This qualitative study examines whether, and to what extent, gender equality can be used for trade-union revitalisation purposes. The white-collar unions; Unionen and Fackförbundet ST, are two prominent cases of studying actor’s promotion of gender equality on the Swedish labour market. This study sets out two questions; In what ways do they work with gender issues? Why do they work with gender equality - Is it being used strategically or because they think that it is an important issue? The empirical study is based on twenty interviews with the respective union leadership, elected representatives and officials. The results of the study show that both unions are working on gender equality, because their members consider gender equality to be a priority. As regards the issue of gender equality as a strategy, my study shows that Unionen is working on gender equality as a strategy while Fackförbundet ST do not. Unionen do so that they can recruit a new group, namely young members. Therefore, my study shows that gender equality can be used as a union revitalisation strategy. The study also shows that union revitalisation strategies are contextual in the sense that strategies that work in countries with high female employment rates and high female union coverage, are different from strategies that work in countries with low female employment rates and low female union coverage.

This thesis examines elements of continuity and change in systems of pay determination in UK local government, with a specific focus on the period of austerity since 2010. Spending cuts present significant challenges for collective bargaining through the National Joint Council (NJC), which also serves as a ‘critical case’ to test our understanding of contemporary collective bargaining and industrial relations. The research draws on 56 interviews with a total of 62 key actors from the employers’ representative organisations and trade unions at both national and local level, and eight local authority case studies. The interview data are complemented by a range of secondary qualitative and quantitative data sources. It seeks to understand the changing power relationships between employers and unions as they attempt to navigate increasingly turbulent waters, and the pragmatic trade-offs both sides are willing make over pay, terms and conditions, and working practices in pursuit of longer-term strategic goals. These issues are addressed through three levels of analysis. Firstly, building on a rich tradition of industrial relations research, the thesis shows how the national employers have repositioned the sector level collective agreement as a means to deliver cost control rather than ‘fair wages’, which the unions have so far tolerated in preference to a complete dissolution of national bargaining. Second, drawing on contingency models of pay and HRM, case study data are used to explore the mixture of managerialism and political opportunism which characterises the development and implementation of pay and reward strategies at the level of the organisation. The findings identify the continued importance of transparent job evaluation processes in determining wage structures, but also show how pay practices act as a means to signal desired behaviours from employees, and are used to reinforce local level political narratives. Finally, through a critical re-appraisal of New Public Management (NPM) reforms in local government since the 1980s, further case study data reveal the way in which employers have reorganised staffing structures to match reduced budgets, but it appears that increased levels of work intensity for a significantly depleted workforce are beginning to impact on service standards. The findings also suggest that the on-going process of restructuring serves as a means to increase managerial control of ‘the labour process’ through the efforts to standardise working practices and break down embedded departmental and professional identities. Taken together, the evidence suggests that although the formal institutions of employment relations have proved to be remarkably resilient, collective bargaining as a dynamic mode of joint regulation built on the notion of partnership has steadily been crowded out from both above and below. The meaningful content of negotiations has been squeezed by the tight financial constraints applied by central government, and in the vacuum created by stalled sector level negotiations local level pay and HRM strategies are becoming increasingly important to explain the level and distribution of wages. Perhaps as important as negotiations over pay are negotiations over working practices which fall outside the formal regulatory scope of the collective agreement, and change expectations about working time, task discretion, and job boundaries. A degree of drift across these three dimensions has resulted in an increasingly fluid adjustment of the wage-effort bargain over which the unions have a declining sphere of influence.

