To Örebro University

Serious concerns have been raised in recent years regarding companies’ inability to recognise diverse customer needs during the development of new services and products. This chapter discusses how implicit and often unreflected social norms about technology users and usage can be addressed in technology user analysis. Based on the findings from a two-year research project with a truck company (Trucks4all), a methodology for increasing norm-reflexivity in technology innovation is introduced. The chapter outlines the interactive process and application of the methodology, and discuss the outcomes, limitations and potentials. Founded on feminist new-institutional theory, gender and technology studies and interactive research methodologies, the chapter contributes with insights on the significance of enhancing norm-awareness to deepen the analysis and understanding of user experiences. It is argued that a so-called norm-critical approach in innovation processes of large corporations, apart from generating new knowledge and inspire technology innovations that challenge existing gendered norms, also impact the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The increased interest in entrepreneurial ecosystems often builds on the underlying assumption that entrepreneurs have equal access to resources, participation, and support. However, women are underrepresented in successful entrepreneurial ecosystems and a persistent gender bias continues to exist. This bias is reflected in assumptions about the typical entrepreneur. It is white American men that spring to mind, portrayed as entrepreneurial superheroes, associated with risk- taking and big money. That they are men is often taken for granted; with successful female entrepreneurs seldom elevated in the same way. This illustrates how entrepreneurship is gendered, with implications for resource access and chances of success. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is not a level playing field.

This book gives insights on how to remedy gendered challenges that pose problems not only for individuals but also for the entrepreneurial ecosystem. By analysing ways of making entrepreneurial ecosystems more gender- inclusive, the chapters collectively highlight the impact of gender dynamics on entrepreneurial ecosystems and introduce innovative methods for fostering inclusivity. With examples from around the globe, they emphasise the actors and factors that matter for gender- inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems.

The book is interdisciplinary and will appeal to scholars, upper- level students and policymakers interested in entrepreneurship and gender inclusivity.

The increased interest in entrepreneurial ecosystems often builds on the underlying assumption that entrepreneurs have equal access to resources, participation, and support. However, women are underrepresented in successful entrepreneurial ecosystems and a persistent gender bias continues to exist. This bias is reflected in assumptions about the typical entrepreneur. It is white American men that spring to mind, portrayed as entrepreneurial superheroes, associated with risk- taking and big money. That they are men is often taken for granted; with successful female entrepreneurs seldom elevated in the same way. This illustrates how entrepreneurship is gendered, with implications for resource access and chances of success. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is not a level playing field.

This bbook gives insights on how to remedy gendered challenges that pose problems not only for individuals but also for the entrepreneurial ecosystem. By analysing ways of making entrepreneurial ecosystems more gender- inclusive, the chapters collectively highlight the impact of gender dynamics on entrepreneurial ecosystems and introduce innovative methods for fostering inclusivity. With examples from around the globe, they emphasise the actors and factors that matter for gender- inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems.

The book is interdisciplinary and will appeal to scholars, upper- level students and policymakers interested in entrepreneurship and gender inclusivity.

Purpose: In order to address the gender divide in technology entrepreneurship, we explore how different national contexts impact policies and policy implementation. We investigate how transnational concerns (macro level) about women's low participation in (technology) entrepreneurship are translated and implemented amongst actors at the meso level (technology incubators) and understood at the micro level (women tech entrepreneurs).

Design/methodology/approach: We adopt gender institutionalism as a theoretical lens to understand what happens in the implementation of gender equality goals in technology entrepreneurship policy. We apply Gains and Lowndes' (2014) conceptual framework to investigate the gendered character and effects of institutional formation. Four countries represent different levels of gender equality: high (Norway and Sweden), medium (Ireland) and low (Israel). An initial policy document analysis provides the macro level understanding (Heilbrunn et al., 2020). At the meso level, managers of technology business incubators (n = 3-5) in each country were interviewed. At the micro level, 10 female technology entrepreneurs in each country were interviewed. We use an inductive research approach, combined with thematic analysis.

Findings: Policies differ across the four countries, ranging from women-centred approaches to gender mainstreaming. Macro level policies are interpreted and implemented in different ways amongst actors at the meso level, who tend to act in line with given national policies. Actors at the micro level often understand gender equality in ways that reflect their national policies. However, women in all four countries share similar struggles with work-life balance and gendered expectations in relation to family responsibilities.

Originality/value: The contribution of our paper is to (1) entrepreneurship theory by applying gendered institutionalism theory to (tech) entrepreneurship, and (2) our findings clearly show that the gendered context matters for policy implementation.

