Northern Europe

Gender and Patriarchy in Mining Communities

Citation:

Hebron, Sandra, and Maggie Wykes. 2018. "Gender and Patriarchy in Mining Communities." In Work and the Enterprise Culture, edited by Malcolm Cross and Geoff Payne, 160-72. London: Routledge.

Authors: Sandra Hebron, Maggie Wykes

Annotation:

Summary:
This chapter contains some preliminary findings from 'Coal and Community'; a research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and carried out in the Department of Communication Studies at Sheffield Polytechnic between November 1986 and December 1988. It proposes the social consequences of the 1984–5 coal dispute in three mining communities. The chapter explores how far this assumption was borne out in reality and to assess the way that the nature of mining communities and the roles of men and women reproduced traditional gender norms. Most women in mining communities, as elsewhere, tend not to be involved in political activism or campaigning. A major cause for speculation at the end of the strike concerned the extent to which women's lives would change as a consequence of their experiences during the strike. The chapter provides the little difference between the communities in terms of changed gender relations since the strike. (Summary from Routledge)

Topics: Civil Society, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Livelihoods Regions: Europe, Northern Europe Countries: United Kingdom

Year: 2018

Gender and Struggles for Equality in Mining Resistance Movements: Performing Critique against Neoliberal Capitalism in Sweden and Greece

Citation:

Sjöstedt Landén, Angelika, and Marianna Fotaki. 2018. "Gender and Struggles for Equality in Mining Resistance Movements: Performing Critique against Neoliberal Capitalism in Sweden and Greece." Social Inclusion 6 (4): 25-35.

Authors: Angelika Sjöstedt Landén, Marianna Fotaki

Abstract:

This article explores the intersections of gender and centre–periphery relations and calls for theoretical and political involvement in gendered struggles against colonial and capitalist forces across different national contexts. The article raises questions about the possibility of resisting inequality and exploitation arising from capitalist expansion and extraction of natural resources in Sweden and Greece, outside of urban contexts. It does so by highlighting women’s role in protest movements in peripheral places and questioning power relations between centre and periphery. The article also argues that making visible women’s struggles and contributions to protest movements brings about vital knowledge for realizing democratic worlds that do not thrive on the destruction of natural resources and the institutionalization of inequalities.

Keywords: activism, capitalism, extractivism, Gender, Greece, mining, neoliberalism, protest, women, sweden

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Intersectionality Regions: Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe, Southern Europe Countries: Greece, Sweden

Year: 2018

Re-Politicising the Gender-Security Nexus: Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy

Citation:

Aggestam, Karin, and Annika Bergman Rosamond. 2018. "Re-Politicising the Gender-Security Nexus: Sweden's Feminist Foreign Policy." European Review of International Studies 5 (3/2018): 30-48.

Authors: Karin Aggestam, Annika Bergman Rosamond

Abstract:

Sweden’s feminist foreign policy is founded on the broad idea that gender equality is central to security. This article focuses on how the politicisation of this gender-security nexus is discursively articulated and practiced in the case of feminist foreign policy. The problematic is unpacked by analysing the politicisation of the women, peace and security agenda and global gender mainstreaming. To empirically illustrate the gender-security nexus more specifically, we analyse how these politicisation processes are reflected in Sweden’s support for global peace diplomacy and gender protection. The article concludes by offering three final remarks. First, Sweden’s feminist foreign policy is an expression of several, at times competing, forms of political rationality. Second, while the fluctuation between de-politicisation and re-politicisation of security may seem productive in terms of policy outcome it can also create contradictions and ambiguities in regards to feminist foreign policy practice. One such outcome is the tendency to conflate gender and women across a number of de-politicised policy initiatives launched by the Swedish government. Third, the re-politicisation and contestation of the gender-security nexus is likely to increase in the coming decades because of shifting global power configurations in the global world order.

Keywords: feminist foreign policy, re-politicisation, de-politicisation, WPS agenda, gender mainstreaming, peace diplomacy, protection, UNSCR 1325, sweden

Topics: Feminisms, Feminist Foreign Policy, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Organizations, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe Countries: Sweden

Year: 2018

A Green Fatwā? Climate Change as a Threat to the Masculinity of Industrial Modernity

Citation:

Anshelm, Jonas, and Martin Hultman. 2014. “A Green Fatwā? Climate Change as a Threat to the Masculinity of Industrial Modernity.” NORMA: International Journal for Masculinity Studies 9 (2): 84–96.