Réalisée dans le cadre d’un contrat CIFRE, cette thèse étudie la construction, l’appropriation et les effets de la politique d’égalité professionnelle entre les femmes et les hommes chez Orange. Mobilisant la perspective appropriative des dispositifs de gestion enrichie par le concept de logiques institutionnelles, ce travail repose sur un matériau riche et varié : entretiens, données RH, séquences d’observation, documents internes, notamment. Nous montrons que la coexistence de plusieurs conceptions de l’égalité professionnelle au sein de l’entreprise structure fortement l’application de la politique au niveau local, mais également sa construction, qu’il s’agisse de l’accord d’entreprise ou de la politique non négociée. L’analyse conjointe de l’application de la politique et de ses effets, permise par la combinaison de matériaux et de méthodes qualitatifs et quantitatifs, nous donne de plus l’opportunité de comprendre les effets quantifiables (ou l’absence d’effets quantifiables) d’une mesure à l’aune de la manière dont elle est appliquée au niveau local. Nous mettons enfin en exergue les spécificités de la négociation sur l’égalité professionnelle par rapport à d’autres négociations, dues notamment à la transversalité de l’égalité professionnelle à de nombreux processus RH ; et nous soulignons l’importance de la coexistence et de l’articulation de l’accord d’entreprise et de la politique non négociée sur l’égalité professionnelle. / This thesis, written while working under a CIFRE contract, studies the construction, the implementation and the effects of the gender equality policy at Orange. Using the appropriative perspective of management tools enriched by the concept of institutional logics, this work is based on various data, in particular: interviews, HR data, observations, internal documents. We show that the coexistence of various conceptions of gender equality within the company strongly affects the implementation of the gender equality policy within the entities, but also its construction, for both the collective bargaining agreement and the non-negotiated policy. The joint analysis of the implementation and of the effects of the policy, made possible by a mixed-method design, allows us to understand the quantifiable effects (or the absence of quantifiable effects) of a measure according to the way it is implemented within the entities. We underline the specificities of the collective bargaining about gender equality, notably due to the fact that gender equality cuts across various HR processes. Finally, we show the importance of the coexistence and articulation of the collective bargaining agreement and non-negotiated gender equality policy.

Magister Human Ecology - MHE / In many developing countries including South Africa, there is an overwhelming number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in the hospitals, which the health care workers are unable to cope with. Therefore, an urgent need to develop alternative community based activities such as support groups, home based care programs and placement of orphans, for the provision of social health care services to the HIV client, arises. However, a deeper understanding of the challenges facing community organizations when providing home based care is crucial and necessary in order to formulate effective and relevant care services. The aim of the study was to explore the challenges faced by Umtha elanga Community Organization (UWCO) in the provision of HIV/AIDS home based care. The objectives of the study were to assess the current home based care of the UWCO and to explore the challenges that community based organizations have to face when providing care services to people being infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The research design undertaken was the case study of UWCO. The qualitative approach with in-depth interviews with the management staff and home based caregivers was utilized. Data analysis began immediately after the interviews by transcribing and translating the audio-taped data. Thematic analysis was used in which data was coded and categorized. The findings of the research indicated that the home based care programme assists PLWHA clients in their natural home setting. All home based carers work voluntary and get supported by the organization as ell as by the department of social development and health such as the social workers. Finances appear to be, both for the organization and the home based carers, a huge hindrance. Research indicated that the organization experiences various challenges to provide the service to their community. It is recommended that Government must ensure that home based care workers get recognition, credit and support for their valuable contribution. Training for HBC employers needs to be extended to expose and add more skills. This will ensure that they are equipped for their tasks. Home based care workers must become registered and paid better salaries by the government. / South Africa

The Republic of the Philippines is an example country when it comes to gender equality within education. However, this trend does not persist when it comes to female labor market participation. Current research shows that a mere 53,4% of all Filipinas are currently employed in the labor market against 81% of their male counterparts, indicating a wide engendered gap. This study investigates why so few of the highly educated female population find gainful employment by studying the perspectives of university graduate students in the rural province of Antique through the use of a wide range, quantitative survey across three universities, and 9 qualitative in-depth interviews. By using Nussbaum and Sen’s capability approach, an inventory of both known and new barriers is made, which are organized in the following categories: barriers on the supply side of the labor market, barriers on the demand side of the labor market, and other barriers. Revealing those barriers that have not been researched before contributes to the existing body of knowledge on impediments that hinder graduating Antiqueñas to enter the labor market. The hindrances as described and discussed in this thesis can be used to improve gender sensitive policies that have the ability to expand freedoms, capabilities, and functioning for Antiqueñas, but also for Filipinas in general, since the barriers; lack of good and productive vacancies, (early) motherhood, a wide gender wage gap, unpaid family work, patriarchic views on traditional female roles, and a divide in male and female jobs are all barriers that hinder Filipinas on a national level.

