Africa’s agricultural productivity is the lowest in the world. At the same time the largest proportion of poor people live in rural areas where they are dependent upon agriculture for their survival. Agriculture is thus an essential to consider when fighting poverty. Women make up 70-80 % of the labour force in the agricultural sector and produce about 80% of the food for the household. Women are at the same time dependent upon their husbands for access to agricultural land and financial resources. Despite the important role of agriculture for poverty reduction, the sector continues to lack attention from both governments and international organizations, and the fact that gender discrimination is a cause of poverty is rarely raised.   This thesis aims to investigate, through a field study in Zambia, which conditions and circumstances that create low agricultural productivity, based on how the peasants themselves perceive it. The paper aims to problematize the question of low agricultural productivity by looking at the issue of land access and gender equality. This thesis takes its methodological point of departure in a qualitative ethnographic field study with semi-structured interviews. In order to analyze the peasants situation Sustainable Rural Livelihood has been used as an analytical framework.   The result of this thesis shows that peasants’ productivity mainly is hampered by the fact that they lack access to productive and financial resources. The overall difficult macro-economic situation in Zambia, together with the fact that investments from the government in the agricultural sector and in rural development is small, contributes to a situation that hinders peasants’ opportunities to increase productivity with other means than just working harder. Furthermore, the result shows that women experience gender discrimination in accessing land, credits and education. The difference between men and women is structural and is the result of unequal access to resources, which have given men more power and influence. Hence, women have become dependent upon their husbands to gain access to land and financial resources, implying that women become both vulnerable and isolated. Access to land would strengthen women’s economical dependency and give them the possibility to control the income and investment made in agriculture. / Afrikas jordbruksproduktivitet är lägst i hela världen,.sSamtidigt som den största delen av fattiga människor bor på landsbygden där de är beroende av jordbruket för sin överlevnad. Jordbruket är därmed en central fråga för att kunna bekämpa fattigdom. Kvinnor utgör 70-80 % av arbetskraften inom jordbrukssektorn och producerar cirka 80 % av maten till familjen. Samtidigt är kvinnor beroende av sina män för tillgång till jordbruksmark och finansiella resurser. Trots jordbrukets viktiga roll för fattigdomsbekämpning fortsätter sektorn att bli åsidosatt av både regeringar och internationella organisationer, samtidigt som bristen på könsdiskriminering som en orsak till fattigdom sällan tas upp.   Denna uppsats syftar till att undersöka, genom en fältstudie i Zambia, vilka förhållanden och omständigheter som skapar låg jordbruksproduktivitet, utifrån hur böndernas själva ser på det. Uppsatsen ämnar problematisera frågan om låg jordbruksproduktivitet genom att titta på frågan om tillgång till land och jämställdhet mellan kvinnor och män. Uppsatsen har sin metodologiska utgångspunkt i en kvalitativ etnografisk fältstudie med semi-strukturerade intervjuer. För att analysera böndernas situation har Sustainable Rural Livelihood använts som analytiskt ramverk.   Resultatet av denna studie visar att bönders produktivitet framförallt hindras av det faktum att de saknar tillgångar till produktiva och finansiella resurser. Den övergripande svåra makroekonomiska situationen i Zambia, tillsammans med att investeringar från regeringen i jordbrukssektorn och landsbygds utveckling är små, bidrar till en situation som hämmar böndernas möjligheter att öka sin produktivitet på andra sätt än genom att enbart arbeta hårdare. Vidare pekar resultatet av denna studie på att kvinnor upplever könsdiskriminering vad gäller tillgången till land, krediter och utbildning. Skillnaden mellan män och kvinnor  är strukturell och bottnar i en ojämlik tillgång till resurser, vilket gett män mer makt och inflytande. Detta har gjort att kvinnor är i nuläget är beroende av sina män för tillgång till land och finansiella resurser, vilket innebär att de blir både sårbara och isolerade. Tillgång till land skulle stärka kvinnors ekonomiska oberoende och ge dem möjligheten att själva kontrollera intäkterna och investeringarna i jordbruket.

