Active Work for Gender Equality - A Challenge for Municipalities and County Councils

7/30/2019 Active Work for Gender Equality - A Challenge for Municipalities and County Councils

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Active work for Gender Equality

a challenge for municipalitiesand county councils

A swedish perspective


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Aout this ooklet and the authors:

This booklet is written by Goldina Smirthwaite. It is based upona survey o knowledge Gender Equality Work a challenge ormunicipalities and county councils written by Anna Jutterdal,published by SALAR in September 2008. The project leaderor the production o the booklet has been Helena Spets.

Goldina Smirthwaite has an M.Sc in Theory o Science andspecialises in gender studies.

Anna Jutterdal has an M.Sc in Sociology and specialises ingender studies.

Helena Spets has a PhD in Medical Science, specialises ingender studies and works as gender expert at SALAR.

Aout SALAR:

The Swedish Association o Local Authorities and Regions(SALAR) represents the governmental, proessional and em-ployer related interests o Swedens 290 local municipali-ties, 18 county councils and two regions. SALAR strives topromote and strengthen local government and to create thebest possible conditions or the work o its members. Oneaim is to contribute to gender equality in society and give

service on equal conditions to women and men as inhabitantsin municipalities and as patients in the health care systemadministered by the county councils and regions.

The Swedish Association o Local Authorities and Regions islocated in central Stockholm at Hornsgatan 20.

For more inormation on the Swedish Association o LocalAuthorities and Regions please visit www.salar.eu orwww.skl.se


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Foreword

The goal o Swedish gender equality policy is or women and men to have

the same power to shape society and inuence their own lives. Throughtheir government, activities and services municipalities and county councilsare key players or the achievement o this goal.

The current inequality is a serious societal problem. Gender main-streaming is a political strategy to achieve gender equality by integrating thegender equality perspective in all areas o activity and at all levels o society.Since gender equality and inequality is created where ordinary decisionsare made and implemented, the gender equality perspective must be part othe everyday work o politicians, managers and co-workers.

Over the past ten years, the members o the Swedish Association o

Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) have implemented a lot o genderequality initiatives. To spread knowledge obtained rom these initiativesSALAR took the initiative to produce the survey o knowledge GenderEquality Work a challenge for municipalities and county councils. The sur-vey reviews the experiences obtained rom initiatives in activities whichcitizens, inhabitants and patients come into contact with. It also highlightsresearch on gender equality work and draws conclusions rom the genderequality projects evaluated. The surveyis intended to shed light on the strat-egies and methods o work that lead to success in gender equality work andproduce sustainable results. It is intended to serve as a knowledge bank and a

source or reection that can inspire and guide urther work.The booklet you are now reading is a condensed version that has beenupdated and adapted or European conditions.


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Active work or Gender Equality a challenge or municipalities and county councils

Making everyday lie equal a challenge or municipalities and county councils

It is in everyday lie that gender equality is created or inequality sustained.The Swedish municipalities and county councils meet inhabitants in every-day lie at all stages o lie, rom neonatal care to care o the elderly.

We go to pre-school or school, we borrow books at the library, we all ill,we use public transport we come into contact with the services o munici-palities and county councils in all these areas and many more. Municipali-ties and county councils thereore have a key role when it comes to makinggender equality policy a reality. The politicians and ocials o these organi-sations bear an important responsibility and play a crucial part in whetherthe gender equality goals are implemented.

The overarching goal or Swedens national gender equality policy is thatwomen and men should have the same power to shape society and inuencetheir own lives.

There are our sub-goals:

Even distribution o power and infuence. Women and men shallhave the same right and ability to be active citizens and to shape theconditions or decision-making.

Economic gender equality. Women and men shall have the sameopportunities and conditions in education and paid work which pro-

vides economic independence throughout lie. Even distribution o unpaid housework and care work. Women

and men shall take the same responsibility or housework and beable to give and receive care on equal terms.

Mens violence against women shall cease. Women and men, girlsand boys, shall have the same right and ability to bodily integrity.

The important role played by municipalities and regions is also emphasisedin the common European work or gender equality. CEMR stands or The

Council o European Municipalities and Regions. CEMRs members consisto associations o municipal authorities and regional associations rom overthirty European countries. They have together drawn up and support theEuropean Charter or Equality o Women and Men in Local Lie. In Sweden,the Swedish Association o Local Authorities and Regions supports thecharter and has urged its members to sign it and act accordingly with it.


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The charter establishes, inter alia, that equality o women and men con-stitutes a undamental right or all and an essential value or every democ-racy. It is also established that this right needs not only to be legally recog-nised but to be eectively applied to all aspects o lie: political, economic,

social and cultural.

Despite numerous instances o ormal recognition and progress made,equality o women and men in daily lie is still not a reality. Womenand men do not enjoy the same rights in practice. Social, political, eco-nomic and cultural inequalities persist, or example, salary disparitiesand political under-representation. These inequalities are the results osocial constructs built upon numerous stereotypes present in the am-ily, education, culture, the media, the world o work, the organisation osociety....() As the spheres o governance closest to the people, local

and regional authorities represent the levels best placed to combat thepersistence and the reproduction o inequalities, and to promote a trulyegalitarian society.

European Charter or Equality o Women and Men in Local Lie 1

What is gender equality ?

Gender equality means that women and men have the same rights, op-portunities and obligations.

Gender equality can mean that women and men

have the same opportunities or earning a living and or sel-deve-lopment and responsibility in working lie

have the same inuence in democratic and political processes

have the same wages or the same or equivalent work

have the same opportunities or good health and good quality care

obtain equivalent care and service in care o the elderly

are able to dare to go out in the evenings as easily are treated and assessed on equal terms by the social services, reu-

gee reception and in rehabilitation when on sick leave

are able to choose and engage in leisure activities on equal terms

can develop as individuals without restrictive gender norms

Gender equality can also mean that gender shall not aect the risk obeing exposed to violence at home.


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In brie, society must change in all areas and at every level to make genderequality possible.

Gender equality and powerWhen we talk about gender equality, it oten seems as i everyone is inagreement on what is meant. However, in act gender equality can be inter-preted in a number o dierent ways and mean dierent things. 2 A crucialactor or gender equality work is whether we perceive gender inequality asa question o power.

Women, like men, live in world that is structured by gender. So even i

gender identity is a social and cultural construction, it is in no way aacade. Women and men are experienced categories. I dont mean thatthey are experienced in the same way. Being perceived as a gender andpointed out as a group is considerably more common or women thanor men in public lie. Womens demands to be present in democraticinstitutions is regarded as a gender interest, while mens establishedpresence in the same institutions is seldom considered to have to dowith gender. To put it more incisively, it could be said that the absentwomen are gender, the men who are present citizens. 3

Maud Eduards, 2002

The overarching goal or Swedens national gender equality policy is orwomen and men to have the same power to shape society and inuencetheir own lives. The concept o power is accordingly central and recurs, orexample, in the sub-goal, equal distribution o power and inuence. Despiteresearch and national goals, it is, however, ar rom always the case that gen-der equality is perceived as a question o power.

One example is when gender inequality is perceived as something naturalaccording to dierences between the sexes, and not something that is cre-ated in society by one group having more power than the other. 4

Another example is that gender equality is regarded as a complementrather than a matter o justice. I there are ew women at a workplace or ona board, it is primarily regarded as a defciency o the organisation, and notprimarily as a defciency in justice, democracy or womens opportunities toexert inuence. The defciency or the organisation is considered to consisto the organisation not being able to have access to womens (in relation to


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men) complementary characteristics. 5 Women may participate but on condi-tion that they are dierent, i.e. that they dier rom men.

A major challenge or gender equality work is the view that ones own or-ganisation already has gender equality. It is then not necessary to have special

activity relating to gender equality.6 However, it oten proves to be the casethat, when an organisation is examined rom a gender equality perspective,there are gender inequalities on a number o points.

