| 1. |
- Andersson, Susanne, et al.
(författare)
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From glass ceiling to firewalls : Detecting and changing gendered organizational norms
- 2022
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Ingår i: NORA. - : Routledge. - 0803-8740 .- 1502-394X. ; 30:2, s. 140-153
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article is based on an empirical case study with an interactive research approach focusing on gendered norms in a Swedish truck Company. It discusses the combined value of using the metaphor of a firewall for (1) analysing how organizational constraining gendered norms are done in everyday organizational life, and (2) as a practical tool to facilitate the processes aimed at improving norm awareness. The metaphor embodies an understanding that makes it possible to visualize relational ongoing organizational processes and power dimensions. In addition, the firewall is useful for emphasizing variations and complexity. Variations and dynamics are manifested in the ways that employees need to fulfil varying “codes” in order to be accepted. The possession of certain codes (norms) that are required to pass through the first layer of the firewall (employment), and give access to some networks, does not automatically ensure acceptance and integration into more influential networks (referred to as the informal and inner layers of the firewall). The results furthermore show that the firewall metaphor is fruitful when facilitating reflection processes amongst employees to improve norma wareness and to discuss strategies for change. The conclusion is that the firewall metaphor facilitates an analysis of the relational and complex doing of constraining norms, and that it also can be used to initiate change.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Susanne, et al.
(författare)
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Moving with(in) normative firewalls : a dynamic approach to study gendered careers and innovation processes in the truck industry
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we explore how existing work place culture and gendered norms impact on the possibilities to work with so called ”norm-critical” innovation processes in an organisation. Norm-critical reflexivity in the context of innovation processes implies to pay attention to invisible and implicit norms that may result in that certain privileged perspectives is being prevailed (over others) (Balkmar & Lykke 2015). The empirical findings emanates from a two year interactive research project, in which gender researchers in collaboration with participants at Volvo Group, Sweden, have explored the ways that the company can increase its capacity to work with norm-critical perspectives in the innovation process. Volvo is a highly gender segregated organisation. At the same time the trucking industry in itself is highly masculinized in terms of different professions; ranging from truck drivers to sales personnel to technical engineers involved in the design and manufacturing of trucks. In later years the shortage of truck drivers, in combination with more women drivers entering trucking academies and haulage contractors, has led to a questioning of male norms in the transport business. This includes reports of difficult working conditions for female truckers, including how the design of the truck itself takes the male body as the implicit norm, to the assumption that it is a man that is the presumed driver of trucks.This paper focus on the part of the project that seeks to better understand how existing work-place culture and norms structure who is considered the ideal employee (Acker 1992) and its implications for innovation. This includes studying its impacts on both the possibility for different categories of employees to take part in the innovation work on equal terms, and the ability to reflect upon the impact of implicit norms in the innovation process itself. In total, 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with co-workers and managers (13 women and 5 men). The main questions concerned whether there existed ideals that formed implicit ”codes” (Bendl and Schmidt 2010) in the organization and its impact on ideas of preferred professional qualifications, behaviors, personal qualities and its links to career possibilities and innovation. The underlying theoretical assumption is that gender is a fundamental element of organisational structure and work life; “present in [its] processes, practices, images and ideologies, and distribution of power” (Acker 1992, p. 567). The way that gender plays out in the daily life in a workplace is understood as not being a static barrier prohibiting women in general, rather, it is considered fluid, relational and may vary depending on the context (Meyerson & Fletcher 2001, Bendl and Schmidt 2010). It is argued that the concept ”fire wall” (Bendl and Schmidt 2010 ), offers a fruitful way to highlight the elasticity and permeability that we believe characterize the forms of discrimination, inclusion and exclusion that takes place in these processes.ReferencesAcker, J. 1992. Gendering Organisational Theory. In Mills, A. and Tancered, P. (eds.). Gendering Organisational Analysis. London: SAGE.Acker, J. 2006. Inequality Regimes: Gender, Class, and Race in Organisations. Gender and Society 20(4):441-464.Balkmar, D. & Lykke, N. 2015. Developing disruptive norm-critical innovation at Volvo: FINAL REPORT. Linköping: Tema Genus Report Series No. 23: 2015.Bendl, R. & Schmidt. 2012. From 'Glass Ceilings' to 'Firewalls' - Different Metaphors for Describing Discrimination. Gender, Work and Organization. Vol. 17. No 5:612-635.Meyerson, D. & Fletcher J.K. 2001. A Modest Manifesto for Shattering the Glass Ceiling. Boston: Harvard Business Review.
