Communicating equality through policy documents: On legitimacy, double logic and stable translations

Abstract

This article discusses gender mainstreaming (GMS) as a strategy to implement gender equality in public work organizations by analysing discourse in terms of the theoretical notions of translation and circulation in organizations to shed light on how gender equality and the mainstreaming strategy are formulated in the documents which govern the Swedish fire and rescue services. More specifically, it looks at how the goals regarding gender equality are circulated and translated. The results show that gender equality as a practice is created in the translation of national goals in terms of the local context and its specific gender equality challenges. Furthermore, the article discusses how vague formulations in the documents are stabilized through circulation between the government and the public agency in question. The results indicate the central role played by maintaining stable translations over time and the presence of a double logic of change in the processes, as well as the importance of legitimizing gender equality initiatives.

Lessons from policy theories for the pursuit of equity in health, education and gender policy

“…Conceptual ambiguity represents a failure of policymakers to agree on what is meant by gender, equality, and mainstream. Rather than assuming international norms will translate without loss or distortion (Acosta et al, 2019), a clear and uniform definition must be agreed and diffused territorially, sectorally, and organisationally (Krekula et al, 2017). 2.…”

The ‘Older Worker’ and the ‘Ideal Worker’: A Critical Examination of Concepts and Categorisations in the Rhetoric of Extending Working Lives

“…Gender equality in work organisations has also been described as an issue which concerns qualitative aspects, with a focus on gender relations in organisations and on men and masculinity as the norm (Rönnblom 2011). Further, Ahmed (2007Ahmed ( , 2012; see also Krekula et al 2019) argues that key concepts, such as gender equality discourses, circulate via the documents of organisations, and that in this circulation they are associated with additional ideas, which leads to new meanings. There are, therefore, reasons to emphasise how gender equality is understood in policies on extended working life and the strategies which develop as a result, and how much room for change the different definitions create for organisations and for the individuals within them.…”