Sweden possess the forth place as the most gender equal country in the world (World Economic Forum, 2013). But when it comes to women in higher-level positions, Sweden ends up below the European mean (European Commission, Justice, 2011). How can this be? And more importantly, how can Sweden work to attain gender equality in higher-level positions in the future? Why this gap exists in Sweden and how to reduce it is in need of further investigation and research. The thesis aims to investigate why men keep dominating higher- level positions within organisations in Sweden. A focus has been put on municipalities and their extensive work for gender equality. The thesis will address the extensive work Swedish municipalities have done within gender equality and why they are relatively equal when it comes to gender equality in higher- level positions. Further on it will provide a general understanding of their successful work and how it can be useful in other organisations. Additionally, it will be investigated how this extensive gender equality work, with a primary focus on gender equality policies and plans, and other regulations can help women reach and keep the higher-level positions in an organisation. A qualitative research approach has been used for this research. The primary data was collected through in-depth semi- structured interviews with five Swedish municipalities. The data was later analysed through qualitative data analysis. In conclusion, the most successful factors to include when working towards a gender equal workplace and encouraging more females to aim for higher-level positions are extensive work with gender equality policies and plans, including changes in the recruitment process together with providing options of how to allocate your working hours. This to open up for equal opportunities, excluding gender based prejudices, for those individuals who have the right competence and are interested in possessing a higher-level position in an organisation.

<p>South Africa is undergoing a period of transition from Apartheid to democracy. In this process, redressing discriminatory factors (race and gender) is of utmost urgency and importance. The equity Act, and within this, affirmative action, are ways in which these isuses can be addressed. South Africa has undergone a process of dramatic change. Since the first democrataic election of 1994, notably so in the area of gender equity. This report examined female representivity in senior management within Drakenstein municipality in the Western Cape. The study evaluated employment barriers, which inhibits women from entering senior positions. The study also compared and analyzed past, present and future development, to evaluate the efforts that have been made to promote employment equity within local government.</p>

Women and men are equal by law in Bangladesh, but the societal reality shows a different picture. By illuminating the obstacles women face when entering and choosing an engineering and science program and what enables women to overcome obstacles, this thesis aims to answer why there are fewer women than men at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).     This thesis was a field study conducted at BUET. Questionnaires was handed out to get a broader perspective of women’s experiences within science and engineering while the interviews aimed to get an in-depth perspective of women’s own experiences being in science and engineering. The empirical data has been analysed using the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), the domestic responsibilities model and previous research about social norms within science and engineering and female networks. The thesis concludes that there are two main explanatory factors why there are fewer women than men studying science and engineering at BUET. Those factors are the social construct that science and engineering programs are more appropriate for men and that families do not have a beneficial Socioeconomic Status (SES) to allow women to study. The main factor enabling women to study and pursue an engineering and science program is family support.

This thesis examines whether, how and to what extent social cash transfers help the poor in reducing poverty; not only in income terms but also in relation to how they build on their capabilities and address gender inequality, risk and vulnerability. The thesis explores these questions through an analysis of a community targeted social cash transfer scheme from Traditional Authority Mlomba, Machinga district in Malawi, using the capability approach as the conceptual framework of analysis. The study is located in the critical realist domain as its underlying research philosophy. The study is qualitative in nature, using semi-structured interviews, observations and life histories. The scheme targets the poorest 10% of the population who are also labour constrained and deemed to be economically unproductive. Thus, the study offers some insights into an area that is not well researched as it is a relatively new concept to target the poor who are also labour constrained and not economically productive. In this thesis, I show that despite the limited resource base compared to the large number of the poor, social cash transfers as low as US$14 per household per month can make a valuable contribution to the reduction of poverty through building capabilities of the poor, empowering women and addressing some of the gendered inequalities, risk and vulnerability. Therefore, social cash transfers are not just handouts but act as ladders that can uplift the absolute poor out of poverty.