A common view is that gender equality is a womens issue, where womenalone own the problem. Women are considered, or example, to lack qualifca-tions or to have problems in combining working lie and a amily and chil-dren. However, making gender equality solely into a womans issue disregardsthe role o men. Projects that aim at changing girls or women are relativelycommon. It is all the more dicult to talk about men having to change inorder to achieve gender equality.7

Gender equality can be regarded as a natural development issue takingplace over time. The development that has taken place to date in the sphereo gender equality is considered to have taken place naturally by itsel. Thenext generation and the one ollowing that will solve the problem o genderequality so that it will be even better.8 This disregards the intensive struggleby the womens movement, which has led to the successes achieved orexample, the right to vote, the right to education and a lot o other ormalrights. This also displays a lack o knowledge o the mechanisms that resultin gender equality work oten encountering resistance.

Views such as the above are examples o approaches that do not have a

power perspective on the issue o gender equality. Speaking about powerand about interest conicts between groups o women and men can makeconicts visible and is something that is thereore avoided in some areas ogender equality work. The political scientist Malin Rnnblom shows thatviews o gender equality and how work or gender equality is to be conduct-ed can be restricted to notbeing about power relationships between womenand men [] gender equality is associated with cooperation and consensusas ar as possible, not with political conicts o interest between women andmen as groups in society. 9

Perceiving gender equality as a power imbalance between women and menis more common in politics than within work organisations, according to organ-isational researcher Pia Hk.10 It may be taboo to speak about gender equalityin terms o power in organisations since this approach indicates that men mustgive up privileges and power or women to be able to have more power.


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Gender mainstreaming

Gender mainstreaming or sustainable gender equalityGender mainstreaming is a strategy that aims to carry out system-changinggender equality work, and is described in the ollowing way by Eva Witt-bom, Ph.D:

This strategy is about always having a gender policy perspective onspecifc policy issues, to analyse power relationships between women andmen with a view to carrying out measures in such a way that there is equalopportunity regardless o sex. Gender mainstreaming aims at systemicchanges that dier rom the strategies or gender equality initiatives which

try to bring out changes by giving women a presence and a vote in existingsystems. 11

Gender mainstreaming does not say anything per se about the concretechanges that should be made in an activity to achieve sustainable genderequality, but is rather about making decisions that the entire operation at alllevels should be carried out in such a way as to create gender equality. Aterthe decision has been made, the strategy should be flled with dierentmethods and measures that are adapted according to the intention o thechange that is to be achieved and what the actual situation is like.

Short background

At the end o the 1980s, informal barriers to gender equality started to benoticed and discussed on a larger scale. Work had then been carried out,in Sweden among other places, on the basis o a gender perspective, and anumber o changes had been won or ormal gender equality. 12 However,despite the act that gender equality had now been achieved in society inormal terms, gender inequality still persisted in practice. The inormalbarriers that one started to ocus on at the end o the 1980s are barriers that

are not primarily due to laws and rules but are more related to gender normsand conicts o interest between the sexes, which are dicult to regulate orremove by legislation. 13 Eventually, gender mainstreaming was developed inorder to tackle gender inequality due to inormal barriers.

Since 1994, gender mainstreaming has been the strategy advocated bythe Swedish government to realise the gender equality policy goals.


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Gender mainstreaming may be regarded as a an attempt to counteractthe informal barriers or gender equality through workplaces, the Govern-ment Oces, authorities, regions and municipalities that work with gendermainstreaming always applying a gender equality perspective throughout

their work. This strategy shall lead to gender equality work not being pur-sued in individual project alongside or in addition to ordinary work. It isusually said that gender mainstreaming means that gender equality issuesshould be in the main stream o an organisation.

Defnitions o gender mainstreaming

The Swedish Government on gender mainstreaming;

In Sweden, gender mainstreaming is the main strategy used to achievethe gender equality policy objectives. [] Gender mainstreaming asa strategy has been developed in order to counteract the tendency orgender equality issues to be overlooked or be assigned an ancillary po-sition compared to other political issues and activities.

(The Government, Ministry o Integration and Gender Equality).

The government uses the Council o Europes defnition o gender main-streaming:14

The (re)organisation, improvement, development and evaluation opolicy processes, so that a gender equality perspective is incorporatedin all policies at all levels and at all stages, by the actors normally in-volved in policy-making.

(The Government, Ministry o Enterprise, Energy and Communications, 2004).


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Swedish Association o Local Authorities and Regions:

Gender mainstreaming is a political strategy to incorporate a genderequality perspective in all spheres o activity and at all levels o society.

This means that gender equality work has obtained a broader perspec-tive since a gender perspective is to be a natural component o all workin an organisation. Gender mainstreaming is a strategy, a way o workingto achieve the gender equality goals set. This means that:

Dierent terms and conditions or women and men should be made visible.

Every issue which concerns individuals shall be considered rom a genderequality perspective. The consequences o how changes could impact on

women and men shall be analysed.(Swedish Association o Local Authorities and Regions)

In a number o areas gender mainstreaming can be said to have integratedgender equality issues in ordinary goal documents and activities both withinSweden and in international contexts. In the UN Declaration on HumanRights mens violence against women has been included as a human rightsissue. An example rom the EU is that Member States, as o membership,have been compelled to change laws in such a way as to prohibit women

being discriminated against on the labour market.

The 3R method

A method oten used by the members o the Swedish Association o Lo-cal Authorities and Regions when working with the gender mainstreamingstrategy is the 3R method. This is initiated by quantitative surveys ollowedup by qualitative analyses. The goal o the 3R method is to integrate gen-der equality in dierent activities. The three Rs stand or representation,resources and reality. The 3R method makes it possible in a very concreteway to discuss how the gender equality perspective can be integrated intoa particular service or activity instead o talking about gender equality ingeneral terms. The idea o the 3R method is to fnd out whether there isgender inequality in ones own activity and, i so, which orms this genderinequality takes. I it proves that there is gender inequality in the entire


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activity or some component o it, the possible causes are analysed. Assist-ance is obtained rom research-based theories on gender and gender equal-ity. The 3R method must thus be combined with knowledge in these felds.When the analysis has been completed, action plans are prepared to reduce

gender equality.The 3R method was developed during the 1990s by the then SwedishAssociation o Local Authorities and Gertrud strm, and has subsequentlybeen urther developed by the Swedish Association o Local Authorities andRegions together with its member organisations. 15 It has been applied in anumber o dierent felds, such as education, community planning, socialservices, culture and leisure.

Keys to gender equality

Knowledge and reection about gender inequality and equality!

Discover gender inequality in ones own activity and organisation andat the workplace.

Realise ones own role in maintaining and recreating unequal powerstructures between women and men. How are you aected?How do you act towards others?

Realise ones own potential to carry out changes in ones own areao responsibility!

Act!

This applies to managers, politicians and co-workers!

Keys to gender equality have been obtained in its entirety rom theSwedish Association o Local Authorities and Regions compendiumHlsa, Arbete och Kn, 2007, [Health, Work and Gender].


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Active work or Gender Equality a challenge or municipalities and county councils10

Gender equality work challenges and resistance

All change creates resistance. The greater the change, the stronger the

resistance.Syvonne Nordstrm et al., 2006

To start with, we would like to point out two pitalls or gender equalitywork: gender equality work is regarded as a voluntary occupation and genderequality work is pursued in projects whose results are not integrated intothe ordinary work.

Voluntary occupationGender equality work may be regarded as something that takes place on avoluntary basis. Those who want to and have a special interest shall carry outthis work instead o it being carried out in the way which work is normallyperormed in the organisation. According to researcher Malin Rnnblom,this approach is based on a concept that gender equality work should takeplace naturally, not through active measures. The pace o gender equalitywork should not be orced but it should develop at its own speed. 16 Inthis case the interest conicts, which usually become visible when power

and resource are to be redistributed, are disregarded.

One also disregards thereluctance that can be aroused when habitual gender norms are threatened,which can lead to various orms o resistance.

When this approach to gender equality work predominates, no system-changing work will be undertaken. To succeed in system-changing genderequality work, it is usually required that co-workers are given a clear direc-tive by the management and politicians.

