Regional development policies and the constructions of gender equality: The Swedish case

Abstract

Abstract. This article uses a discursive approach to analyze how gender equality has and is being constructed and given meaning in the context of Swedish regional policy. Drawing on Carole Bacchi's ‘What's the Problem? Approach’, we explore how arguments concerning the new forms of regional policy are assigning different categories of people different subject positions and, in particular, we focus on the kind of subject positions that are being given to women as a group in this context. The discourse being shaped in national policy is, however, interpreted in specific contexts. Accordingly, we compare the way this new discourse is being (re)interpreted and (re)constructed and the subject positions being ascribed to women in the regional development partnerships and growth strategies in two Swedish regions: Västerbotten and Jönköping. Finally, we draw attention to how both the form and the content of Swedish regional development policies create great difficulties for politicizing gender as a power dimension in society. We suggest that regional politics has become de‐politicized and argue for the need for it to be re‐politicized with gender included as a conflict dimension.

Gendered migration in turbulent times in Iceland

“…Within national borders, young women have dominated in-migration from peripheral regions in the Nordic countries (Rauhut et al 2008). This has raised concern about a growing demographic gender imbalance in regional development discourses while gender inequalities in power and material resources remain unaddressed in national regional policies (Forsberg 2001;Lotherington 2005;Hudson & Rönnblom 2007;Júlíusdóttir & Gunnarsdóttir 2009). With increased inequality (King 2002;Castles & Miller 2009), the global impact of neoliberalism has become evident in the gendered transnational relations of labour and international migration (Sassen 2000;Pessar &Mahler 2003;Vertovec 2006).…”

Logics of rurality: Political rhetoric about the Swedish North

“…Falkheimer, 2004), discourses of growth usually use cities to symbolize the necessity for and possibilities with growth. In accordance with the general shift towards growth also in regional policies in the 1990s (Hudson and R€ onnblom, 2007), the studied non-governmental bills recurrently took growth as the natural goal for granted when debating Norrland.…”

“…The material represents the period 1991e2013, which was chosen because it reflects a gradual transition from traditional social democratic welfare politics to more neo-liberal politics with an extensive deregulation of state enterprises (Hudson and R€ onnblom, 2007). The old national regional policy, which focused on support areas, was gradually replaced by an ambitious policy of regional growth (Tillv€ axtanalys, 2012).…”

A Clash between the Business and Political Climates in Sweden – Gender in the European Structural Fund Partnerships

“…The EU's 'soft steering' and the OMC method investigated by Dasi (2007) and Zirra and Buchkremer (2007) aim to incorporate a gender perspective into national and regional policy (Hudson and Rönnblom, 2007). Referring to Prins's analysis of how to avoid governance failure, it is apparent that a genderinclusive, authoritative, top-down form of steering does exist in regulating procedures of the OMC process.…”

“…The EU has played an important role through its structural fund policy. During the period 1995-2007, critical assessments and evaluations have exposed the partnership processes as a male-dominated project run by public officials (Hedlund, 2008;Horelli and Roininen, 1999;Hudson and Rönnblom, 2007;Lindsten et al, 2001;Rydstedt, 2006;Westberg, 2008). Local authorities and county councils nowdays play a more prominent role while different stakeholders are excluded (Hedlund, 2008).…”