Partindo de uma perspectiva Foucaultiana, este estudo analisa a formação e a institucionalização do enunciado de igualdade de gênero e seus posteriores efeitos na produção de políticas públicas para as mulheres no Brasil. Dessa maneira, descreveu-se de que forma alguns dos discursos feministas puderam ser integrados dentro das políticas públicas do Estado brasileiro especialmente no que se refere ao entrecruzamento da dimensão de gênero e o campo do trabalho. Através desse exercício foi possível pensar de que modo os enunciados feministas transformaram-se em uma determinada forma de conduzir a população, na perspectiva da Governamentalidade, produzindo modos específicos de subjetivação para as mulheres trabalhadoras no Brasil. Em um primeiro momento, o estudo oferece uma análise genealógica que abarca a institucionalização e a internacionalização de algumas premissas feministas. Aborda-se de que modo algumas dessas propostas entraram no bojo de ações do Estado brasileiro. Subsequentemente, o estudo propõe uma análise crítica acerca das propostas das políticas de igualdade de gênero no Brasil enfocando, sobretudo, as intervenções que entrecruzam as dimensões de gênero e trabalho. A análise aponta para a dominância dos discursos feministas mais moderados dentro do conjunto destas propostas. A partir disto, demonstram-se algumas das incoerências e limitações da premissa geral de igualdade que são produzidas no interior destas políticas. Entre elas é importante sublinhar a reiteração da norma de gênero em muitas das estratégias de intervenção das políticas para as mulheres no Brasil. Na medida que estas estratégias não desafiam e/ou desestabilizam a norma de gênero, vemos a repetição de determinados regimes de gênero que podem ser considerados como uma reiteração das hierarquias de gênero, as quais bloqueiam o próprio ideal de igualdade de gênero. / Starting from a Foucauldian perspective, this study seeks to analyze the establishment and the following institutionalization of gender equality statement. By problematizing this specific statement, we were able to trace the impact of this notion on the production of gender equality policies in Brazil - focusing on the relevant field of work and gender production. In this sense, we explored the way by which some feminist discourses could be incorporated in the set of public strategies developed by the Brazilian State. Through this exercise, we could think how these feminist statements influenced the population’s “conduction” (governamentality paradigm); producing, as a result, specific subjectivities for Brazilian working women. In the first part of the study, we proposed a genealogical analysis which demonstrates the process of institutionalization and internationalization of some feminist premises. Connected to this, we explored the way by which some of these feminist discourses could integrate some State’s governmental actions in Brazil. Subsequently, the study uses critical lenses to analyze gender equality policies in Brazil, again the main focus were public strategies that specifically deal with gender inequality in the work field. The analysis suggests that there is a dominance of a moderate feminist point of view within these policies. Taking this element into consideration, we demonstrate how these premises embedded in these public policies for women could produce incoherencies and limitations for the general premise of gender equality. It is important to stress the reiteration of gender norms within these strategies. By not problematizing and/or destabilizing gender norms, we see the repetition of old gender regimes regarding gender equality policies in Brazil. Therefore, these strategies often reiterate gender hierarchies which are able to obstruct the gender equality ideal.

Studiens syfte var att genom kvinnliga chefers/ egna företagares livsberättelser skildra hur kvinnor skapar mening i sitt yrkes- och familjeliv. Studiens teoretiska delar avsåg att belysa villkor för kvinnor i dagens yrkesliv samt skapa en förståelse för kvinnors val i samband med familjebildning avseende fördelning av föräldraledighet och ansvar för familj. Studien var en kvalitativ studie med livsberättelse som metod, fem kvinnor som är yrkesverksamma som chefer eller egna företagare har medverkat i studien. Studiens teoretiska ansats var socialkonstruktionistisk och förförståelsen av livsberättelser var att de skapas mellan den som berättar, den som intervjuar och den samtida kontexten. I livsberättelserna lyftes de meningsskapande sambanden för kvinnor verksamma som chefer eller egna företagare. Studiens resultat visade att kvinnors yrkesliv starkt påverkades av familjen och behovet av att vara nära sina barn påverkar kvinnornas karriärmöjligheter. Kvinnorna i studien tog i  samband med familjebildningen ansvar för barnens omvårdnad. Barnens utflytt skapade nya möjligheter till karriär för kvinnorna men skapade även existentiella frågor. Frågor om meningen i tillvaron och vad vardagen ska fyllas med för att upplevas meningsfull. Att få tillgång till både familj och yrkesliv var avgörande för kvinnorna i studien.