Gender equality work can also be imbued by it not being permitted toincur additional costs.17 However, i the management expect that genderequality work is to take place on a voluntary basis and must not cost any-

thing in terms o skills development or time, they are at the same time say-ing that this work is unimportant. And, o course, it is dicult to carry outsystem-changing work under these premises.


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A side project

Gender equality work oten takes place in project orm. Projects can be good,or example, to test a method in an activity or to initiate gender equality

work. Long-term gender equality work aiming or sustainable gender equalitymay also include a number o dierent initiatives carried out in project ormand which are part o the long-term process o change. However, unortu-nately, research and analyses o a number o gender equality projects showthat there is a risk that experience and knowledge rom various initiativeswill not be incorporated in ordinary activities. Instead, the results risk beingorgotten about when the projects are concluded. 18 Projects where it has notbeen made clear rom the beginning how good experiences rom the project areto be incorporated in ordinary activities seldom lead to system-changing work.

Resistance

Working or gender equality is oten a challenge, and resistance can beanticipated. 19 All those who have led or been involved in making changesknow that changes oten lead to questions, anxiety and ear. This is also thecase with change or gender equality.

When changes or gender equality are to be implemented, it may bebenefcial to think about the eelings and thoughts that these changes canarouse among co-workers, inhabitants or patients. A ruitul approach orthose who are leading eorts to make changes is to assume that most peopleact in the way they do because they believe it is the best way to act theintention is seldom deliberate discrimination. Those leading the changeneed knowledge to be able to identiy challenges and resistance that changemay encounter, in order to be able to deal with the challenges that arise in apatient and long-term way.

Politicians, managers and sta in municipalities, county coun-

cils and regions work hard to do their best or the activity. It may then

eel tough and unpleasant to come to a gender equality course and real-ise that one has made mistakes, that one has created gender inequality.However, the norms and working methods that exist today have beencreated in an unequal society, and i we behave in the same way as untilnow, gender inequality will be maintained. It is tough to realise that Icreate inequality exactly by doing what I believe to be correct.

Helena Spets, gender expert,Swedish Association o Local Authorities and Regions


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Active work or Gender Equality a challenge or municipalities and county councils 1

The process of change has different stages

One way o understanding challenges and resistance that may be aroused bygender equality work is to study theories o what happens during a process

o change. Leading work or increased gender equality requires knowledgeabout the work o making changes and change processes. 20 Studies showthat the managements willingness to change is crucially important or theprocess o change, not least with regard to gender equality issues. 21

All o those who have been involved in reorganisation and majorchanges know that these can be dicult and challenging processes both ormanagers and sta.

One way o understanding change processes is to apply the model TheFour Rooms o Change. The Four Rooms o Change divide a process ochange into our dierent stages as outlined below.22

Satisaction

People at the workplace are contented with things as they are. Businessgoes on as usual. There is no wish or change.

Censure/denial

One would like there not to be any problems and pretends that theproblems dont exist.

Conusion/confict

Arises when we can no longer shut our eyes to problems. Questions areasked as to why things have become like they are and how to solve theproblems.

Inspiration/renewal

In this phase, proposals or solutions are put orward and there is abelie that change is possible.


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This is a very simplifed and brie illustration o The Four Rooms o Change.The our rooms Satisaction, Censure, Conusion and Inspiration illustratedierent stages o the process o change. This process takes a long time andthe role o management in the process is strongly emphasised by researchers

Minna Gillberg and Eva Amundsdotter.23In order to understand what can be interpreted as challenges or resist-ance in the process o change, the room Censure/Denial is important. 24 Inthe case o gender equality work, questions relating to gender and inequal-ity oten give rise to strong eelings, or example, because we believe thatwe are already equal. It is not unusual to believe that one treats women andmen equally or that emale and male inhabitants are given the same resourc-es. When a process o change or increased gender equality is initiated, it iscommon that we do not want to see gender inequality. We want to continueto believe that we work in an equal way and treat our inhabitants or patients

equally with equal use o resources. We censure acts, new inormation andperhaps even our own actions and the unequal structures o the workplace.In a censure phase, the role o the management, as mentioned above, is

invaluable, just as in all other change processes. When the change has beeninitiated and resistance becomes visible, politicians and managers must thenstick by their decisions and continue to develop the work and be clear intheir communications with co-workers about the assignment or the changeprocess.

Different forms of resistance

At the same time as the process o change or gender equality will encountersimilar challenges and opposition as all other change processes, there arechallenges in gender equality work that do not always exist in other typeso change processes. This is due to real gender equality work oten beingabout redistributing resources and power and oten leading to our identitiesas women and men being called into question. Reports rom gender equal-ity initiatives show that the support and actions o the management arevery important or change processes to be successul. This is shown not leastby reports that the action o the management is very important when the

change process encounters challenges and resistance.To be able to counteract and deal with resistance, the frst step is to iden-

tiy the resistance. The ollowing section describes some orms o challengesand resistance that gender equality work may encounter.


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I you who are working with gender equality have not encountered re-sistance, then you are nowhere near changing things - then its time toput your oot down and accelerate even more!

Anna-Klara Bratt, presentation o the method and the book

Knsbalans [Gender Balance] at the conerence NTG GenderEquality ARGUS, in Stockholm 21 October 2007

Redistribution of power and resources

Inequality is based on uneven power between women and men, which inturn, among other actors, depends on stereotype norms and valuations owomen and emininity and men and masculinity respectively. In general,men as a group have a higher status and value than women as a group. We

oten take the dierences that exist between womens and mens lie experi-ences or granted. These dierences are shown at the level o the individual,at workplaces and at the level o society. At the level o society, it is appar-ent, or example, that women generally have a lower wage than men andthat more men than women are managers and sit on boards that have agreater impact on the community and entrepreneurship.

A process o change may, or example, aim at a more air distribution ofnancial resources between the sexes or that women and men shall have thesame power. This means that resources have to be redistributed. Most otenit means that men must give up resources and women receive more. Giving up

resources, privileges and power is dicult. The greatest resistance in a changeprocess or increased gender equality is perhaps thereore the reactions thatmay be expressed when resources and power are to be redistributed.25

Reconsidering our view of the sexes

We seem to be so accustomed to the gender order that we live in that wehave diculties in seeing gender inequality. Gender equality work otenencounters challenges thereore both at an individual level and in our pro-essions. Gender equality work is not just about changing superfcial habits,but sometimes also about reconsidering what it means to be a man or awoman reconsidering a central part o our own identity. When thingsthat we have previously regarded as being natural or women or menare called into question and reconsidered, both women and men may eelcriticised and threatened.


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Active and passive resistance

The research o political scientist Ingrid Pincus on gender equality projectspoints out two common orms o opposition: passive and active opposition. The

most common orm o passive opposition is silence. Gender equality issues maynever be placed on the agenda and accordingly never come into question. 26

Another orm o passive resistance is calledpseudo-actions, where theissue o gender equality is taken up on the agenda but is not provided withthe prerequisites to become a reality. [...] a plan can be drawn up, a genderequality committee set up, a gender equality ombud appointed without thisleading to either legitimacy or action. 27

In organisations where gender equality issues are on the agenda andgender equality work has started, it may encounter active resistance. Activeresistance is oten preceded by passive resistance. The more the pressure

grows to work with gender equality issues, the more active the resistancewill become. One orm o active resistance is to argue against. Counter argu-ments can be raised when, or example, real decisions on gender equality areto be made. Counter arguments can, or instance, take the orm o statingthat there are other more important issues that must be given priority andthat gender equality work is not compatible with these important issues. 28

Another orm o active resistance is to undermine gender equality work.Gender equality measures can, or example, be undermined by withdrawingposts or resources, or employing people without gender equality expertise. 29

A urther orm o undermining is targeted on the people who work with

gender equality issues in the organisation. Resistance ocused on peopletakes place when individuals in managerial positions undermine the author-ity o gender equality work in dierent ways. This may involve both thecalling into question o the knowledge o the person working with genderequality and their personality. 30

As a gender equality worker, it is important to be aware that resistanceocused on ones person is actually more closely related to the issues one isworking with rather than ones personality even i the resistance otentakes the orm o a persons personality being called into question!

