Gunnel Forsberg

Regional variations in the gender contract: Gendered relations in labour markets, local politics and everyday life in Swedish regions

Abstract This article delineates the spatial variations in the gender contract in Sweden. Within the framework of any national gender contract there can be substantial regional variations. By mapping regional variations in gender relations, three different gender contracts are identified in different regions in Sweden. The traditional gender contract is prevalent in forestry and industrial areas, where labour market segregation is high, where women play a small role in political life and where social infrastructure is largely provided in families. In contrast in the modernized gender contract of the metropolitan areas, especially in the Stockholm region, labour market segregation is less and women are relatively well integrated in public life. These regions are dominated by the service sector. This kind of region, where the genders are more equal and where the social infrastructure is more provided by public institutions, can also be labelled ‘escalator regions’ for women. Finally, in some peripheral and ...

The difference that space makes. A way to describe the construction of local and regional gender contracts

The role that space and place play in the construction of gender relations on different geographical scales is examined in this article. It is easy to identify national variations in the relation between sexes, and such comparisons are common. In many cases, the nation-state constitutes the level of analysis in gender-oriented studies. Comparative studies within nations are not so numerous. Nevertheless, geographical research has the potential to develop an analytical model capable of identifying the spatial dimension in gender constructions. A place-based approach visualises how local places shape gender relations and contribute to gender identities and understanding of men and women. This article shows how geographical analysis can be used to describe how physical and human geography interplay with economy, politics, religion, culture, etc., in the construction of gender contracts at a local level. Gender contracts are unwritten rules that regulate relations between sexes, and re-create and reform relations as everyday actions within the framework of these local structures. Together these various local contracts construct a regional structure.

When the World Goes Rural: Transnational Potentials of International Migration in Rural Swedish Labour Markets

International migration processes are of increasing importance to changing ruralities in high-income countries. They offer the chance to connect rural areas to the world through direct links of transnational networks, and they have the potential for dynamic change. Through migration, important fields of social, economic and institutional transnational networks directly intersect with local areas. Accordingly, not only the demographic structure but also qualitative aspects of the countryside can be influenced by international migration. This chapter investigates the transnational effects of international migration on local labour markets in rural Sweden, analysing the transnational networks and transnational potential of international migrants in the labour market, based on interviews with three different groups of actors: local authorities, local firms and migrant entrepreneurs. Accordingly, the chapter analyses rural areas as connected by transnational linkages of international labour, which ties rural areas to other international localities in a process of global upscaling of rural space.

Mapping gendered ruralities

Abstract The conventional picture of gender relations in rural places is that of a traditional, masculine social fabric. In this article, we challenge this understanding of the rural. Using three methodological approaches (quantitative, discursive and narrative), we test the hypothesis that there is an ongoing femininization of the rural, which is concealed by society’s focus on the masculine rural. We conclude that each method can give important, but not necessarily sufficient, information to answer such a process-orientated question. This methodological triangulation demonstrates the complexity of gendered rural spaces. The quantitative (map-based) analysis shows a gendered geography, the media analysis unpacks how gender is spatialized and the interviews show how space is gendered. Abstrakt När landsbygden ska belysas med ett genusperspektiv innebär det vanligen ett fokus på traditionellt manliga miljöer och aktiviteter. I denna artikel utmanar vi denna ensidiga förståelse. Genom att använda tre skilda metodologiska angreppssätt - kvantitativa, diskursiva och narrativa - testar vi hypotesen att det pågår en femininisering av landsbygden och det rurala. Vi argumenterar för att varje metod kan ge viktig men inte tillräcklig information för att belysa en sådan processinriktad problematik. Trianguleringsmetoden avtäcker den komplexitet som kännetecknar könsmärkningen av det rurala. Kvantitativa analyser avtäcker geografiska mönster och variationer, mediaanalysen visar hur genus konstrueras rumsligt och intervjuerna belyser hur platser påhängs specifika genusrelationer

Rural and gender studies: A conceptual comparison

The aim of this article is to describe the noticeable similarities in the development of rural research and geography-close gender studies. Both research fields have developed greatly since 1970. Rural research has its roots in geography, while models and theories in gender research emanate from other disciplines. This article primarily treats the development of Nordic research and describes the development and different phases of each research field. The purpose is to draw attention to the parallel routes of development that characterize these fields, although in Swedish research they have not influenced each other much. Rural gender research, an area where the two research fields are interrelated, is the one exception. This focus, mainly developed by feminist geographers, has been largely invisible within the mainstream of both fields and has probably hindered new paths of development. Finally, I describe a route towards the development of a gender research based on the concept of space influenced by both fields of research.

Regional policy, social networks and informal structures

This paper presents a study on regional development and innovation systems. The theoretical points of departure are gender theory and two perspectives from human geography and sociology: the theory of network governance for regional development and the theory of homosocial networks. The regional policy of the EU today is characterized by a strongly emphasized governance model: i.e., an orientation towards networks and cluster initiatives. The 2004–2007 regional development programme in Värmland, a Swedish county, is a template for this policy. Its basic principles included partnership engagements, networking, EU-specific linguistic usage and superstar rhetoric. However, this seemingly innovative regional policy has roots in traditional industrial society (ironworks and paper mills). The network-planning model allows informal social structures to re-enter the arena of regional planning. Gender equality in regional government policy was challenged by the presence of a homosocial shadow (seamy-side) structure, such as secret networks and clubs on the outside of the official organizations. Networks were also important in the reproduction of traditional power structures, male dominance and hegemony. One conclusion we reach is that networking can be used mutually as a progressive force and as a conservative tool among actors in the innovation of policy.

How to improve regional and local planning by applying a gender-sensitive analysis: examples from Sweden

ABSTRACT How to improve regional and local planning by applying a gender-sensitive analysis: examples from Sweden. Regional Studies. Regional development projects normally have gender-equality objectives, as these are recognized as one of the cornerstones of regional development. The success of gender-equality objectives is often analyzed by counting the number of men and women taking part in the projects. However, the extent to which this will enhance regional development is unclear and regional agents at a range of organizational levels express uncertainty about the most effective objectives and implementation measures. This paper proposes a way to assess the gender situation at the local level and, thus, to help enhance gender equality.

Creating and challenging gendered spatialities: how space affects gender contracts

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the spatial component of gender relations through an analysis of contemporary gender relations in rural Sweden. We use the concept of local gender contracts, analysing their nature and transformation in various contexts. When gendered practices are analysed at local level, negotiations about the gendering of everyday practices become visible. The focus is on analysing the (informal) strategies in such negotiations and how people act and react in relation to them. The results point to two alternative strategies. Women and men either adapt to the mainstream gender contract of the region, and adhere to it regardless of changes in society’s demands, or challenge existing norms, practices and representations in their public and/or private lives, according to changes in local conditions. The local context is thus active in reproducing and maintaining, as well as transforming, gender relations and thereby reshaping the gender contract.

Pedagogisk entreprenørskap som virkemiddel for lokal og regional utvikling: Eksempler fra skoler og mindre kystsamfunn i Finnmark

Pedagogisk entreprenorskap som virkemiddel for lokal og regional utvikling : eksempler fra skoler og mindre kystsamfunn i Finnmark

Å velge bosted i Lofoten: En diskursanalyse av folkelige fortellinger om bostedsvalg og hverdagsliv

A velge bosted i Lofoten : En diskursanalyse av folkelige fortellinger om bostedsvalg og hverdagsliv