Ändamålet med denna studie är att få en ökad förståelse för hur förskolepedagoger bemöter flickor och pojkar i Thailand samt att bidra med kunskap om genus och könsnormer i den thailändska förskolan. I avsikt att få en ökad förståelse för konstruktioner kring könsnormer i den thailändska förskolan har jag rest till norra Thailand för att besöka två förskolor. På plats använde jag mig av en kvalitativ datainsamling för att samla information från pedagoger, och därefter sammanställt dem med observationer för att jämföra teori och praktik. Jag genomförde även intervjuer med thailändska modersmålslärare för att utöka materialinsamlingen. I resultatet framkommer det att utbildning på senare tid har fått en ökad betydelse i Thailand, vilket har gett både flickor och pojkar samma möjlighet att gå i skolan. Resultatet tyder även på en ökad kunskap inom genus och jämställdhet hos thailändska pedagoger vilket visas i deras tankesätt och hur de förhåller sig till flickor och pojkar. Trots detta visar resultatet att gamla normer än idag är ett fortsatt problem när det kommer till hur man behandlar flickor och pojkar. / The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge of how pedagogues treat girls and boys differently in Thailand and also to contribute to the knowledge about gender and gender norms in the preschools in Thailand. To answer my research questions, I travelled to the north of Thailand to visit two pre-schools. I have been using a qualitative study to collect information from teachers and have compiled my observations to compare theory with real practice. I also interviewed some Thai native language teachers in Sweden to expand the research material. The results show that the importance of education has increased for children in Thailand, which has given both girls and boys the same opportunity to attend school. The research also tells that pedagogues in Thailand are educated about gender and equality which shows in their reasoning about how to approach girls and boys with gender awareness. However, despite the gender sensitive reasoning it has through observation been disclosed that old norms are still a present issue when it comes to approaching girls and boys differently.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka reproduktionen av genus i barnböcker utifrån hur bilderböckers karaktärer framställs i text och bild samt vilka konsekvenser detta kan få i förskolans arbete med att bryta stereotypa könsmönster och roller. Tre av barnens favoritböcker valdes ut för studien från en tre- till fyraårsavdelning. Genom en bild- och textanalys har en tolkning gjorts utifrån ett teoretiskt ramverk med stereotypiskt kvinnliga respektive manliga egenskaper, attribut och aktiviteter. I resultatet framkommer att alla tre analyserade böcker reproducerar en stereotyp bild av genus men med en möjlighet till flera fria tolkningar av både text och bild.

Board gender diversity has been on the corporate agenda for several years, despite numerous gender diversity initiatives around the EU-Member States, women remain underrepresented in the boardroom. There is an intense debate and the problem is frequently raised and discussed by politicians, journalists, shareholders and investors. The thesis examines if gender diversity in the boardroom has any significant effects on firm performance and stock volatility based on 318 firm-year observations with firms listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, Copenhagen Stock Exchange and Helsinki Stock Exchange from 2013 to 2015. The authors find no significant relationship between gender diversified board and firm performance for the overall sample at any conventional level. However, the authors find a positive and statistically significant relationship between gender diversified board and firm performance for only Swedish firms, measured by Tobin’s q. Furthermore, the empirical findings from the relationship between board gender diversity and stock volatility using 1 272 firm-quarter observations, are statistical significant and shows that firms with high gender diversified board have lower stock volatility compared to firms with low gender diversified board.

Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, is one of the United Nations (UN) core objectives. However, the UN has been struggling with achieving gender balance in its own organisation, despite numerous attempts. Men have been in numerical dominance at the UN since inception, especially on senior positions. This case study takes place just months after the System-wide strategy for gender parity was launched by Secretary-General Guterres. It captures the initial reactions through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five women working in one UN body at the UN Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Through these stories and experiences, this thesis aims to analyse the UN as a gendered organisation, focusing on organisational structure and culture. I argue that gendered processes of the organisational structure and culture preserve the male-dominance by having including effects on men and excluding effects on women. In this thesis I use gendered processes (Acker 1992), combined with post-structural policy analysis (Bacchi 2009) and complex systems theory (Ramalingam 2013), as analytical tools to show how equality is constructed and understood as an idea and in practice.

Gender parity. Gender equality. Diversity and intersectionality. Are they understood to be one and the same thing? Whilst there is much public data and opinion on economic benefits to having gender parity within organisations and how it can help support women’s empowerment and inclusion in male dominated professional sectors, public perception on the topic may paint a different picture. In this thesis, the social media platform Twitter is used to collect data to conduct a content analysis in order to understand public sentiments in response to one company’s perceived success in their organisational gender parity initiative. That company is American tech organisation, Duolingo. In 2018, Duolingo posted via Twitter that they had achieved a 50:50 male:female ratio in their recruitment of new engineering hires. The response on Twitter reveals that whilst many Twitter users agreed with Duolingo that this was a success, many did not. The Tweets are classified and analysed according to sentiment and coded according to the core topic in their communication – gender parity, gender equality, and diversity and intersectionality - to gain an in-depth understanding into how the public understands and reacts to these concepts. By analysing 275 Tweets through textual and visual analysis, this thesis supports an investigation via case study as to whether or not gender parity is publicly perceived and understood as a positive organisational strategy towards gender equality. Or whether it is seen to be exacerbating gender inequalities and perpetuating gender and intersectional stereotyping, biases and norms.