Authors: Jonas Anshelm, Martin Hultman

Abstract:

From the autumn of 2006 and until 2009, climate change was described in Sweden as having apocalyptic dimensions. There was a parliamentary and public consensus that anthropogenic climate change was real and that society needed to take responsibility for lowering greenhouse gas emissions, though a small group of climate sceptics did not agree with the majority of the scientists or the need for drastic changes in the organization of Western societies. This small group, with only one exception, consisted of elderly men with influential positions in academia or large private companies. In this article we discuss how they described themselves as marginalised, banned and oppressed dissidents, forced to speak against a faith-based belief in climate science. They characterised themselves as having strong beliefs in a market society, great mistrust of government regulation and a sturdy belief in engineering and natural science rationality. We contend that climate sceptics in Sweden can be understood as being intertwined with a masculinity of industrial modernity that is on decline. These climate sceptics tried to save an industrial society of which they were a part by defending its values against ecomodern hegemony. This gender analysis of climate scepticism moves beyond the previous research of understanding this discourse as solely an ideologically-based outcry against science and politics, and highlights the recognition of identities, historical structures and emotions.

Keywords: climate change, masculinity studies, climate sceptics, industrial modern masculinity, ecomodern masculinity, discourse analysis

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Feminisms, Gender, Men, Masculinity/ies, Gender Analysis Regions: Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe Countries: Sweden

Year: 2014

Gender Mainstreaming in Transportation: Impact of Management Control

Citation:

Wittbom, Eva. 2011. “Gender Mainstreaming in Transportation: Impact of Management Control.” In Women’s Issues in Transportation: Summary of the 4th International Conference, Vol. 2: Technical Papers, 264-75. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board of the National Academies.

Author: Eva Wittbom

Abstract:

In international surveys, Sweden is considered to be the locus classicus for gender mainstreaming. At a macro level, the picture is clear, as government directives include specific goals for gender equality and the expectation that public agencies will mainstream gender into their core business. At a micro level, the situation is more complex. Formal governance meets with gendered norms and cultures that are equally strong, but informal, driving forces among civil servants. The question raised here is how the management control system functions under the pressure of mainstreaming gender. With an interpretive approach, research has been conducted to disclose constructions that tend to enable or to hamper gender equality in the practice of management control at a micro level. The evidence stems from a case study of the Swedish Road Administration and the Swedish National Rail Administration. Interviews, observations of meetings, and close reading of documents furnish this paper with data covering the years 2002–2007 with regard to a policy goal of a gender-equal transport system. Applying a gender perspective together with a sociological institutional perspective makes gendered rules, norms, and culture visible. The results show how management control is involved in integration of gender by assimilation and by decoupling, obstructing transformative gender mainstreaming. The administration is busy keeping up the appearance of fulfilling the goal, legitimizing its activities by reporting relative fulfillment in accordance with the rules of the control system, regardless of the relevance connected to the norms of gender equality. The management control system perpetuates a culture in which reliability lies in measurability; therefore, the goal of gender equality results in a quantitative perspective on women and men instead of a qualitative gender perspective on the transport system.

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe Countries: Sweden

Year: 2011

Gender, Mobilities and Transformation in Loppa, a Rural Municipality of Norway’s High North

Citation:

Walsh, Deatra, and Siri Gerrard. 2018. “Gender, Mobilities and Transformation in Loppa, a Rural Municipality of Norway’s High North.” Gender, Place & Culture 25 (8): 1154–74.

Authors: Deatra Walsh, Siri Gerrard

Abstract:

This article demonstrates the persistence of rural and peripheral coastal places in spite of widespread economic change through the lens of gendered mobilities. We focus on Loppa, a mountainous, ferry-dependent and sparsely populated municipality in the County of Finnmark in Norway’s High North. The fishery in Loppa, while the main source of employment for men, has been in decline. Conversely, employment in health, social services and other professional services has remained steady and, in some cases, increased. Women comprise the highest proportion of workers in these sectors. Using quantitative and qualitative data, we show that in and out-migration, as well as in and out-commuting all feature prominently in Loppa’s mobility picture over time. Higher proportions of men out-migrate and out-commute, suggesting that as changes in the fishery have occurred, men are the first to adjust through geographical mobilities. Although women are working in arguably more stable public sector employment, they too must engage in mobilities. We argue that in the absence of the prominent pattern of exodus of men and women over time, the varied mobilities in to and out of Loppa signal its transformation rather than decline with a future not yet known. We demonstrate that transformation is supported by mobilities as well as the the moorings associated with place.

