate position to men. India is the world’s largest democracy, and India is a place where crimes against women are highly prevalent. India enacted the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act in 2005 in order to address the issue of domestic violence. This study examines the impact of the Act after 14 years of its passage. Domestic violence takes different forms ranging from physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological violence. This study focuses on two forms of domestic violence: dowry deaths and cruelty by husband and his relatives against the wife. It focuses on the analysis of reported cases of the two crimes. In this study, data from various Indian governmental websites have been collected and analyzed to demonstrate rates of domestic violence for all the states of India. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of women’s status—operationalized as female literacy rate and female workforce participation—on the number of reported cases of domestic violence in Indian society from 2001 to 2016. This study supports the ameliorative hypothesis, which argues that places in which women have higher status report lower rates of victimization.

After the Swedish government election in 2022 the newly elected right-wing government initiated a reform of Swedish development aid. The government also decided to retract Sweden’s previously declared Feminist Foreign Policy. This study uses poststructural feminist and postdevelopment theories to identify what gender equality policies that become (im)possible in the government’s aid reform to strengthen the coupling between the two foreign policy areas of development aid and foreign trade. Adopting Bacchi’s What’s the Problem Represented to Be approach to discourse analysis, the study finds that the reform concentrates development aid towards economic growth and trade, representing poverty alleviation as a project of export and trade promotion and as a tool to enhance Swedish interests. Interviews with professionals at Swedish state agencies have been conducted to identify the ways in which state agencies negotiate how the problems of development and gender inequality are represented in the reform. The results show that state agencies have constructed spaces that maintain their power to alter practices in alignment with their expertise. The reform shifts attention away from gender equality to women’s and girls’ empowerment and constructs the goals of the two foreign policy areas as mutually beneficial. While gender equality policy has not disappeared, it has been altered, modified and narrowed to align to the interests of the corporate as well as to the goals of export promotion, trade liberalisation and economic growth.

Att vara en fotbollstränare borde vara lika självklart för både kvinnor och män, men idag är det inte det, då majoriteten av alla fotbollstränare är män. Syftet med arbetet var att få en djupare förståelse för erfarna kvinnliga fotbollstränares syn på att vara en kvinnlig fotbollstränare i en förening. Frågeställningarna handlar om hur kvinnliga fotbollstränare upplever att vara just en kvinnlig fotbollstränare, vad de ser för hinder och möjligheter och vad nuvarande och nya kvinnliga tränare skulle behöva för stöttning från förbund och föreningar. För att svara på frågeställningarna gjordes åtta kvalitativa intervjuer med erfarna kvinnliga tränare. En kvalitativ innehållsanalys med stöd i Självbestämmandeteorin användes sedan för att analysera materialet. Resultatet visade på att de kvinnliga fotbollstränarna upplever sexism och exkludering på grund av att de är kvinnor. De kvinnliga fotbollstränarna nämnde tre punkter som både förbund och föreningar behöver arbeta med för att bli mer jämställda: •Kvinnliga nätverk •Kvinnliga förebilder •Arbeta mot normens fotbollstränare och belysa att det finns olika typer av fotbollstränare För att det ska ske någon utveckling måste vi lyssna på de kvinnliga tränarnas behov och önskemål. Vi måste också förstå att denna utveckling är ett långsiktigt arbete som kommer kräva både tid och tålamod. / Being a football coach should be equally obvious for both women and men, but today it is not, as the majority of all football coaches are men. The purpose of the work was to gain a deeper understanding of experienced female football coaches views on being a female football coach in an association. The questions are about how female football coaches experience being a female football coach, what they see as obstacles and opportunities and what current and new female coaches would need for support from federations and associations. To answer the questions, eight qualitative interviews were conducted with experienced female coaches. A qualitative content analysis based on the Self-Determination Theory was then used to analyze the material. The results showed that the female football coaches experience sexism and exclusion because they are women. The female football coaches mentioned three points that both federations and associations need to work on to become more gender equal: •Women's networks •Female role models •Work against the norm of football coaches and highlight that there are different types of football coaches For there to be any development, we need to listen to the needs and wishes of female coaches. We also need to understand that this development is a long-term effort that will require both time and patience.

The global climate crisis calls for transitioning away from fossil fuels towards sustainable energy sources. However, research on energy transitions highlights their disruptive nature and potential to reinforce preexisting injustices, such as gender inequality. Despite recognising gendered impacts, scholarly discussions on the intersection between gender, justice, and energy transitions are still scarce. This thesis contributes to bridging this gap by examining gender justice within energy transitions through an intersectional feminist lens. Drawing upon feminist and sustainability transformations scholarship, I propose a gender-just energy transitions analytical framework and apply it to the Brazilian context. I examine the national level through government documents and women’s perspectives at the civil society level through in-depth interviews. Findings reveal that the energy transition in Brazil lacks significant efforts to foster transformative change in terms of gender equality. There are significant gaps between national strategies and women’s experiences, resulting in disproportionate burdens and limited participation for women, whose marginalisation is further exacerbated based on their intersectional identities. This study highlights the need to integrate recognitional, procedural, and distributional justice principles into energy transition policies to address underlying power asymmetries and advance gender equality instead of deepening gender-based injustices.