Abstrakt Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur kvinnor upplever arbetsfördelningen mellan könen i hemmet. Vårt mål är att skapa en förståelse samt belysa hur sju unga kvinnor som lever i en samborelation upplever den könsrelaterade fördelningen vad gäller hushållssysslor i de svenska hemmen idag. För att besvara studiens syfte använde vi oss av en kvalitativ metod där vi utgick från hermeneutiken som metodansats. Vi utförde sju semistrukturerade intervjuer, i syfte att fånga upp och beröra kvinnornas upplevelser och erfarenheter. Materialet vi fick ut av intervjuerna analyserades med begrepp som Individualisering (Beck), Första och Andra skiftet (Hochschild), Habitus (Bourdieu) samt Det andra könet (de Beauvoir). Studiens resultat visar att majoriteten av kvinnorna upplever att de utför mer hemarbete än sin partner. Vi kunde utläsa att kvinnorna har utformat olika strategier i syfte att få sin partner att utföra mer hushållssysslor, något som i våra ögon innebär att de får ta rollensom ”projektledare” i många fall. Resultatet indikerar även på att det finns en kluvenhetmellan en ny medvetenhet och gamla förhållanden, vilket hos kvinnorna har skapat såväl nya förväntningar som önskningar på situationen i hemmet. Detta är bland annat ett svar på framväxten av ett mer individualiserat samhälle där jämställdhetsfrågor står allt mer i fokus. / The purpose of this study is to highlight how women experience the division of labour at home between genders. Our goal is to create an understanding as well as illustrate how young women living in a co-relationship experience the gender-related distribution of domestic household chores in Swedish homes today. In order to answer the study's purpose, we used a qualitative method where we went from hermeneutics as a method. We conducted seven semi-structured interviews in order to capture and touch the women's experiences and experiences. The material we received from the interviews was analyzed with concepts such as Individualization (Beck), First and Second Shift (Hochschild), Habitus (Bourdieu) and The Second Sex (de Beauvoir). The study's findings show that the majority of women feel that they are doing more housework than their partner. We could state that women have designed different strategies to make their partners perform more household chores, which in our eyes means that they can take the role of "project manager" in many cases. The result also indicates that there is a gap between a new awareness and old conditions, which in women has created new expectations as well as the wishes of the home situation. This is, among other things, a response to the emergence of a more individualized society where equality issues are increasingly in focus.

Bakgrund: Sverige blir ett allt mer mångkulturellt land med var sjätte invånare född utomlands. Arbetslöshet och sämre socioekonomiska villkor har tydliga samband med ohälsa. För att underlätta för nyanlända att komma ut i arbetslivet finns en statligt subventionerad arbetsmarknadsåtgärd; instegsjobb. Enligt statistik från arbetsförmedlingen råder ojämnställd fördelning mellan andel kvinnor och män som får tillgång instegsjobb.   Syfte: Syftet med studien är att åskådliggöra vilka faktorer arbetsförmedlarna anser är orsak till skillnaden mellan antalet män och kvinnor med instegsjobb.     Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ semistrukturerad intervjustudie där urvalet består av åtta arbetsförmedlare från olika arbetsmarknadsområden i Sverige.   Resultat: Enligt studien är de grundläggande faktorerna för den ojämna fördelningen av instegsjobb traditionen att kvinnan utför obetalt hushållsarbete i hemmet och mannen utför betalt lönearbete. De traditionella könsrollerna påverkare även kvinnans eget intresse och självförtroende att påbörja och klara av en utbildning och därefter få ett arbete. Både nyanlända kvinnor och män bidrar till att vidmakthålla de begränsande könsmaktsordningen. En annan orsak uppges vara att arbetsförmedlings system förfördelar kvinnor genom hur utbildning och erfarenhet registreras samt att mansdominerade yrkesgrupper och arbetsgivare prioriteras.     Slutsats: Kulturella och traditionella värderingar kopplat till kön är begränsande för nyanlända kvinnors möjlighet att få ett instegsjobb.  För att öka jämställdheten i instegsjobb måste värderingen av nyanlända kvinnor och deras arbete förändras. Arbetsmarknadssystemet i Sverige måste ta extra hänsyn till de faktorer som försvårar för nyanlända kvinnor att etablera sig på arbetsmarknaden. / Background: Sweden is increasingly becoming a more multi-culture country with every sixth inhabitant born abroad. Unemployment and inferior socioeconomic terms have correlation to a lower health status. According to statistics from the Swedish Public Employment Services there is a gender inequality between the shares of new arrival immigrants that get use of the employment support called special recruitment incentive in the shape of entry recruitment incentive.   Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze which factors employment officers at the Swedish Public Employment Services consider affect the gender inequality in the special recruitment incentive in the shape of entry recruitment incentive.   Method: The study was conducted as a qualitative study with abductive approach. The number of persons interviewed were eight.   Results: The main factors affecting the ability of women to get the employment support, was gender values that women do domestic housework and men do work wage. The roles of gender makes the women believe less in them self’s as someone ably to get an employment. Women and men are both taking part in maintaining the roles of gender. Also the fact that the Swedish Public Employment Services priorities men and male dominated professions contributes to the inequality.   Conclusion: This study demonstrates that gender related value is a main aggravating factor for newly arrived women to get use of the employment support called special recruitment incentive in the shape of entry recruitment incentive. To increase the number of newly arrived women in this employments it is important to take into account the impact of traditional and cultural values affecting women.

