To Örebro University

The following chapter deals with the general and special part of criminal law from a gender perspective. It analyses, in particular, the provisions from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the Istanbul Convention, from 2011. The Istanbul Convention is the most comprehensive international legal instrument that outlines binding obligations to states to prevent and combat violence against women and girls. Furthermore, the Istanbul Convention contains several institutes and behaviours that have to be criminalised in the respective national jurisdictions, covering and combining dogmatics and criminal policy issues with a foundation substantially based on gender. The chapter also explores gender issues in a more general way, interpreting criminal law and its challenges towards gender equality. The special part raises questions regarding criminal law and its compatibility with the Istanbul Convention and national laws.

In a recent issue of this journal, Vandermassen suggested that feminists should include sexual selection theory and evolutionary psychology in a unifying theory of human nature. In response, this article aims to offer some insight into the development of sexual selection theory, to caution against Vandermassen’s unreserved assimilation and to promote the opposite ongoing integration - an inclusion of gender perspectives into evolutionary biology. In society today, opinions about maintaining traditional sex roles are often put forward on the basis of what is natural and how animals behave. However, the natural sciences have proved to be pervaded by gendered values and interests; Darwin’s theory of sexual selection has been criticized for being male biased, and partly due to the unwillingness of Darwin’s scientific contemporaries to accept female choice, research has been overwhelmingly focused on males. More recently, theory has become less gender biased and research has come to include a large variety of issues not present in the first version of the theory. However, there is a need to increase the awareness of gender bias in order to develop a gender-neutral evolutionary biology.

This book traces the history of how evolutionary biology transformed its understanding of females from being coy, reserved and sexually passive, to having active sexual strategies and often mating with multiple males. Why did it take so long to discover female active sexual strategies? What prevented some researchers from engaging in sexually active females, and what prompted others to develop this new knowledge?

The Female Turn provides a global overview of shifting perceptions about females in sexual selection research on a wide range of animals, from invertebrates to primates. Evolutionary biologist and feminist science scholar Malin Ah-King explores this history from a unique interdisciplinary vantage point. Based on extensive knowledge of the scientific literature on sexual selection and in-depth interviews with leading researchers, pioneers and feminist scientists in the field, her analysis engages with key theoretical approaches in gender studies of science. Analyzing the researchers’ scientific interests, theoretical frameworks, specific study animals, technological innovations, methodologies and sometimes feminist insights, reveals how these have shaped conclusions drawn about sex. Thereby, The Female Turn shows how certain researchers gained knowledge about active females whereas others missed, ignored or delayed it – that is, how ignorance was produced.

While it is widely acknowledged that Darwin’s descriptions of females were gender-biased, gender bias in modern sexual selection research is less recognized. This Perspective highlights that sexual selection theory and research are still male-centered and suggest strategies for alleviating biases in this field and beyond. While it is widely acknowledged that Darwin’s descriptions of females were gender-biased, gender bias in current sexual selection research is less recognized. An examination of the history of sexual selection research shows prevalent male precedence-that research starts with male-centered investigations or explanations and thereafter includes female-centered equivalents. In comparison, the incidence of female precedence is low. Furthermore, a comparison between the volume of publications focusing on sexual selection in males versus in females shows that the former far outnumber the latter. This bias is not only a historical pattern; sexual selection theory and research are still male-centered-due to conspicuous traits, practical obstacles, and continued gender bias. Even the way sexual selection is commonly defined contributes to this bias. This history provides an illustrative example by which we can learn to recognize biases and identify gaps in knowledge. I conclude with a call for the scientific community to interrogate its own biases and suggest strategies for alleviating biases in this field and beyond.

“Sex roles” are intuitively associated to stereotypic female and male sexual strategies and in biology, the term “sex role” often relates to mating competition, mate choice or parental care. “Sex role reversals” imply that the usual typological pattern for a population or species is deviates from a norm, and the meaning of “sex role reversal” thus varies depending upon whatever is the usual pattern of sex-typical behavior in a given taxon. We identify several problems with the current use of the “sex role” concept. (1) It is typological and reflects stereotypic expectations of the sexes. (2) The term “sex role” parses continuous variation into only two categories, often obscuring overlap, between the sexes in behavior and morphology, and variability in relation to ecological circumstances. (3) Common generalizations such as “sex role as seen in nature” mask variation upon which selection may act. (4) The general meaning of “sex roles” in society (i.e. “socially and culturally defined prescriptions and beliefs about the behavior and emotions of men and women”) is contrary to biological “sex role” concepts, so that confusing the two obscure science communication in society. We end by questioning the validity of the “sex role” concept in evolutionary biology and recommend replacing the term “sex role” with operational descriptions.

