Varför jämställdhetsintegrering? - en studie av Regeringskansliets skäl till att använda jämställdhetsintegrering
Organizational recipeGender mainstreamingA symbolic perspectiveA tool perspectivePolitical and administrative sciencesStatsvetenskapFörvaltningskunskapLaw and Political Science
Gender mainstreaming has been an internationally dominant policy since the mid 1990?s. In 2004, the Swedish government decided to implement gender mainstreaming within the Government Offices of Sweden. However, little research seems to have focused on the reasons for an organization's decision to implement gender mainstreaming. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to answer the question why the Government Offices of Sweden have decided to use gender mainstreaming. As a starting point, I present Kjell Arne Røvik's theory of how organizations may use a tool perspective or/and a symbolic perspective when reasoning about which organizational recipe they shall adopt. My methodology consists of a text analysis of government documents and personal interviews with government officials. The result of my study suggests that it is possible to reconcile the two theoretical perspectives in an attempt to explain why the Government Offices of Sweden use gender mainstreaming. Furthermore, I argue that both a tool perspective and a symbolic perspective can be identified in the argumentations, thoughts and deliberations in the government documents and in the answers from the government officials.