Partindo de uma perspectiva Foucaultiana, este estudo analisa a formação e a institucionalização do enunciado de igualdade de gênero e seus posteriores efeitos na produção de políticas públicas para as mulheres no Brasil. Dessa maneira, descreveu-se de que forma alguns dos discursos feministas puderam ser integrados dentro das políticas públicas do Estado brasileiro especialmente no que se refere ao entrecruzamento da dimensão de gênero e o campo do trabalho. Através desse exercício foi possível pensar de que modo os enunciados feministas transformaram-se em uma determinada forma de conduzir a população, na perspectiva da Governamentalidade, produzindo modos específicos de subjetivação para as mulheres trabalhadoras no Brasil. Em um primeiro momento, o estudo oferece uma análise genealógica que abarca a institucionalização e a internacionalização de algumas premissas feministas. Aborda-se de que modo algumas dessas propostas entraram no bojo de ações do Estado brasileiro. Subsequentemente, o estudo propõe uma análise crítica acerca das propostas das políticas de igualdade de gênero no Brasil enfocando, sobretudo, as intervenções que entrecruzam as dimensões de gênero e trabalho. A análise aponta para a dominância dos discursos feministas mais moderados dentro do conjunto destas propostas. A partir disto, demonstram-se algumas das incoerências e limitações da premissa geral de igualdade que são produzidas no interior destas políticas. Entre elas é importante sublinhar a reiteração da norma de gênero em muitas das estratégias de intervenção das políticas para as mulheres no Brasil. Na medida que estas estratégias não desafiam e/ou desestabilizam a norma de gênero, vemos a repetição de determinados regimes de gênero que podem ser considerados como uma reiteração das hierarquias de gênero, as quais bloqueiam o próprio ideal de igualdade de gênero. / Starting from a Foucauldian perspective, this study seeks to analyze the establishment and the following institutionalization of gender equality statement. By problematizing this specific statement, we were able to trace the impact of this notion on the production of gender equality policies in Brazil - focusing on the relevant field of work and gender production. In this sense, we explored the way by which some feminist discourses could be incorporated in the set of public strategies developed by the Brazilian State. Through this exercise, we could think how these feminist statements influenced the population’s “conduction” (governamentality paradigm); producing, as a result, specific subjectivities for Brazilian working women. In the first part of the study, we proposed a genealogical analysis which demonstrates the process of institutionalization and internationalization of some feminist premises. Connected to this, we explored the way by which some of these feminist discourses could integrate some State’s governmental actions in Brazil. Subsequently, the study uses critical lenses to analyze gender equality policies in Brazil, again the main focus were public strategies that specifically deal with gender inequality in the work field. The analysis suggests that there is a dominance of a moderate feminist point of view within these policies. Taking this element into consideration, we demonstrate how these premises embedded in these public policies for women could produce incoherencies and limitations for the general premise of gender equality. It is important to stress the reiteration of gender norms within these strategies. By not problematizing and/or destabilizing gender norms, we see the repetition of old gender regimes regarding gender equality policies in Brazil. Therefore, these strategies often reiterate gender hierarchies which are able to obstruct the gender equality ideal.