The diversity, variability, and apparent rapid evolution of animal genitalia are a vivid focus of research in evolutionary biology, and studies exploring genitalia have dramatically increased over the past decade. These studies, however, exhibit a strong male bias, which has worsened since 2000, despite the fact that this bias has been explicitly pointed out in the past. Early critics argued that previous investigators too often considered only males and their genitalia, while overlooking female genitalia or physiology. Our analysis of the literature shows that overall this male bias has worsened with time. The degree of bias is not consistent between subdisciplines: studies of the lock-and-key hypothesis have been the most male focused, while studies of cryptic female choice usually consider both sexes. The degree of bias also differed across taxonomic groups, but did not associate with the ease of study of male and female genital characteristics. We argue that the persisting male bias in this field cannot solely be explained by anatomical sex differences influencing accessibility. Rather the bias reflects enduring assumptions about the dominant role of males in sex, and invariant female genitalia. New research highlights how rapidly female genital traits can evolve, and how complex coevolutionary dynamics between males and females can shape genital structures. We argue that understanding genital evolution is hampered by an outdated single-sex bias.

Mate choice hypotheses usually focus on trait variation of chosen individuals. Recently, mate choice studies have increasingly attended to the environmental circumstances affecting variation in choosers’ behavior and choosers’ traits. We reviewed the literature on phenotypic plasticity in mate choice with the goal of exploring whether phenotypic plasticity can be interpreted as individual flexibility in the context of the switch point theorem, SPT (Gowaty and Hubbell ). We found >3000 studies; 198 were empirical studies of within-sex phenotypic plasticity, and sixteen showed no evidence of mate choice plasticity. Most studies reported changes from choosy to indiscriminate behavior of subjects. Investigators attributed changes to one or more causes including operational sex ratio, adult sex ratio, potential reproductive rate, predation risk, disease risk, chooser’s mating experience, chooser’s age, chooser’s condition, or chooser’s resources. The studies together indicate that choosiness of potential mates is environmentally and socially labile, that is, induced - not fixed - in the choosy sex with results consistent with choosers’ intrinsic characteristics or their ecological circumstances mattering more to mate choice than the traits of potential mates. We show that plasticity-associated variables factor into the simpler SPT variables. We propose that it is time to complete the move from questions about within-sex plasticity in the choosy sex to between- and within-individual flexibility in reproductive decision-making of both sexes simultaneously. Currently, unanswered empirical questions are about the force of alternative constraints and opportunities as inducers of individual flexibility in reproductive decision-making, and the ecological, social, and developmental sources of similarities and differences between individuals. To make progress, we need studies (1) of simultaneous and symmetric attention to individual mate preferences and subsequent behavior in both sexes, (2) controlled for within-individual variation in choice behavior as demography changes, and which (3) report effects on fitness from movement of individual’s switch points.

What cultural nerves are triggered by the mutations of sexed biologies associated with artificially produced hormones? Evolutionary biologist and gender studies scholar Malin Ah-King and gender studies scholar Eva Hayward question the essentialist and heteronormative assumptions that frame contemporary discourses on the toxicity of endocrine disruptors.