Identiying and overcoming opposition is a challenge or all organisa-

tions that want to work or sustainable gender equality.


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Practical gender equality work some examples

Citizens and inhabitants encounter the activities carried out by the memberorganisations o the Swedish Association o Local Authorities and Regionsat all stages o lie, rom neonatal care to care o the elderly. Many memberorganisations work actively to promote equality in their services. Someexamples are presented below o dierent gender equality work associatedwith member organisations. To start with, we give examples o surveys ogender inequality. There is subsequently a section on work or womenssecurity and saety. This is ollowed by a section on gender equality work inschools and pre-schools. Ater that ollows some examples o how a mu-nicipality used gender equality training and surveys as part o its gendermainstreaming. Ater that there is an example on courses or managers andpoliticians, and fnally there is a short presentation o Programme or Sus-tainable Gender Equality.

Detecting ones own gender inequality

A frst stage o gender equality work is oten to detect inequality throughsurveys and gender analysis. This includes the 3R method that we describedabove. At the same time as surveys can be a necessary component to create

an up-to-date picture o the situation, it is important that gender equalitywork does not cease ater the survey stage but continues with measures tochange the inequality detected. In this section, we provide three exampleso areas that have been surveyed and analysed rom a gender equality per-spective, and where in two o the cases one has come as ar as to documentmeasures against the gender inequality detected.

More important to alleviate mens pain?

One example o how a particular service area detected gender inequalityand introduced new routines is ambulance health care in Gothenburg. Withthe aid o sex-disaggregated statistics, the group hip racture patients wasinvestigated, what the group consists o, how they were treated by the emer-gency call service and how they were treated by the ambulance service. 31The survey showed that 75 per cent o the hip racture patients were womenwith an average age o 85. These women were given lower priority than


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men by the emergency call service and men were given more pain relie byambulance nurses. This survey led to a number o changes and new methodso work which also saved patients rom long waiting times.

More home help services for men

Is it easier or male recipients o care to have ood delivered to their homethan or women? And is it easier or men to be granted home help services?This was at any rate the case in the municipality o Ovanker, which inves-tigated this matter.32 Among other things, the survey showed that men weregranted ood delivery to a greater extent than women and that women expe-rienced more anxiety than men. Men received several hours more o homehelp services than women despite the same care needs.

This survey gave the social services administration more questions than

answers. How did it come about that more men received ood deliveries?How did it come about that men receive more hours o home help servicesthan women despite the same need or care? And that men say that they donot eel as much anxiety can this be related to gender norms where anxi-ety is regarded as unmanly?

More generous grants to associations for men

In a training initiative in the 3R method at the end o the 1990s, LundbyNeighbourhood Council in Gothenburg enquired about the extent to which

grants to associations benefted women and men respectively. The asso-ciations which received grants were asked in a questionnaire to state thedistribution o sexes among their members, leaders/employees, participantsand on their boards.

This survey showed among other things that associations with mostlymale participants received more generous grants than associations withmainly women participants.33 In the light o the survey fndings, applicationorms or grants to associations were redesigned where applicant associa-tions shall state the number o members, leaders/employees, participantsand boards broken down by men and women.

Work or womens security and saety

The UN has established that mens violence against women is a violationo womens rights and undamental reedoms.34 Both the UN and the EU


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consider that the cause o mens violence against women is an unequaldistribution o power between women and men.35 In Sweden as well, it isconsidered that mens violence against women must be understood in thecontext o a gender power arrangement. 36 One o the sub-goals or Swedish

gender equality policy is that mens violence should cease.The National Board o Health and Welare estimates the costs to societyo mens violence against women in Sweden to be between SEK 2,6953,300million per year.37 Not least the county councils, which administer healthcare, and the municipalities are aected by costs or mens violence againstwomen.

Many women are araid to move around alone out o doors, especiallywhen its dark.38 Women, in particular, are araid o being raped by a man.Mens violence against women is started to attract greater attention as apublic health problem and as a gender equality issue. Mens violence against

women restricts everyday lie or women, i not in other words by orcingwomen to take a position to this threat o violence.39

In the ollowing section, proessor o psychology Mona Eliasson showshow the threat o violence aects womens everyday situation:

The threat o violence is a phenomenon that women must devote atten-tion to in their everyday lie, regardless o whether they live togetherwith violent men or not. This threat dictates whether they should waitalone at a bus stop late in the evening, whether they should go aloneto a male acquaintance or a cup o coee, how they should relate to

certain male colleagues at work and whether they open the door tounexpected visits. Violence is a very important part o womens realitywhich no one can shut their eyes to any more.40

Mona Eliasson, 1997

Among other things, the National Institute o Public Health have drawn at-tention to women reraining rom using green areas or exercise because oear o being exposed to male violence.41

Through their services, county councils and municipalities meet women

who have been exposed to violence, and have a great responsibility to givethem adequate treatment, care and service. However, there are surveyswhich show that women exposed to violence are treated dierently andreceive diering inormation depending on where in Sweden they live, andthat ar rom all municipalities and county councils have adequate help togive. Treatment o women subjected to violence varies throughout Sweden.42


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There are also positive examples where dierent services work, orexample, to reduce womens ear or where work against violence againstwomen is developed actively. In this section, we will present some projectsassociated with womens ear and work with women subjected to violence

and men who use violence. And fnally we present a project about men andmasculinity. But frst a more principled discussion about preventive work.

Prevent fear or prevent the actual violence?

Mens violence against women thus aects lie or women and is to be re-garded as an important gender equality issue. In this light, one may wonderwhat is most important to prevent womens ear or mens violence assuch? In the work o creating security in the urban environment, discus-sions take place, or example, on how parks should be lit to reduce womens

ear. Preventive work targeted on mens behaviour in relation to violenceagainst women is discussed to a ar less extent. Work or increased securityto counteract womens ear thus risks stigmatising women as araid.43 In thisway, the power relationship between the sexes is made invisible.

Most consider that womens ear is about ear o rape, but althoughthe act (rape as a phenomenon) is oten discussed, questions are moreseldom asked about the socially created manhood which leads to theseassaults: the problem o the rapist is discussed to a ar less extent thanwomens ear.

(Carina Listerborn, 2002, p 252)

Fear limits reedom o movement not least or women. However, in parallelwith the work to reduce womens ear, or example through design o thepublic space, it is thus important to also ocus on working with mens valuesand behaviour and in this way to reduce mens violence towards women. Inthis way, one can reduce the risk or women o being exposed to violenceand thus reduce the real risk that is ultimately the basis or womens ear.

The design of a multi-story car park a gender equality issue

This example shows how design o public places can reduce womens earand also in other aspects be a part o a gender equality work. The boardo a municipal parking company in Ume decided to use the 3R method


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to investigate how visitors perceived the multi-storey car park Nanna.The car park had had problems with low capacity use and it was desired toincrease take-up to improve fnances. The survey o the frst R, representa-tion, showed that most o the people who used the car park were men. This

meant in turn that R2, resources, primarily benefted men. But why did soew women park in the multi-storey car park?Ocials and politicians went on a round trip in the house where they

assumed various roles with regard to sex, age and also disability. One personwas a mother o two children with a ood bag in either hand, another arrivedat the car park with an elderly ather who couldnt move around without awalking rame with wheels. A third was a young woman in her twenties.

How did these fctitious people perceive the multi-storey car park? Itwas noted that the lit only served every other oor and that it was notproperly marked with signs. Those who parked on the wrong oor had to

use the stairs or access the lit via the car ramp. But what its like to walk upa sloping car ramp with two children i you have a bag o ood in each hand?A saety problem arose here since the children could run out into the tracand get run over. Neither was it easy to get up via the ramp i one pushedsomeone in a walking rame with wheels.

These are two situations with a bearing on gender equality. It is otenwomen who look ater children and elderly relatives. However, the multi-storey car park was built on the basis o a more male standard, according towhich one did not, or example, have to keep a check on ood bags and smallchildren at the same time as walking up a sloping ramp.