In Sweden, the relationship between gender studies and gender equality politics has been highly contested. In this chapter, we argue that there are many benefits for both gender research and gender equality policy development to maintain a close relationship. In the chapter, we discuss an interactive research approach developed when studying how civil servants implement gender mainstreaming. Civil servants often deal with many difficult-to-solve questions or dilemmas when they implement gender equality objectives and strategies. Gender equality objectives are often vague and complex, which leads to discussions they should be translated into particular public domains and organizational settings which impact on the end-results. To gain a better understanding we study how civil servants reason and what dilemmas they face in the implementation. Theoretical and ideological tensions inherent in feminist theory and practice become apparent in gender mainstreaming implementation. The interactive approach developed makes the different dilemmas visible in order also for the civil servants to reflect on future strategies. A central argument is that dilemmas can be problematic if ignored but fruitful if used as starting points for discussions. The chapter draws on a case study of two gender mainstreaming initiatives. Different phases in the interactive approach are discussed.

This article problematises gender-mainstreaming in Swedish policy responses to COVID-19 in relation to economic politics. The aim is to understand how gender mainstreaming was implemented, and with what effects. Little is still known about gender mainstreaming in crisis management and policymaking, and even less is known in relation to pandemic policy responses. To contribute to this field of knowledge, the article therefore analyses the Swedish National Recovery and Resilience Plan, supplemented by interviews with public servants, to understand the factors that impact the implementation of gender mainstream-ing in policymaking in times of societal crises. At a theoretical level, the article draws on feminist institutionalism and implementation studies, the notion of resilience, and insights from critical frame analysis. The data is based on a larger dataset collected as part of the EU-funded RESISTIRe: Responding to Outbreaks through Co-creative Inclusive Equality Strategies project. The results indicate that gender mainstreaming is limited in its rationale and scope in times of crisis and that the integration of a gender equality perspective in crisis management needs to be developed in several important ways.

The aim of RESISTIRÉ is to understand the unequal impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and its policy and societal responses on behavioural, social and economic inequalities and to work towards individual and societal resilience. RESISTIRÉ does so by collecting and analysing policy data, quantitative data and qualitative data in the EU27 (except Malta), Iceland, Serbia, Turkey and the UK, and translating these into insights to be used for designing, devising and piloting solutions for improved policies and social innovations, which in turn can be deployed by policymakers, stakeholders and actors in the field across different policy domains. The project relies on an eleven-partner multidisciplinary and multisectoral European consortium and a well-established network of researchers in 30 countries.

Throughout the course of RESISTIRÉ, research conducted consistently show how already vulnerable and marginalised groups have become even more vulnerable and marginalised; existing inequalities have increased, and new ones have emerged (Axelsson et al. 2021; Cibin et al. 2021, 2022; 2023; Harroche et al. 2023; Sandström et al. 2022; Stovell et al. 2021, 2022). Significantly less overall attention has been paid to practices that may transform inequalities and very little attention has been given to individual agency. The third and final research cycle in RESISTIRÉ therefore looked to the future and shifted focus to individual ‘better stories’ (Georgis 2013; Altınay 2019) and strategic forms of agency (Lister 2004, 2021) of marginalised groups during the pandemic. With an analytical focus on gender+ inequalities, this report addresses the following overall research question: What kind of agency is practiced, or available to practice, by individuals and street-level bureaucrats, with an emphasis on what enables and what hinders strategic agency?

The report is based on two methods of qualitative data collection: narrative interviews with individuals strategically recruited based on their marginalised or vulnerable profile and semi-structured interviews with front-line workers in public authorities, so called ‘street-level bureaucrats’. The material is extensive; all in all, it includes 321 individuals, who generously shared their knowledge and experiences. The semi-structured interviews with street-level bureaucrats (n=24) covers nine European countries and were conducted by consortium partners. The narrative interviews (n=297) were conducted by the consortium partners and a network of 21 national researchers covering the EU27 (except Malta), and Iceland, Serbia, Turkey, and the UK. The interview material was analysed thematically, drawing on Ruth Lister’s (2004, 2021) typology of agency and an intersectional approach to gender which acknowledges the centrality of gender and the mutual shaping of multiple complex inequalities (Walby et al. 2012).

Integrating horizontal perspectives in sectoral policies is an increasingly popular way to address complex, societal problems like climate change and gender inequality. Policy evaluation can contribute to policy integration by shedding light on the coherence between sectoral goals and the mitigation or solution of the problem in question - including possible synergies and/or conflicts. To denote this evaluation modality, we introduce the concept of "integrated evaluation" - i.e. integrating horizontal perspectives in evaluations of sectoral policies. A Swedish case study helps identify salient factors affecting the implementation of this type of evaluation. We find that the prospect for integrated evaluation is significantly affected by the perceived inappropriateness in asking independent evaluators to contribute to political agendas, the lack of requisite knowledge to produce credible integrated evaluations, and a disinterest in the integrated perspective among policymakers. In light of our case study, we discuss the outlook for this kind of evaluation and provide ideas on how to support its future implementation.