This study investigates the reasons behind the departure of female partners from the Big Fouraccounting firms' consulting services and explores how these women overcame obstacles toreach partner level. By examining the factors influencing their career progression and theirdecisions to leave, we sought to contribute to a deeper understanding of gender dynamicswithin the Big Four accounting firms’ consulting services. Using a qualitative approach, the study used in-depth semi-structured interviews with formerfemale partners from the Big Four firms in Western Europe. The research used an inductivemethodology, allowing participants' narratives to shape the exploration of factors influencingtheir career decisions and experiences within these organizations. The findings reveal thatfemale partners often leave due to a sense of being trapped within rigid organizationalstructures, which limit their roles and growth opportunities. Despite high salaries, womenprioritize career autonomy and meaningful challenges, which are scarce at partner levels.Effective mentorship and supportive leadership were crucial for overcoming career obstacles.However, the absence of such support often led to dissatisfaction and departure. The studyhighlights the importance of structural reforms to create more flexible career paths and the needfor dedicated mentorship programs to support women's career advancement. We suggest themetaphor of a "Closed-Loop" to illustrate the systemic barriers and hierarchical culture thatconstrain women at partner level. Addressing these issues requires a comprehensive approachto promote gender equity within the Big Four accounting firms’ consulting services.

Hofstede and the GLOBE study explain Sweden as highly equal while men still hold a higher status, and the Philippines as more masculine highlighting the differentiation of men and women. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of barriers and challenges for women when trying to climb the career ladder in Sweden and the Philippines through the lens of women's experiences, grounded in the national culture of each country. A qualitative method using semi-structured interviews was used with twelve participants, six from each country, including women currently working in HR and recruiting. The research reveals that cultural expectations and societal norms continue to pose significant obstacles. In Sweden, even with supportive work-life balance policies, implicit biases and deep-rooted cultural expectations that prioritize men’s careers over women’s persist. Conversely, in the Philippines, although there are advantageous maternity benefits and strides toward equality, traditional gender roles deeply rooted in patriarchal values significantly slow the pace of visible change. While differences in expectations shape the cultural landscapes of these nations, shared experiences bind women in both countries, highlighting the universal struggle against gender inequality. Cultural expectations were found to explain the barriers and challenges women face when trying to advance in their careers in Sweden and the Philippines. This study highlights the need for awareness of one's expectations. Organizations should implement clear and structured equality policies and work procedures ensuring unbiased practices throughout the organization preventing the impact of expectations that might lead to discrimination.

In 2022, Namibia recorded over five thousand cases of gender-based violence (GBV), highlighting the alarming and persistent nature of this issue. GBV is both a consequence and reinforcement of deeply ingrained gender inequalities in Namibian society, stemming from factors such as colonial history, power imbalances, and traditional norms. Sport is recognized as a valuable strategy to promote gender equality by challenging stereotypes and structural norms. However, fostering these gender equalities requires understanding the perceptions and educational knowledge of youth who represent the future of Namibian society.Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify and investigate students’ educational knowledge and perceptions of GBV and gender equality, as well as their perceptions of sport and its contribution to personal and social development and gender equality. Hereby, their experiences, traditions, and beliefs were at the center of the study. Data was collected from 24 students from disadvantaged communities who are enrolled in grades 8 to 12 in the after-school center of Physically Active Youth (P.A.Y.) in Windhoek, Namibia. The data collection process utilized an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach, collecting data from an online self-administered questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with two staff members and three students. The results of this study showed that educational and societal factors largely influence students’ perceptions and knowledge of GBV and gender equality. Students advocate for more comprehensive education and inclusive sports programs to foster personal and social development and challenge traditional gender norms. Moreover, they pointed out the need for community support and safe spaces for open discussions. Despite recognizing the barriers posed by patriarchal values, students believe in the potential of sport and education to promote gender equality and social change and to prevent GBV in Namibia.

This paper presents a quantitative study of the gendered division of labor in three nordic and three southern european countries. Using data from the European social survey round 5 about Family and Wellbeing, containing our target countries. The aim of this study is to increase knowledge about which factors affect gender equality in unpaid work at home with breadwinning women as our core focus. Previous research has found that women do the majority of work at home regardless if they have children living at home or working full time. The theoretical framework in this study is based on Hochschild. Hochschild writes about how the traditional gender code for women is to be caring, while also describing the change towards an egalitarian view of household labor and what to expect from each other as men and women.