Previous research indicates that gender mainstreaming is difficult to apply. Obstacles such as lack of political will, cultural and institutional resistance, lack of understanding, clashing perspectives and priorities, as well as insufficient resources, are most often cited as the cause. This study, against the background that these obstacles are founded in institutional contexts, intends to use feminist institutionalism to analyze state authorities' ideas about gender mainstreaming through the analysis of values, descriptions, and prescriptions. The results show that analyzed authorities are consistent in their basic ideas and values, where the strategy is taken seriously and seen as important. The annual reports are prepared in an operational manner, which shows action and progress. The result indicates that there is a general lack of prescriptions.

The struggle for an equal society in terms of equal rights, opportunities, and obligations has long been fought in Sweden and has resulted in Sweden emerging as one of the world most equal societies according to UN rankings. This paper attempts to, with the knowledge of Sweden´s pre-eminence on the equality rankings, to examine why the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) remain a male-dominated workplace, despite decades of stated equality aims. There is thus a question left unanswered as to the nature of this apparent discrepancy. This paper aims to examine the nature of this discrepancy, what has been done to implement equality and what challenges lie ahead for the SAF on the issue of gender equality. Through a theoretical base primarily consisting of an institutional disposition this paper uses a qualitative text analysis study of the public material which is available regarding the SAF´s gender equality work, mainly the official appropriations documents for the SAF, as well as the annual reports from the SAF to the government. Gender and equality have been studied in the past in numerous political science journals both in the context of western armed forces in general and the SAF in particular. Remaining is a need for more research problematising the concept of gender equality within the armed forces and in its relationship to the government, which this paper attempts to explore. Indications indicate that the challenges the government and the SAF must face involve defining what they mean by equality as well as clarifying what the policy objectives are as there is a risk that the implementation of the policy will fall completely or partially if they remain abstract, unclear and/or contradictory.

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The purpose of the study was to compare the use of peer administered contingent reinforcement for social interaction with the use of play materials that facilitate interaction. The subsequent effects on the social interaction of mainstreamed preschool handicapped children with their nonhandicapped peers was examined. Three nonhandicapped kindergarten children were paired with three moderately mentally handicapped preschool children and trained to initiate play. A single-subject, alternating treatment design with a withdrawal phase was used to compare the effects of the two treatments. Generalization immediately following each treatment was also examined as was maintenance over time. Observers used an interval recording procedure and showed a mean interobserver reliability rating of 95%. All observations were conducted in an outdoor playground setting. The use of play materials that facilitate interaction (Treatment C) was shown to be a significantly more effective method for increasing social interaction than was the use of peer administered contingent reinforcement (Treatment B). The mean child-child interaction total for Treatment C was 71% while the mean child-child interaction total for Treatment B was 27%. The t_ value at a .10 level of probability was —7.74. Generalization immediately following treatment was greater after Treatment C (mean 24%) than after Treatment B (mean 7%) . The _t value of -1.98 did not, however, show a significant difference in generalization between the two treatments. Treatment C was implemented as the only treatment upon completion of the alternating treatment phase. Relatively little generalization occurred during the withdrawal phase (mean 17%) and the treatment effects were not maintained over time (mean 7%). A supplemental analysis of the relationship between play attempts by the peer "helper" and the number of actual interactions showed that, while there were a greater number of play attempts during Treatment C than during Treatment B, the difference was not large enough to account for the success of Treatment C. The outcome of the study helps to ascertain that the use of trained nonhandicapped peer "helpers" coupled with the use of play materials that facilitate interaction can be an effective means of increasing social interaction between young handicapped and nonhandicapped children.

Equality is one of the most debated topics of our time. In Sweden, the work on gender equality has been shaped by the strategy of gender mainstreaming since 1994. Gender mainstreaming not only affects the undertaking of gender equality issues at the national level, but also at the local level. Despite this, there is limited knowledge regarding the implementation of gender mainstreaming in municipalities, particularly from perspectives other than feminist ones. Therefore, this study focuses on the implementation of gender mainstreaming in three Swedish municipalities and also highlights the potential impact of organizational culture on gender equality efforts. The thesis is a multiple case study that aims to study the extent to which municipal organizational culture influences the implementation process. This aim is formulated based on previous research in this field, which suggests that organizational culture affects implementation processes. The organizational culture in the municipalities is extensively examined through the lens of capability to change. The research questions are answered through text analysis of gender equality policies and interviews with officials in each municipality. The findings of this thesis show that organizational cultures in municipalities have the potential to influence the implementation of gender mainstreaming in different stages of the implementation process. The study identifies differences in the organizational capability to change, both within and between the municipalities. The study also finds that certain aspects of the municipalities’ organizational culture can affect the implementation of gender mainstreaming. Additionally, the study has found that both management models and path dependency may be factors that impact gender mainstreaming efforts, even though this was not the primary focus of the study.

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Jämställdhet mellan kvinnor och män är en uttalad målsättning inom internationell samt svensk politik. Under de senaste 20 åren har jämställdhetsintegrering har varit den huvudsakliga strategin för jämställdhetsarbete men långt ifrån alla är överens om hur strategin ska tolkas och praktiskt implementeras inom förvaltningsmyndigheter. Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva hur förvaltningsmyndigheterna Arbetsmiljöverket och Ekonomistyrningsverket tolkar begreppet jämställdhetsintegrering för att sedan redogöra vilka likheter och skillnader som fanns i deras arbetssätt gentemot deras respektive externa verksamhet och även se hur deras utfall kan förklaras. Studiens teoretiska ramverk användas för att belysa möjligheter och begränsningar inom jämställdhetshetsintegrering. Genom en kvalitativ tematisk textanalys presenteras resultatet som visar att myndigheternas implementering av jämställdhetsintegrering skiljer sig åt. Slutsatserna visar likheter och skillnader inom implementeringen där utfallas förklaras utifrån myndigheternas resurskapacitet, kunskap om ämnet och tillgång till externt stöd.

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