Furthermore, the multi-storey park was experienced as unpleasant. Thewalls o the stairwell were all made o concrete producing a claustrophobiceeling. For women, it was easy to imagine that i one was attacked by a rap-ist that one would neither be able to ee nor be visible rom outside.

As a result o this survey, the multi-storey car park was reurbished. Forexample, signs were set up or the lits so that it could clearly be seen whichoors the lits were on and more easily avoid having to walk along the ramps.Grati was removed and the car park repainted and the lighting was im-proved. The stairwell was reurbished two o the three concrete walls werereplaced by glass walls. Ater a short period, the investments paid o since

more women, but also more men, started to use the multi-storey car park.44

Development of work for womens freedom from molestation

In the early 2000s, the social services in Rinkeby Kista started a develop-ment work or womens reedom rom molestation. Ater a number o


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lessons and reorganisations, this work led to a special unit or housing andwomens reedom rom molestation being set up as well as cooperationbetween several dierent units being developed. This service works withseveral target groups: women and children who need to be protected against

violence and with violent men in order to get them to cease their conduct.I the Childrens Unit has a case with a ather involved, cooperation nowtakes place between the Childrens Unit and the Unit or Womens Freedomrom Molestation including sta who work with the men.

I the Unit or Womens Freedom rom Molestation knows that theather in one o the Childrens Units cases subjects the children and/or themother to violence, he is urged to attend a number o talk sessions with thesta at the Unit or Womens Freedom rom Molestation who work withviolent men. These talk sessions are based on the man being responsible orthe violence. Through this cooperation, the Childrens Unit will become

better at providing support both to children who have been exposed toviolence and to children who have witnessed that their mother has beenexposed to violence. Awareness o mens violence has increased in a numbero units at the social services.

Today, outpatient initiatives have been developed or women who areaddicted to drugs and/or alcohol and are exposed to violence

During the project the Unit or Womens Freedom rom Molestationhave started to initiate reports. One eect o that is that the Family Courtcan see whether a man in the case in question has also been a case or thesocial services. This has led to the Family Court contacting the Unit or

Womens Freedom rom Molestation to obtain reerence material on thecase. Due to mens violence being visible or the Family Court as well, thereare now more women who are granted sole custody o children.45

Unique project for boys

Its not so uncommon or women and girls to hear that they should changebut projects that aim to change boys or men are all the more inrequent.However, this is what the Womens Freedom rom Molestation project inUme did. From 2002 to 2004, the project Normal or? took place where teen-

age boys discussed masculinity, sexism and homophobia.46 One importantaim was also to discuss and change boys way o shaping themselves and oth-ers as men.

The project also included training boys group leaders who would thenhold group meetings themselves and producing guidance material or leaderso boys groups. The project was evaluated by the researcher Malin Rnnblom,


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who drew attention to the uniqueness o the project. She describes theproject as one o the ew perhaps the only project that works consist-ently with issues relating to men rom a eminist perspective, where gen-der and sexuality are included the whole time as power dimensions in the

work.47The project may be regarded as a gender equality project in the sensethat they intended to discuss the roles o boys and men rom a eministperspective and aimed at changing boys in the direction o increased genderequality. The project is also interesting because eminist theory is combinedwith research on masculinity as a basis or work with groups o boys, whichis uncommon.

Rnnblom considers that some actors or the success o the projectwere that research and practice met, that the project had a clear powerperspective and that the intention was to provide boys with space to discuss

how they create themselves and others as boys and men.48The evaluation thus points out that the project did something uniquewhen they discussed boys and change. In activities with groups o girls, it iscommon to talk about girls having to change. When speaking with groupso girls, it is wholly legitimate to talk about girls having to change to bemade stronger and to take more space. This change is linked to the girlsthemselves writes Rnnblom, who considers that it is ar more dicult tospeak about boys/men having to change: It is incredibly dicult in thediscourse that is predominant in Sweden with regard to matters relatingto womens and mens positions, to take up questions relating to men and

change. In other words, it is dicult to create space or saying that boyshave to change.49

Gender equality work at pre-school and in school

In Sweden, the work o the pre-school and school is governed by the cur-ricula, which clearly describe how they should work or increased genderequality. Since the 1960s, ormulations about gender equality have beenincluded in the steering documents or schools. There are many examples o

schools and pre-schools that work actively with gender equality and genderissues. We will give three examples here.


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Compensatory pedagogy

Mariaskolan in Stockholm, a compulsory school with children aged betweenaround 6 and 16, has worked with gender issues or a number o years. In

2003, the headteacher took the initiative to start to work actively with gen-der and gender equality issues in the schools activitiesThe frst step was or the co-workers to develop their knowledge about

gender-related issues. They should then attempt to translate their theoreti-cal knowledge into action in interaction with the pupils. The goal was tochange the schools practice in a more gender aware and gender equal direc-tion.

The school also employed a gender pedagogue hal time whose taskincluded training and providing guidance or co-workers, being responsibleor development o work with gender education as well as to hold gender

lessons or pupils in all classes at the school.At the same time, one o the schools teachers was trained as a genderpedagogue. The headteacher and the two gender pedagogues then acted todrive orward the work o gender education and served as motors in thegender education work.

As part o the gender work, a work team made a survey o pupil groupsat the pre-school. This survey showed that there were traditional genderpatterns and extroverted boys who took space and girls who were silent andshy. At the same time, the survey showed that there was also a group o ex-troverted girls who made their presence elt and a group o more timid boys.

At the same time, the work team contacted the gender pedagogue andasked or help with methods to develop gender equality work in the classes.The gender pedagogue introduced compensatory pedagogy to the work teamand inormed about a number o method books which the work team read.Together with the gender pedagogue, the work team divided the pupils intosix groups which were internally called quiet girls, quiet boys, intermediategroup boys, intermediate group girls, extroverted girls and extroverted boys.

The work team worked with the children in groups once a week duringan hours lie studies lesson. The goal o this compensatory work was thatpupils would be strengthened in the skills they were weak in. For instance,

the teachers had pupils in the quiet girls group try standing on a stage tosay something to the others. They worked at a calm pace and did not putpressure on the pupils. It was seen that children could relax in this groupand most o them made rapid progress.The work was evaluated continuouslywith the gender pedagogue. It was seen that everyone experienced a greatimprovement in the ordinary classes. For example, pupils who had previously


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been quiet started to make their presence elt. Girls who had never daredto say anything started to speak in ront o the whole group o pupils. Allgroups had made progress, and progress was clearest in the quiet girl group,the extroverted girl group and the extroverted boy group.51

What is a gender pedagougue?

In 20012002 the Swedish government earmarks SEK 10 million orgender equality education in school and pre-school. The goal was thatevery municipality beore 2004 should have sent at least one teacher,pre-school teacher or recreation leader to a specially designed educa-tion about gender and gender equality. Ater the education they wouldbecome gender pedagogues, and work with gender equality questionsin the pedagogic practice to increase quality and ulflment o goals orgender equality in school and pre-school. The vision was that it by 2012should be one gender pedagogue on 25 persons employed, and thatthe gender pedagogues would support the others with knowledge andgive guidance in gender equality work in school and pre-school.50

Boys lower grades a gender equality issue

Are boys lower grades related to gender and gender equality issues? This

question was raised in Jokkmokks schools. A survey rom the SwedishNational Agency or Education showed that boys in Jokkmokk had lowergrades than girls in the fnal year o the compulsory school. This acted asa wake-up call or Jokkmokks schools which in 2002 started gender workwith the intention o designing a school that counteracted gender dier-ences.52

Thought was given as to whether adults dierent expectations o boysand girls aected boys lower motivation or school work. Another ideawas whether it was unmanly to be good at school. Jokkmokks initiativestarted with dierences in grades but came mainly to be about gender issues

in schools.For a year, teachers discussed gender issues in research circles in collabora-tion with Uppsala University and the Swedish National Agency or Education.In these circles, it was observed, among other things, that girls became com-mitted to school work and were given support by parents and teachers, whileboys were less interested and did not receive the same support rom adults.