It is common to refer to all sorts of clear-cut differences between the sexes as something that is biologically almost inevitable. Although this does not reflect the status of evolutionary theory on sex determination and sexual dimorphism, it is probably a common view among evolutionary biologists as well, because of the impact of sexual selection theory. To get away from thinking about biological sex and traits associated with a particular sex as something static, it should be recognized that in an evolutionary perspective sex can be viewed as a reaction norm, with sex attributes being phenotypically plastic. Sex determination itself is fundamentally plastic, even when it is termed “genetic”. The phenotypic expression of traits that are statistically associated with a particular sex always has a plastic component. This plasticity allows for much more variation in the expression of traits according to sex and more overlap between the sexes than is typically acknowledged. Here we review the variation and frequency of evolutionary changes in sex, sex determination and sex roles and conclude that sex in an evolutionary time-frame is extremely variable. We draw on recent findings in sex determination mechanisms, empirical findings of morphology and behaviour as well as genetic and developmental models to explore the concept of sex as a reaction norm. From this point of view, sexual differences are not expected to generally fall into neat, discrete, pre-determined classes. It is important to acknowledge this variability in order to increase objectivity in evolutionary research.

Militaries and militarism are among the most obviously gendered of all organizational activities. The military is also one of the clearest arenas of social power, violence and killing in their many guises. Military matters are urgent, powerful and lethal. The ways armies and those in them are organized and act are literally questions of life and death for all concerned. This chapter brings together studies on men and masculinities with those in the military and military organizations. Men, militarism and the military are historically, profoundly and blatantly interconnected. These interconnections have often either been simply accepted or it has gone unnoticed that these military persons are largely men. Indeed, many, though not all, armies and other fighting forces of the world have been and still are armies composed mainly of men, young men and boys. Those engaged in active combat and direct fighting in wars are often young men and boys. In the chapter, we address the place of men and masculinities in some key organizational issues in military organization and militarism, most notably recruitment, hierarchies and segregations, disability and veterans, and the impacts of these organizations on civilians, before concluding remarks on wider processes and impacts, on research, scientific and technological organizations, on international relations and geopolitics, and on the environment.

Research questions How is the 'problem' of gender equity described, perceived and experienced by female and male board members in Swedish sport today? What key dilemmas can be identified in the realisation of a gender equitable sport management? Research methods The article builds on research conducted on three Swedish ball sport federations during 2020-2021 and is based on a total number of 27 (12 males, 15 females) structured interviews with top leaders. The methodology employs Fraser's concept of gender justice and the need to pay attention to cultural and economic dimensions in transformative interventions. Results and Findings Three dilemmas relating to the realisation of gender equity are analysed: between quotas and stigmatisation, overcoming gender equity as a side-project and how the democratic infrastructure of Swedish sport enables men's continued dominance. The findings indicate that one-dimensional (affirmative) interventions dominate, which in turn explain why achieving gender equity in Swedish sport is difficult, i.e. cultural interventions only limit the chances of achieving gender equity. Implications To implement transformative interventions, cultural and economic resources need to be equally recognised and redistributed so that the organisations' gender order is deconstructed and participation on equally recognised terms secured.

Sport is often described as a field containing competitive and hierarchy shaping activities. However, in Sweden and elsewhere, this field is also permeated by democratic principles where, for example, everybody has the right to participate in children’s and youth sports regardless of gender, ethnicity or physical ability. In Sweden, there are distinct objectives for gender equality, where women/girls and men/boys should ideally be treated and recognised equally. The aim of this paper is twofold: to examine how gender is enacted in the textbooks used in Swedish sports coaching and educational programmes and to identify whether any of the enactments reflect a hegemonic masculinity. The textbooks used in two of the most extensive courses arranged by the Swedish Sports Confederation, ‘The Platform’ [Plattformen] and ‘Basic Coach Education’ [Grundtränarutbildning] are in focus. The theoretical framework and methodological approach are inspired by research on sport, gender and the hegemonic masculinity thesis. In the process of analysis, the hegemonic perspective is central. During the analysis, four themes are identified as expressions of a hegemonic masculinity and, thus, as obstacles to gender equality. Firstly, the binary sex norm poses a real challenge for the implementation of gender equality because it helps to shape a hierarchy that privileges men and masculinities. Secondly and thirdly, the themes ‘puberty’ and ‘the coach’ appear to be important, in that they support and contest a gendered hierarchy. Finally, there are examples of men, like sport coaches, appearing as genderless, which is interpreted as a hegemonic acceptance of the category of men (as universal and genderless subjects). By critically illuminating these themes, the paper adds to the wider research field of sport, coaching and education programmes and the complexity of gender mainstreaming in sport.

