Jämställdhetsintegrering med styrning bortom New Public Management

Abstract

This article discusses the management control of gender mainstreaming within the policy field of infrastructure and transportation. The strategy of gender mainstreaming has been practiced within the Swedish government for over two decades. It was implemented in the era of New Public Management when quantitative performance measures were much more valid than qualitatively assessed aspects on the effects of the performance. Consequently, the status of gendered power relations was only disclosed by the counting of women and men which hampered the intended results of gender mainstreaming. Time has passed and the Swedish government is now scrutinizing the unintended effects of New Public Management. At the same time, the Swedish Transport Administration has ordered a shift from identification with the building of infrastructure to the broader role as a societal developer. This development has brought about new questions concerning the outcomes of the undertakings. Public Value Management is an alternative which can be interpreted as a concept for management control meeting the challenges that New Public Management never could handle. Three strategic questions are in focus: (i) Is it valuable for the public? (ii) Is it legitimate and politically supported? (iii) Do we have the operational capacity? Effectiveness in Public Value Management concerns the capability of the administration to do the right things in order to reach the policy goals. There is no consensus regarding the definition of Public Value. Such an ambiguity can turn out to be a strength, since there are no ready-made facts to take for granted. Hence the administration needs to listen to and discuss together with various actors before decisions are taken regarding societal changes. If gender awareness is included in the management processes the results can