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On the basis o these observations, an action plan was drawn up withtraining o teachers in gender issues and gender lectures or parents. Teach-ers were trained in cooperation with researchers to obtain tools to changethe content, method o work and conduct in school. The aim was to be able

to give both boys and girls optimum possibilities or learning. Gender peda-gogues were trained and was given responsibility or a process o change,among other things, an extensive multi-year strategy document was produced.

Pre-school co-workers redistribute resources

and change stereotype gender patterns

In Sdertlje, the municipal leadership decided to carry out a number ogender initiatives at the beginning o the 2000s. In one o the projects,supervisors and co-workers at three schools took part in a training initiative

on gender and gender equality issues.This project used the 3R method among others and video flming to

survey their own gender inequality in the orm o co-workers behaviour togirls and boys.

At the Humlan section o Hsthoven pre-school, the co-workers decidedto flm their allocation o resources to small boys and girls aged between1 and 2 in the situation where children are dressed in the hall beoregoing out. The co-workers looked at the flmed dressing situations andmade a quantitative survey o how they spoke to the children. Dierenttypes o treatment were counted as resources, and, among other things, the

co-workers counted the distribution o the ollowing treatment/resources:instructions, short and long sentences, encouragement by words or by bodylanguage to manage by onesel, encouragement to helpulness and speak-ing with a soter and harder voice. The co-workers noticed that they gavethe boys more resources in the orm o short and long sentences. However,girls were more requently given shorter instructions and encouragement bybody language.

In a qualitative examination o the video flms, it was noticed that thecontent o what the co-workers said to the children diered depending onwhether it was a boy or a girl that was spoken to. It was only in relation to

boys that the co-workers gave confrmation and put words to the actions othe child.

The sta worked in accordance with this survey or six months onchanging their treatment o the children in dressing situations. Subse-quently, a new survey was made where dressing situations were again flmedand analysed. The survey showed that the sta had changed their treatment


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o children and that boys and girls were treated more equally. The activegender equality work was also broadened to cover many dierent activitiesat the pre-school.53

Gender mainstreaming in a member organisation

We have previously seen examples o how gender equality was integratedin dierent services such as the pre-school. 54 Here is an example o how amunicipality chose to work with gender mainstreaming on a broader ront.In the Municipality o Karlstad, gender equality is a prioritised political goal both or internal and external work. Between 1999 and 2001, the munici-pality had a gender equality committee with politicians. Now gender equal-ity issues are owned by the municipal executive committee, which is respon-

sible or the municipalitys fnances, services and personnel policy.The municipality has employed a gender equality developer since 2000.The external gender equality work, i.e. gender equality work targeted oninhabitants, includes both quantitative and qualitative gender equality. Asregards the quantitative aspect, there are set goals that aim at even genderdistribution in education, occupations, leisure activities, and positions opower. Qualitative gender equality means that womens and mens knowl-edge, experience and values shall be expressed and made use o.55

Between 2001 and 2006, the municipality arranged our method courseswhere managers and sta were trained in gender equality work targeted on

inhabitants. The intention was, among other things, or the municipalitysactivities to work with the strategy o gender mainstreaming. Every courselasted a year and had a number o course sessions. Co-workers rom all de-partments and companies besides public transport attended the courses.

These training sessions took up the gender equality objectives in Swe-den, gender theory, gender equality knowledge, and practical work withstatistics. Participants were taught to use the 3R method and carried outpractical work between course sessions with a chosen project area in theirown activity.56


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Examples o projects withinthe Municipality o Karlstads 3R courses:

Do more men than women receive budget advice? Social ServicesDepartment

Pupil absence, a gender equality problem? Karlstad-Hammar Up-per Secondary School Department

Security aspects in physical planning, Technical Services Depart-ment

Training sessions at Sundsta sports centre, Leisure and RecreationServices Department

Gender equality at the library, Culture Department

Survey service on equal terms, Community Planning

Most important in housing, Karlstad Bostad AB

Inormation on equal terms, City Management Ofce

Managers and politicians develop their work

During the 2000s, Stockholm County Council carried out a large gender

equality initiative called Att n nda ram (Getting all the way). Thisinitiative included making gender equality analyses o diering areas, orexample purchase o works o art, training and patient complaints.

Stockholm County Council has had a special person employed in themanagement to lead this initiative. It was concluded that the managementmust have knowledge about gender and gender equality to enable activi-ties to work towards increased gender equality. From 20042007, StockholmCounty Council arranged certifed gender equality training or over 500managers in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute and with fnancialgrants rom the Swedish ESF Council. This training initiative was well sup-

ported at managerial level and was part o the Getting all the way project.The target group was division managers and operational managers

within the county council, teachers at Karolinska Institute and trade unionocials. The course was intended to provide the participants with in-depthknowledge in the sphere o gender equality and to enable them to reectabout their own role and approach with the aid o research results. The


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course was also intended to strengthen the participants ability to analysetheir own role in the practical gender equality work close to operations andto increase the participants human environment expertise.57

Programme or Sustainable Gender Equality

SALAR is granted SEK 125 million by the Swedish government throughthe Programme or Sustainability Gender Equality to support the work ointegrating the gender equality perspective as a natural part o all decision-making, i.e. gender mainstreaming. The aim o this programme is to achieveconcrete and durable improvements in the activities which have beengranted assistance. The unds have largely been used or training politiciansand managers and to gender mainstreaming o decisions, steering docu-

ments and managerial systems. Many o Swedens municipalities and countycouncils have received unds or development o gender equality in theirservices to inhabitants and patients. The programme also generates researchon gender equality work.


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What is required oreective gender equality work?

Tips and conclusionsWorking eectively or increased gender equality demands a long-termapproach. This work also requires inventiveness no single method workseverywhere. It entails daring to test dierent methods and learning rommistakes. Gender equality work also requires courage to dare to think abouthow one maintains gender inequality in ones own proession and activity.In addition, knowledge is required about gender issues and gender equality.Gender equality is a sphere o knowledge and expertise.

The experiences and the research described in this survey o knowledge

indicate a number o actors that are important or meaningul genderequality work. In the light o this and experiences rom SALARs genderequality work, a summary o actors that contribute to really eective gen-der equality work is shown below.

The responsibility o politicians and management. A crucial ac-tor or eective gender equality work is how politicians and the ma-nagement act. It makes a crucial dierence i politicians produceinstructions and demand work or gender equality compared withi they do not do so. When management at all levels gives clear

assignments and gives co-workers the prerequisites to carry out as-signments, it also provides completely dierent conditions than ithe management does not do this.

An ongoing process o change. Work on gender equality in servicesis a long-term and continuous process o change. Politicians and mana-gement thereore need to establish both long-term and short-termgoals with clearly ormulated goals. Long-term goals are importantbecause a process o change requires a long time. However, it is also

important to set up sub-goals that aim at meeting the long-termgoals eventually.


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Make an analysis o power and interests. Investigate whether itis the group o women or men that benefts most rom the pre-sent situation, and which group would gain most rom a change.Analyse what the privileged group risks losing rom gender equality,

among other things in the orm o fnancial resources and inuen-tial positions. Use gender science expertise and analyse also themore intangible losses such as the loss o status and confrmationo gender identities that a change might entail. This analysis can behelpul to understanding the resistance that gender equality workrisks meeting. I the analysis is not carried out, the resistance ap-pears irrational and can be more difcult to counter. Gender equalitywork without analysis o power and interest conicts risks remainingat the level o rhetoric and cosmetic measures without real changesand redistributions.

Make an inventory o expertise. A good way o starting genderequality work can be to fnd out which co-workers have gender andgender equality expertise. In which services and departments haveco-workers worked with gender equality issues? The managementcan have great use o their knowledge and expertise. It is also im-portant to make an inventory o the gender equality work already inprocess in the organisation.

Change patterns with knowledge. Training is needed to obtain theknowledge to make activity and services equal. Gender inequalityis based, among other things, on habitual patterns where womenand men are oten perceived and treated dierently. To be able tochange this, knowledge and reection are required. Changing habi-tual ways o thought and actions requires patience and a long-termapproach.