Introduktion: Trots att svensk idrott länge har haft ett övergripande jämställdhetsmål där kvinnor och män, pojkar och flickor ska ha samma villkor (RF, 1989, 2005, 2011) så går förändringsarbetet trögt. Detta förklaras ofta av att många idrottsgrenar bär en tradition där män dominerat med följden att normer och handlingar som förknippas med ”kvinnliga” egenskaper värderas lägre (se t ex Fundberg, 2003; Messner, 1992). Ett viktigt incitament för förändring är utbildning och inom idrottens (SISU:s) ledar-skapsutbildningar finns två ”grundutbildningar”: Plattformen och grundtränarutbildningen. Men möjliggör eller förhindrar innehållet i dessa utbildningar förändringar mot en mer jämställd idrott?

Syfte & teoretisk ram: I detta paper studeras hur kön/genus represente-ras i litteraturen i dessa utbildningar med fokus på att synliggöra komplexiteter/motsägelsefullheter. Syftet är att utreda om och i så fall hur litteraturens innehåll utmanar eller bekräftar en traditionell, ste-reotypisk föreställning om mäns och manligheters dominans över kvinnor och kvinnligheter och om innehållet således bidrar till eller hindrar möjligheterna för en mer jämställd idrott. Teoretiskt bildar forskning om hegemoniska maskuliniteter (Connell 1983, 1996) och mäns hegemonier (Hearn, 2004) ramverk för analysen.

Metod: Genom textanalys och ett diskursivt perspektiv studeras fyra böcker inom de ovan nämnda natio-nella utbildningarna. Dessutom används i viss utsträckning även kursernas powerpoint-presentatio-ner som underlag för analysen.

Resultat: De preliminära resultaten visar att män skildras både stereotypiskt och som normbrytare genom att till exempel trösta och hålla om barn. Samtidigt reproducerar texterna ett binärt könssystem som tenderar att underordna kvinnor och kvinnlighet. Kvinnans kropp beskrivs som mindre kapabel och sämre utrustad för fysisk ansträngning. Detta gör också att attityden till kvinnor som kunskapsbärande och kunskapsproducerande subjekt påverkas.

Diskussion: Diskussionen fokuserar på hur innehållet i denna litteratur tenderar att både reproducera och i viss mån utmana mäns och manligheters dominans inom idrotten. Samtidigt finns det något motsägelsefullt i att män bryter mot en traditionellt manlig norm eftersom detta snarare tenderar att omskapa en ny form av hegemoni (Connell 1983, 1996). Detta kan förklara trögföränderligheten hos hegemoniska mas-kuliniteter och ger således ny kunskap om jämställdhetsarbetets utmaningar.

In this article, the focus is on a theoretical discussion about how to analyse masculinities and power in historical research based on imagery and visual sources from a material-discursive point of departure. The argument is that analysing photographs in sport and the material-discursive representation of men/masculinities could contribute to a broader understanding of men’s hegemony. The article adds to the field of visual literacy and connects research on visual materials, sports history and critical gender studies. The past of Swedish ice hockey constitutes the case, while the understanding of men/masculinities departs from research by Jeff Hearn, Raewyn Connell and other scholars within the critical studies on men and masculinities field. Using four specific photographs from the Swedish magazine Hockey, the analysis exemplifies how their materiality and discursivity relate to a broader cultural context of the hegemony of men and masculinities. For example, cultural dominance strategies, visual techniques that ‘activate’ a photographed (or objectified) male subject and entitlement are discussed, and how these include discursive and material meanings of masculinity, status, and domination and how such embodiments interconnect with a contextual configuration of the dominant hegemony of men.