Keywords: gender, mobilities, multi-methods, Norway's High North, restructuring

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Migration, Economies, Gender Analysis, Globalization, Livelihoods Regions: Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe Countries: Norway

Year: 2018

Remasculinization and Mobilities in a Reindustrializing Community in Northern Norway

Citation:

Valestrand, Halldis. 2018. "Remasculinization and Mobilities in a Reindustrializing Community in Northern Norway." Gender, Place & Culture 25 (8): 1121-37.

Author: Halldis Valestrand

Abstract:

In this article I explore how certain aspects of mobility, especially commuting, became predominant in the construction of a dominant ‘place-story’ in a municipality in Northern Norway (Nord-Norge), and claim that this stepped up a remasculinization process in the community. This former male-dominated mining community had undergone an extensive economic and social restructuration process since the 1990s, which had resulted in a much more varied job market, but equally importantly a strengthened situation for women, occasionally phrased as a feminization of the municipality. From 2009, a reindustrialization process mainly based on natural resources was underway, but according to private business interests, its further growth and development was dependent on attracting skilled labour, which was a new situation in a region that had struggled to keep its inhabitant numbers. A place-story was emerging in which increased work-related commuting evidently disturbed the local conception of this community as a stable place. By looking closer at the background to how this story came about, and the circumstances in which it was constructed, I focus on both a controversial commuting issue and other work-related mobilities that did not seem to cause the same attention. My conclusion is that the commuter issue reinforced a remasculinization process in the community.

Keywords: reindustrialization, remasculinization, mining town, place-stories, work-related mobilities

Topics: Development, Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Livelihoods Regions: Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe Countries: Norway

Year: 2018

Getting On or Getting By? Women, Social Capital and Political Participation

Citation:

Lowndes, Vivien. 2004. “Getting On or Getting By? Women, Social Capital and Political Participation.” The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 6 (1): 45–64.

Author: Vivien Lowndes

Abstract:

This article considers the utility of the concept of social capital in explaining differences in patterns of political participation among women and men, with particular reference to local politics and governance in Britain. It investigates whether women have access to the same quantity of social capital as men, whether their social capital is of the same type, and whether they use their social capital in the same way as men. Taking forward the ‘capital’ analogy, the article looks at how rich women are, and the extent to which they invest their social capital in political activity. As well as providing new insights into women's political behaviour, the analysis illuminates key issues for the broader social capital debate—regarding the distribution of social capital within communities, and the nature of the link between networks of sociability and patterns of political engagement.

Topics: Gender, Governance, Political Participation Regions: Europe, Northern Europe Countries: United Kingdom

Year: 2004

Gender Perspectives and Military Effectiveness: Implementing UNSCR 1325 and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security

Citation:

Egnell, Robert. 2016. “Gender Perspectives and Military Effectiveness: Implementing UNSCR 1325 and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.” Prism: A Journal of the Center for Complex Operations 6 (1): 73-89.

Author: Robert Egnell

Annotation:

Summary: 
"To further the discussion on gender in military affairs, this article discusses two questions: why should gender perspectives be introduced and implemented in military organizations? And how should this process be managed to do so successfully? Regardless of whether we agree that gender perspectives are important for military affairs or not, or if we simply obey the “orders” of the National Action Plan (NAP), we are facing the challenge of implementing UNSCR 1325 in a vast organization with a culture that has traditionally been unkind to these perspectives. The process of implementation must therefore be approached as an uphill battle that will involve substantial resistance. The article draws on a major study of a similar process in Sweden that will serve to highlight general tactical choices, organizational hurdles, and policy implications for an international audience" (Egnell 2016, 74).

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Peace and Security, Post-Conflict Governance, International Organizations, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Security Sector Reform Regions: Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe Countries: Sweden

Year: 2016

Gender, Military Effectiveness, and Organizational Change: The Swedish Model

Citation:

Egnell, Robert, Petter Hojem, and Hannes Berts. 2014. Gender, Military Effectiveness, and Organizational Change: The Swedish Model. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Authors: Robert Egnell, Petter Hojem, Hannes Berts

Annotation:

Summary: 
Through extensive analysis of the Swedish Armed Forces this study explores the possibilities and pitfalls of implementing of a gender perspective in military organizations and operations. It established a number of important lessons for similar attempts in other countries and discusses the continued process of implementation in the Swedish military. (Summary from Palgrave Macmillan)

Topics: Armed Conflict, Feminisms, Gender, Gendered Discourses, Conflict, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe Countries: Sweden

Year: 2014

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