Most people probably consider that they work in a gender equalway. However, to be able to meet the requirements or gender equal-ity in services or inhabitants and patients, personal opinions are notenough.

Gender equality and gender research are areas o expertise compa-rable with, or example, accounting or personnel management. Po-liticians, management and co-workers must have knowledge whichenables them to have a correct picture o the service which is to bechanged.


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Small steps on the way. Dierent services and parts o services mayneed to carry out changes in dierent ways. It is important to dareto try and learn rom any mistakes. One way is to let small parts othe service try to change in a project and to implement successul

methods o work in other activities. The management has a greatresponsibility here or creating the prerequisites or implementationso that the gender equality eects will be durable.

Make it possible or co-workers. The management must ensure thatco-workers have the prerequisites to be able to work or gender equa-lity through knowledge, time and fnancial resources. The organisa-tional prerequisites must also be created. The person who has overallresponsibility or gender equality work should be a member o the se-nior management. There is otherwise a risk that gender equality issues

are not perceived as important and a priority in the organisation.It is also important to give clear mandates to the co-workers respon-sible or gender equality work. These may also need a supportingstructure within the organisation with responsible co-workers atevery level. A permissive and trusting atmosphere is needed whereco-workers are able to try dierent ways o working or increasedgender equality.

Communicate. Clear communication is required or co-workers tobe able to carry out the assignments given. Inormation about gen-der equality work in process should be spread to other activities andservices within the organisation. It is valuable to share one anothersexperiences and the spread o inormation makes cooperation pos-sible. It is also important to spread inormation within the organi-sation about a successul process o change. This gives co-workerswho have worked with changes valuable attention and can inspireother sta.

Participation. For a real and durable change to take place, it is im-

portant that all co-workers and agents participate in the changeprocess. It is important that courses are compulsory, i.e. that themanagement demand that all co-workers take part. I the manage-ment is unclear and does not demand this, there is a risk that onlythose who are especially interested will take part. Gender equalitywork will then be something optional and a matter o personal in-terest. Another actor is that the management gives co-workers thetime to be able to participate.


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Be brave. In all change, it is necessary that politicians and mana-gement have the courage to lead and translate visions into reality.Since gender equality is based on unequal power relations betweenwomen and men, this type o change process requires additional

courage. Changing power structures is always a challenge. It can bean especially great challenge when people are aected at the per-sonal level and eel that their ideas o what it means to be a womanor a man are called into question. The change process is conrontedby challenges at dierent stages and oten meets resistance. Whenvarious orms o resistance occur, the action o management is veryimportant. The management must be clear and supportive.

Demand results. As in all change processes, it is important to de-mand results, and that the demands are in proportion to resources

given. Politicians and managers should to a greater extent than todate demand evaluations, in particular evaluations o the eects ogender equality work, both in the short- and long-term. It is also im-portant to evaluate how the working process works in gender equa-lity work to enable lessons to be drawn on how it is to be organisedin the best way. To demand evaluations is also a way o showing thatgender equality is an important and prioritised issue. One good waycan be to include the results in the ordinary ollow-up o opera-tions.

Celebrate successes. A process o change or increased genderequality is, as stated above, long-term work which oten meets resis-tance. It is thereore important that the management take responsi-bility or celebrating small and large successes and or making themvisible in the organisation!


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Endnotes and reerences

1 European Charter or Equality o Women and Men in Local Lie. http://www.ccre.org/docs/charte_egalite_eng.doc

2 Hk, Pia (2001) Stridspiloter i vida kjolar Om ledarutveckling och jmstlldhet. Stockholm:Stockholm School o Economics, Rnnblom, Malin (2002) Ett eget rum? Kvinnors organise-ring mter etablerad politik. Ume: Ume University, Department o Political Science, TollinKatharina (2000) Det mste fnnas mn med r att det skall bli jmstllt En utvrderingav Mainstreaminprojektet inom Arbetsmarknadsverket i Vsterbotten. Ume: Ume UniversityDepartment o Political Science, Forskningsrapport 2000:4.

3 Eduards Maud (2002) Frbjuden handling Om kvinnors organisering och eministisk teori.Malm: Liber. p 17.

4 Rnnblom, Malin (2005) Kvinnors organisering mter den etablerade politiken in Fors-karrapporter till den jmstlldhetspolitiska utredningen, SOU 2005:66. Stockholm: Fritzes.

5 For example Hk, Pia (2001) Stridspiloter i vida kjolar Om ledarutveckling och jmstlldhet.Stockholm: Stockholm School o Economics.

6 Hk, Pia (2001)Stridspiloter i vida kjolar Om ledarutveckling och jmstlldhet. Stockholm:Stockholm School o Economics.

7 Rnnblom, Malin (2004) Om att rndra mnUtvrdering av projektet NORMAL, ELLER?Stockholm: Sensus studierbund.

8 Hk, Pia (2001) Stridspiloter i vida kjolar Om ledarutveckling och jmstlldhet. Stockholm:Stockholm School o Economics.

9 Rnnblom, Malin (2005) Kvinnors organisering mter den etablerade politiken in Fors-karrapporter till den jmstlldhetspolitiska utredningen, SOU 2005:66. Stockholm: Fritzes.p 386.

10 Hk, Pia (2001)Stridspiloter i vida kjolar Om ledarutveckling och jmstlldhet. Stockholm:Stockholm School o Economics.

11 Wittbom, Eva (2009)Att sprnga normer: om mlstyrningsprocesser r jmstlldhetsintegrering.Stockholm University, Faculty o Social Sciences p 188.

12 Ds 2001:64,ndrad ordning Strategisk utveckling r jmstlldhet. Stockholm:The Govern-ment Ofces, Ministry o Enterprise, Energy and Communications.

13 SOU 2005:66, Makten att orma samhllet och sitt eget liv jmstlldhetspolitiska utred-ningen. Stockholm: Fritzes.


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14 Council o Europe (1998) Gender mainstreaming. Conceptual ramework, methodology andpresentation o good practices. Final report o activities o the Group o specialists on main-streaming(EG-S-MS). Strasbourg.

15 Se or example: Swedish Association o Local Authorities(2002)Aktivt jmstlldhet-

sarbete Jmtegrering och 3R-metoden i kommunalaverksamheterand Swedish Association oLocal Authorities and Regions (2007), Hlsa, Arbete och Kn, Stockholm.

16 Rnnblom, Malin (2002) Ett eget rum? Kvinnors organisering mter etablerad politik. Ume:Ume University, Department o Political Science and Rnnblom, Malin (2005) Kvinnorsorganisering mter den etablerade politiken in Forskarrapporter till den jmstlldhetspoli-tiska utredningen, SOU 2005:66. Stockholm: Fritzes.

17 Friberg, Tora & Larsson, Anita (2002)Steg ramt Strategier och villkor r att rverkligagenusperspektivet i versiktlig planering. Lund: Lund University, Department o Social andEconomic Geography.

18 Frst Hrte, Gunilla & Isaksson, Anna (2007)Jmstlldhetssatsningar - I korsningen mellangenusteori och rndringsarbete, NTG Jmstlldhet ARGUS, Rapport 2.

19 See, or example, SOU 2003:16, Mansdominans i rndring om ledningsgrupper och styrelser.Stockholm: Fritzes and Pincus, Ingrid (1997) Manligt motstnd och ambivalens till jmstlld-hetsreormer. Kvinnovetenskapligt orums skritserie nr 5. rebro: rebro University.

20 Frst Hrte, Gunilla & Isaksson, Anna (2007)Jmstlldhetssatsningar I korsningen mellangenusteori och rndringsarbete, NTG Jmstlldhet ARGUS, Rapport 2.

21 SOU 2003:16, Mansdominans i rndring om ledningsgrupper och styrelser. Stockholm:Fritzes.

22 The theoretical model Four Rooms o Change has been developed by psychologist ClaesJenssen. See Jenssen, Claes (1996) Frndringens yra rum. Stockholm: Wahlstrm &Widstrand. For the model in a context o gender equality work, see also Gillberg, Minna& Amundsdotter, Eva (2001) Den jmstllda arbetsplatsen En metodbok. Stockholm:Bildaand Andersson, Susanne, Amundsdotter, Eva & Svensson Marita (2008) En rdplan r ettaktivt genusarbete, Delrapport inom ramen r FOU-projektet Genusntverket. Hudiksvall:Fiber Optic Valley.