Generally, men have dominated the field of modern sports. Consequently, many sports carry associations where traditional ‘male’ characteristics and qualities are valued and traditional ‘female’ characteristics and qualities are devalued (see eg Messner, 1992). More precisely, many sports ‘create’ men and ideals of masculinities. In this paper combat sports (MMA, boxing, karate, Japanese jujitsu etcetera) are studied as examples of sports that shape gender and body ideals. Combat sports express at least two typical ideals of masculinity: muscle strength and (sanctioned) control of violence (Brace-Govan , 2004; Gill, 2007). Women who have exercised these sports have thus been challenging men’s ‘monopoly’ of being strong, big, violent and powerful and other traditionally ‘male’ norms. The aim of this paper is to study, from a gender perspective, how Swedish combat sports have changed since the 1990s. The main question is: How is the increased number of women in combat sports to be understood? Is it a sign of a (feminist) emancipation or has the inclusion of women been on exclusive terms - that is, do men’s domination find new ways to exercise its powers? In the end, this paper also raises questions of the changing contents of violence and muscularity. In so far, the material consists of focus group interviews and individual interviews with combat sports women, from the elite to the recreational level. Magazines will be analysed during 2016-2017. Theoretically, the paper draws on theories of hegemony and gender (Connell, 1983, 2005, Hearn, 2015). The preliminary results show that women, on one hand, portray active subjects that challenge male (sporting) traditions and male norms. Combat sports, some women tell, are increasing ones self-esteem and self-confidence. On the other hand, the female versions of combat sports are not taken as seriously as the male version, which becomes obvious by lower compensation and less media attention. Women are also expected to act as feminine subjects and are thereby ‘forced’ to relate their bodies, clothes etcetera to social and more general understandings of feminine ideals (cf. Clasen, 2001).

In this chapter we expand the analysis of sports, organizations, and masculinity to include behaviour often hidden in private communications by broadening the definition of the ‘locker room’ to include social media and other online spaces. Drawing upon high-profile events, research on male-dominated sports, and arguments on sports and hegemonic masculinities, we illustrate how strongmen create locker room spaces to embody narratives of hegemonic masculinities that disparage and mock certain groups. Demonstrating their values and ideas on whiteness, masculinity, and domination, the strongmen’s misogynist, homophobic, and racist language constructs women, LGBTQ + individuals, and ethnic minorities as inferior. In particular, the weaponization of misogyny and homophobia serves as a warning not only to women and gay men, but also to ‘non-feminized’ heterosexual men whose behaviour or ideas fall outside dominant ‘normative’ constructions of masculinity. By focussing on hidden (or not intended to be public) communication between men in sports organizations, our analysis illustrates that demeaning behaviour is, on the part of some white men, a response to their fear of social change – prompting an examination of the fragility of hegemonic masculinity.

The purpose of this article is to investigate women’s participation in mixed martial arts in the Nordic countries. The study is based on a qualitative and quantitative methodological approach consisting of individual interviews and focus group interviews with Swedish female mixed martial arts fighters and data from a Norwegian survey of participants in Norwegian mixed martial arts clubs. A total of 12 female fighters were interviewed, while 484 respondents participated in the survey. The results show that women exercising mixed martial arts contain a potential to act as feminist role models through their counter-hegemonic renegotiation of norms and views on femininity and, more specifically, the perception of femininity as something fragile and passive. Despite this progressive potential, the informants unanimously affirm that combat sports in general and in different ways are dominated by males. The data indicates that women still represent a small and marginalised group among mixed martial arts participants in the Nordic countries. Furthermore, women participating in mixed martial arts compete less and are less motivated by performance enhancement (developing as fighters, winning fights/tournaments/titles) compared to the male participants. However, both male and female participants value health and fun as the most important reasons for their participation in mixed martial arts training groups.

Gender equality has been an important policy goal for more than four decades in Sweden and is commonly seen as an integral part of the Swedish welfare state. However, the gender division of work is still reproduced both in and out of paid work. In this chapter, we analyse interviews with 40 Swedish women and men (20 couples) to explore how norms regarding what is in the child’s best interest enter into decisions concerning parental care, childcare and paid work, and links to social construction of motherhood and fatherhood. A key notion in the interviews was shared parenting. It was seen as highly important that the child gets close, strong ties to both its mother and father. A second, and related, notion was that it is in the interest of the child to have an engaged and caring father, implying a new kind of fatherhood. The ideas on shared parenting and the engaged father were sometimes linked to ideas on gender equality, but sometimes they went hand in hand with more traditional notions of motherhood and fatherhood. Motherhood was, on the one hand, constructed as distinct from fatherhood and closely related to female biology. On the other hand, motherhood was constructed to fit with women’s identities as independent and work-oriented. The interviews seem to reflect a recent political and cultural development where major changes have occurred regarding fatherhood norms but where less has happened regarding motherhood norms. Gender equality was, however, one central factor that the couples took into account in their plans for the future. About half of the interviewed couples planned to share parental leave equally or wanted to share equally but were open to being flexible, for instance in regard to possible changes in their employment or financial situation. Licensed childcare was the obvious childcare arrangement after the parental leave period was over and was perceived as beneficial to the child’s development. Unlike parents in many other countries, parents in Sweden can rely on a system of social policies that are developed and adjusted to facilitate the lives of dual-earner/dual-carer families.

