Vad är problemet? - Konstruktioner av jämställdhet i svensk politik

Abstract

Swedish national policy, and how these constructions could be understood in terms of neo-liberal forms of governmentality. Thus, gender equality is regarded as an empty signifier in contrast to the everyday use of the concept where gender equality often is presented as a self-evident political goal. In today’s society the ideal of the market has become the ideal of the public, and new public management is regarded as the indisputable way of organising the public – a process that also brings with it processes of de-politicisation of politics. By analysing national policy documents that address the doing of gender equality, including gender mainstreaming, the article aims to show what happens with gender equality in this neo-liberal context – including its political consequences. The analysis includes both how gender equality is defined in overall policy goals and in hands-on documents. The main results show that gender equality is transformed into administration and into different forms of administrative techniques. Prominent forms of governing include different forms of auditing, through checklists, evaluations and methodological tools for change. In addition it is also possible to discern a gap between how the problem of gender equality is represented in overall policy goals and the representations when the policy is to be implemented. Problem representations related to issues of gendered power relations are transformed into problem representations that fit the rule of auditing.