23 Gillberg, Minna & Amundsdotter, Eva (2001) Den jmstllda arbetsplatsen En metodbok.Stockholm: Bilda.

24 Andersson, Susanne, Amundsdotter, Eva & Svensson Marita (2008) En rdplan r ett

aktivt genusarbete, Delrapport inom ramen r FOU-projektet Genusntverket. Hudiksvall:Fiber Optic Valley.

25 Frst Hrte, Gunilla & Isaksson, Anna (2007)Jmstlldhetssatsningar - I korsningen mellangenusteori och rndringsarbete, NTG Jmstlldhet ARGUS, Rapport 2.


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26 Pincus, Ingrid (1997) Manligt motstnd och ambivalens till jmstlldhetsreormer. Kvinnovet-enskapligt orums skritserie nr 5. rebro: rebro University.

27 Ibid p 17.

28 Pincus, Ingrid (1997) Manligt motstnd och ambivalens till jmstlldhetsreormer. Kvinnove-tenskapligt orums skritserie nr 5. rebro: rebro University.

29 Ibid and Spets, Helena (2005)Slutrapport rn Sdertljes kommuns Jmstlldhetspro-jekt 2002 2005 Jmstlldhetsintegrering i Kommunens verksamheter gentemot Sdertljesinvnare Tre jmstlldhetsprojekt som blev ett Machiavelliskt gerillakrig eller Ett spnnandearbete dr kunskap, mod och prestigelshet r ledorden r rndring. Sdertlje: Municipa-lity o Sdertlje

30 Pincus, Ingrid (1997) Manligt motstnd och ambivalens till jmstlldhetsreormer. Kvinnove-tenskapligt orums skritserie nr 5.rebro: rebro University p 22.

31 Bvereldt, Jeanette & Gunnarsson, Lena (2008) Gr det jmt i praktiken. The CountyAdministrative Board o Vstra Gtaland et al.

32 Danielsson, Viveka & Jonsson, Lena (2007)Spelar kn ngon roll r hur jag r min hem-tjnst i Ovankers kommun? Ovanker: Municipality o Ovanker.

33 Stark Agneta & Robert Hamrn (2000) Frivilligarbetets kn En versikt. Stockholm: SwedishAssociation o Local Authorities.

34 SOU 2004:117, Nytt nationellt kunskapscentrum ombildning av RKC. Stockholm: Fritzes.

35 Ibid.

36 For example, Heimer, Gun & Posse, Barbro (eds.) (2003) Vldsutsatta kvinnor samhlletsansvar. Lund: Studentlitteratur, Eliasson, Mona & Ellgrim, Barbro (2006) En kunskapsver-sikt, Mns vld mot kvinnor i nra relationer. Stockholm: Swedish Association o Local Aut-horities and Regions and SOU 2004:121,Slag i luten En utredning om myndigheter, mansvldoch makt. Stockholm: Fritzes.

37 The National Board o Health and Welare (2006) Kostnader r vld mot kvinnor. En sam-hllsekonomisk analys. Stockholm.

38 See, or example, Listerborn, Carina (2002) Trygg stad Diskurser om kvinnors rdsla iorskning, policyutveckling ochlokal praktik. Gothenburg: Chalmers University o Technologyand The Swedish National Institute o Public Health (2005) Redovisning av uppdraget att

genomra en analys av olkhlsopolitikens bestmningsaktorer ur ett jmstlldhetsper-spektiv 2005. Stockholm.

39 For a more detailed analysis o mens violence to women rom a political perspecitve, seeWendt Hjer, Maria (2002) Rdslans politik: vld och sexualitet i den svenska demokratin.Malm: Liber Ekonomi.


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40 Eliasson, Mona (1997) Mns vld mot kvinnor: en kunskapsversikt om kvinnomisshandel ochvldtkt,dominans och kontroll. Stockholm: Natur och Kultur, p 80.

41 The Swedish National Institute o Public Health (2005) Redovisning av uppdraget attgenomra en analys av olkhlsopolitikens bestmningsaktorer ur ett jmstlldhetsper-

spektiv 2005. Stockholm.

42 Andreasson, Cecilia et al. (2006) Den svenska hlso- och sjukvrdens arbete inom kompetens-omrdet vld mot kvinnor, Nationell kartlggning. Uppsala: The National Center or Rapedand Battered Women.Norn, Jenny (2009) Utveckling pgr En kartlggning av Kvin-noridsarbetet i kommuner, landsting och regioner. Stockholm: Swedish Association o LocalAuthorities and Regions.

43 Listerborn, Carina (2002) Trygg stad Diskurser om kvinnors rdsla i orskning, policyutvecklingochlokal praktik. Gothenburg: Chalmers University o Technology.

44 Swedish Association o Local Authorities (2002)Aktivt jmstlldhetsarbete Jmtegrering och

3R-metoden i kommunalaverksamheter, Stockholmand notes rom Aurora Mobergs lectureat a gender equality conerence in Vilnius, Lithuania, 2005. Auroa Moberg was then gen-der equality developer in the Municipality o Ume.

45 This documentation is based on an interview with Lina Blombergsson, head o the Unitor Housing and Womens Freedom rom Molestation at the Social Services Department inRinkeby-Kista.

46 This project was based on collaboration between the Red Cross, Sensus and the CountyAdministrative Board o Vsterbotten. Although the project was not conducted directly bythe Municipality o Ume, it is presented here as an example o a unique gender equalityproject targeted on young men. The project is relevant or the Municipality o Ume in

several aspects, or example it was partly fnanced by the municipality, and the participantswere pupils in the municipalities schools.

47 Rnnblom, Malin (2004) Om att rndra mnUtvrdering av projektet NORMAL, ELLER?Stockholm: Sensus studierbund.

48 Ibid.

49 Ibid.

50 SOU 2006: 75Jmstlldhet i rskolan : om betydelsen av jmstlldhet och genus i rskolanspedagogiska arbete : slutbetnkande av Delegationen r jmstlldhet i rskolan. Stockholm:Fritzes.

51 Documentation o this example is based on interviews with Carolina Engstrm, who wasgender pedagogue at Mariaskolan during the relevant period.

52 Almqvist, Agnetha et al (2005) Genus/Jmstlldhetsstrategi Frskolor och skolor 20052008. Jokkmokk: Municipality o Jokkmokk.


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53 Spets, Helena (2005)Slutrapport rn Sdertljes kommuns Jmstlldhetsprojekt 2002 2005 Jmstlldhetsintegrering i Kommunens verksamheter gentemot Sdertljes invnare Tre jmstlldhetsprojekt som blev ett Machiavelliskt gerillakrig eller Ett spnnande arbetedr kunskap, mod och prestigelshet r ledorden r rndring. Sdertlje: Municipality oSdertlje.

54 Some o these previous examples could be parts o more comprehensive gender equal-ity work, but have been presented here as concrete examples o projects within a specifcservice.

55 Rosenberg, Kerstin & Iwarsson, Malin (2007) Det r politiskt korrekt att arbeta medjmstlldhet en utvrdering av det externa jmstlldhetsarbetet i Karlstad kommun.Arbetsrapport 2007:4. Karlstad University: Faculty o Social and Lie Sciences, Cerut.

56 Gard, Solveig (2006) Utvrderingar av metodutbildning i jmstlldhetsarbete 2005/2006.Rapport 2006-06-28. Karlstad: City Management Ofce.

57 Stockholm County Council (2007) Certiferad utbildning i jmstlldhet r cheer och lrare.Stockholm.


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Contact: Project leader Helena Spets, [email protected] | Grafc design: orsbergvonessen

Printed in: Ljungbergs Tryckeri, Sweden | Illustrations: orsbergvonessen


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Active Work for Gender Equality - A Challenge for Municipalities and County Councils

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