Purpose – This study aims to explore behavioural differences between women and men in managerial positions and suggest explanations for differences and similarities.

Design/methodology/approach – In order to eliminate any effects of organizational differences on leadership behaviour, this study had public managers responding to questionnaires that measured their leadership style, decision-making style, and motivation profile.

Findings – Statistical analyses of data from three groups of Swedish public managers (n=385) revealed virtually no significant differences in behaviour between female and male managers. Regardless of whether there is a female or male majority of employees or a female or male majority of managers, no effect on leadership behaviour occurs.

Originality/value – A number of studies indicate that managers' behaviour is different in different types of organizations. This study suggests, therefore, that, independent of gender, organizational and demographic characteristics modify leadership behaviours, thus explaining similarities in leadership behaviour.

This study analyzes how men's domestic cooking is represented and masculinized in cookbooks, written by men for men and published in 1975, 1992, and 2010, respectively. Departing from the concept of domestic masculinities, it uses the methods of Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis. It asks: what kind of values and ideas connected to men, food, and the home are realized in texts and images? And how are these legitimized and naturalized? As the study's context is Sweden, a country known for its pursuit of gender equality, the study focuses on how men's domestic cooking has been represented in cookbooks published roughly 20 years apart. The analysis shows that, while the first two books are characterized by a 'real man' discourse and working-class masculinity, the 2010 book represents a masculinity in line with a 'new man image' closely linked to consumption and materiality. However, structurally, there are few differences. Values associated with traditional middle-class masculinities, traditional gender norms, and gendered division of domestic labor are reproduced. Men's cooking is recontextualized as a playful leisure activity. In all three books, cooking becomes another way for a man to appear successful - both in relation to other men and women, and in socioeconomic terms.

Ett ombyggt fyrhjuligt fordon, vanligtvis en personbil eller traktor, som får framföras i max 30 km/h. Benämns ofta i vardagligt tal som EPA-traktor. Åldersgränsen är 15 år och kräver AM-körkort eller traktorkort. A-traktor ska utrustas med en så kallad LGF-skylt som varnar för långsamtgående fordon.

Namnets ursprung kopplas till lågpriskedjan EPA (numera en del av Åhléns) och ska reflektera EPA-traktorns låga pris och enklare kvalité. Under 2010-talet har A-traktorernas popularitet i Sverige ökat kraftigt, och en ny musikgenre, så kallad EPA-dunk, har vuxit fram med popu- lära akter som Fröken Snusk och Hooja. Sedan 31 augusti 2023 gäller bälteskrav för A-traktorer, och det får numera bara färdas en person per sittplats och bälte. Ett medialt mycket uppmärksammat exempel är den 10 ton tunga Scania-lastbil som byggts om till A-traktor och tillhörde en 15-åring på Gotland.

En årligen återkommande enkätundersökning som genomförs av branschföreningen Svensk Kollektivtrafik sedan 2001. Här inhämtas synpunkter på kollektivtrafiken från resenärer och medborgare över hela landet.

Ett mindre väggående fordon som vanligtvis är utformat som en mindre personbil eller lastbil, men som varken klassas som bil eller moped. Mopedbilar (även kallade triangelbilar) får inte färdas snabbare än 45 km/h, har en åldersgräns på 15 år och kräver behörighet för AM-körkort. Mopedbilen förknippas med en ny form av bilkultur som sprider sig ner i åldrarna, och antalet registrerade moped- bilar har ökat kraftigt i Sverige under 2010-talet, dock inte lika mycket som antalet A-traktorer under samma period.

Ett inom kollektivtrafikbranschen viktigt nyckeltal som varje år samlas in genom den så kallade “Kollektivtrafikbaro- metern” av Svensk Kollektivtrafik. Används regelbundet av de regionala kollektivtrafikmyndigheterna som ett mått på utvecklingen av allmän kollektivtrafik i respektive län.

Sedan 2012 är 21 regionala kollektivtrafikmyndigheter ansvariga för planeringen av allmän kollektivtrafik i Sverige. Dessa kan vara organiserade genom den regionala förvaltningen i länet, som ett regionalt bolag eller som ett kommunalförbund. På Gotland är kommunen kollektivtra- fikmyndighet. Ett viktigt dokument för dess myndigheter är de regionala trafikförsörjningsprogrammen som beskriver den tänkta utvecklingen av allmän kollektivtrafik i respektive län.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) afford new possibilities for complex interactions among young people. An Internet user can be both a consumer (receiver) and a producer (sender) of mediated communication, asynchronously or simultaneously—such as someone who both uploads and watches video clips on YouTube (von Feilitzen, 2009). “And between these two extremes—the reception and sender roles— the user can be interacting or participating to different extents, for example, in games and in communities owned, maintained and copywrited by someone else” (von Feilitzen, 2009, p. 36). Communication and socializing in virtual online and real offline life through ICTs provides new dimensions to young peoples’ “identity experiments and identity formation” (p. 38). As discussed by Wellman (2001), the “social affordances of computerized communication networks” provide youth with many possibilities for new forms of production and consumption of violence in and through media technology. In this Commentary we aim to outline some important, yet relatively underdeveloped, aspects of research that connect new media, violence, and young people.

This article investigates discourses of Sweden's success in gender mainstreaming. Using the theoretical concept of myth, discourse analysis is performed on different categories of texts (including academic texts, grey papers and official reports). The aim is to analyse how this discourse of success is constructed and to increase the understanding of its components. The themes identified in the reading include adaptation, integration, volume and initiatives. In conclusion, it is argued that a conflation of gender mainstreaming (viewed as a strategy) with gender equality (as a policy objective) has been a vital part of the construction of Sweden as the best case of gender mainstreaming.

This article discusses gender equality and how and why a gender mainstreaming strategy avoids the question of gender conflict. The making of gender-equality work is studied by investigating how feminism is talked about and rejected in a specific gender mainstreaming project in the municipality of Örebro, Sweden. Drawing upon the theoretical concepts of hegemony and discourse, the focus is on the silences—the unspoken questions and problems—surrounding the project. I examine how the exclusion of feminism and conflict is articulated when gender mainstreaming is introduced as a new way of doing gender-equality work in the municipality. The struggles identified show that feminism is rejected because it is seen as being in opposition to (1) professionalism and (2) legitimate political issues. I conclude that within the local discourse of gender mainstreaming there is a notion that this form of gender-equality work ought to be performed without harmful or threatening gender conflicts. This means that the strategy of gender mainstreaming constitutes a short-cut to bypass controversial problems like equal treatment, special efforts for women, and men's privileges in gender-equality work.

This article is based on an empirical case study with an interactive research approach focusing on gendered norms in a Swedish truck Company. It discusses the combined value of using the metaphor of a firewall for (1) analysing how organizational constraining gendered norms are done in everyday organizational life, and (2) as a practical tool to facilitate the processes aimed at improving norm awareness. The metaphor embodies an understanding that makes it possible to visualize relational ongoing organizational processes and power dimensions. In addition, the firewall is useful for emphasizing variations and complexity. Variations and dynamics are manifested in the ways that employees need to fulfil varying “codes” in order to be accepted. The possession of certain codes (norms) that are required to pass through the first layer of the firewall (employment), and give access to some networks, does not automatically ensure acceptance and integration into more influential networks (referred to as the informal and inner layers of the firewall). The results furthermore show that the firewall metaphor is fruitful when facilitating reflection processes amongst employees to improve norma wareness and to discuss strategies for change. The conclusion is that the firewall metaphor facilitates an analysis of the relational and complex doing of constraining norms, and that it also can be used to initiate change.

In this paper we explore how existing work place culture and gendered norms impact on the possibilities to work with so called ”norm-critical” innovation processes in an organisation. Norm-critical reflexivity in the context of innovation processes implies to pay attention to invisible and implicit norms that may result in that certain privileged perspectives is being prevailed (over others) (Balkmar & Lykke 2015). The empirical findings emanates from a two year interactive research project, in which gender researchers in collaboration with participants at Volvo Group, Sweden, have explored the ways that the company can increase its capacity to work with norm-critical perspectives in the innovation process. Volvo is a highly gender segregated organisation. At the same time the trucking industry in itself is highly masculinized in terms of different professions; ranging from truck drivers to sales personnel to technical engineers involved in the design and manufacturing of trucks. In later years the shortage of truck drivers, in combination with more women drivers entering trucking academies and haulage contractors, has led to a questioning of male norms in the transport business. This includes reports of difficult working conditions for female truckers, including how the design of the truck itself takes the male body as the implicit norm, to the assumption that it is a man that is the presumed driver of trucks.

This paper focus on the part of the project that seeks to better understand how existing work-place culture and norms structure who is considered the ideal employee (Acker 1992) and its implications for innovation. This includes studying its impacts on both the possibility for different categories of employees to take part in the innovation work on equal terms, and the ability to reflect upon the impact of implicit norms in the innovation process itself. In total, 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with co-workers and managers (13 women and 5 men). The main questions concerned whether there existed ideals that formed implicit ”codes” (Bendl and Schmidt 2010) in the organization and its impact on ideas of preferred professional qualifications, behaviors, personal qualities and its links to career possibilities and innovation. The underlying theoretical assumption is that gender is a fundamental element of organisational structure and work life; “present in [its] processes, practices, images and ideologies, and distribution of power” (Acker 1992, p. 567). The way that gender plays out in the daily life in a workplace is understood as not being a static barrier prohibiting women in general, rather, it is considered fluid, relational and may vary depending on the context (Meyerson & Fletcher 2001, Bendl and Schmidt 2010). It is argued that the concept ”fire wall” (Bendl and Schmidt 2010 ), offers a fruitful way to highlight the elasticity and permeability that we believe characterize the forms of discrimination, inclusion and exclusion that takes place in these processes.

References

Acker, J. 1992. Gendering Organisational Theory. In Mills, A. and Tancered, P. (eds.). Gendering Organisational Analysis. London: SAGE.

Acker, J. 2006. Inequality Regimes: Gender, Class, and Race in Organisations. Gender and Society 20(4):441-464.

Balkmar, D. & Lykke, N. 2015. Developing disruptive norm-critical innovation at Volvo: FINAL REPORT. Linköping: Tema Genus Report Series No. 23: 2015.

Bendl, R. & Schmidt. 2012. From 'Glass Ceilings' to 'Firewalls' - Different Metaphors for Describing Discrimination. Gender, Work and Organization. Vol. 17. No 5:612-635.

Meyerson, D. & Fletcher J.K. 2001. A Modest Manifesto for Shattering the Glass Ceiling. Boston: Harvard Business Review.

Evaluating the quality of employment and care policy in relation to gender equality is important given the continuing inequalities between men and women in paid and unpaid work. However, assessment raises dilemmas: quality according to what criteria; quality for whom; and quality of what? It is proposed here that good quality means transformation in gender relations towards an equal distribution of paid and unpaid work, equal pay and de-segregation; that sensitivity to differences between women is required, but not the adoption of different quality standards; and that working towards the goal of transformation demands consideration of several interconnected policy arenas. Assessing quality is difficult; but it is possible - and it is crucial to achieving gender equality.

In this chapter Linda Arnell examines how conceptions and norms regarding families and family patterns influence girls’ lives and the constructions of their subjectivity. Arnell focuses on 18-year-old Amanda’s narrative about her families and her troublesome upbringing. The narrative is understood as a continuous creation in relation to a broader societal narrative that occurs in intra-action with the researcher, and in relation to discursive possibilities and constraints. Through this one narrative the chapter examines how normative ideas about family can be understood as regulatory power structures that are ever-present in a complex and troubled narrative about family, girlhood, and a girl with experience of acting out.