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| 3. |
- Balkmar, Dag, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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A Reconsideration of Two "Welfare Paradises" : Research and Policy Responses to Men's Violence in Denmark and Sweden
- 2009
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Ingår i: Men and Masculinities. - : Sage Publications. - 1097-184X .- 1552-6828. ; 12:2, s. 155-174
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article compares the situation in Denmark and Sweden regarding research and policy making around the issue of men-s violence to women and children. It does so by drawing on two comprehensive reviews of academic and policy data in those countries that were part of a broader European Union-funded project. Although the picture emerging from this comparison is complex, the overall conclusion is that in Sweden over recent years many more examples can be found of a critical, power-oriented approach than is the case in Denmark.
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| 4. |
- Balkmar, Dag, 1974-
(författare)
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A Violent Regime : Men, Masculinities and Road Conflicts in Sweden
- 2018
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This presentation focuses on violence(s) in traffic space as a gendered problem. It draws on qualitative online studies and interviews with cyclists about their experiences of motorists’ violent practices, including cyclists’ negotiations of anti-cyclist discourses and their coping strategies. It follows that modal conflicts is not only a problem for cities with a low prevalence of cycling; ‘bike friendly’ cities like Copenhagen and Stockholm are also troubled by fights between cyclists and drivers (Freudendal-Pedersen 2015; Koglin 2013). Such conflicts are gendered in complex ways.Automobility appears to be a ‘violent regime’ (Joelsson 2013), a regime that produces uncaring, oppressive and violent configurations of men and masculinity (cf. Hanlon 2009). However, there are no clear-cut gendered frameworks to be applied. Such violence cannot be understood within a binary gendered framework; there is neither clearly a typical victim position nor a gendered perpetrator position. It is argued that automobility makes it possible for certain men to perform their ‘right to the road’, including gender-identity-shaping practices, and that this has the negative effect of violating cyclists’ bodily integrity. It follows that a shift from cars to more sustainable mobilities also demands related shifts in masculinities and men’s practices in the context of transport and traffic.
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| 5. |
- Balkmar, Dag, 1974-
(författare)
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Arbetspendling på cykel : vardagsrisk, hälsa och arbetsorganisationers strategier för ökad cykelpendling
- 2013
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Ingår i: I Rörelse/On the move. - : ACSIS. ; , s. 96-96
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Frågan om vikten av att öka cykeltrafiken och göra den säkrare har rönt stor uppmärksamhet såväl medialt som inom forskningen under senare år. Många organisationer, kommuner och landsting uppmanar också sina anställda att cykla mer, något som ofta argumenteras för i positiva termer av dess bidrag till ökat välbefinnande, (folk)hälsa, teamkänsla och framkomlighet i storstäderna.Detta projekt syftar till att med utgångspunkt i ett antal arbetsorganisationer vilka arbetar med att förmå sina medarbetare att välja cykel som transport till jobbet nå en fördjupad kunskap om de vardagsvillkor som gör att vissa väljer cykel och andra inte. Med etnografisk metodologi är målet med detta projekt att bidra med en kontextualiserad beskrivning av människors vardagsvillkor för arbetspendling med cykel.Att färdas med cykel är förknippat med olika former av upplevelser, emotioner och (föränderliga) identiteter. Genom att beakta arbetspendling med cykel ur ett vardagsperspektiv fokuseras upplevelser av cykling relaterat till såväl cyklingens njutningar som utsatthet som oskyddad trafikant, eventuella konflikter med andra trafikslag samt hur arbetsorganisationer försöker förmå sina medarbetare att välja cykeln före mindre miljövänliga sätt att färdas.
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| 6. |
- Balkmar, Dag, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Bicycling and politics : movements, strategies and visions in bicycle activism in Sweden
- 2016
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Swedish national government, as transport authorities and many Swedish municipalities, are currently planning and implementing ambitious programs that are designed to promote cycling and increase the share of cycling among everyday travel modes. However, with more ‘pro-cycling’ discourses and in the wake of antagonism and lack of road space for increasing numbers of cyclists, new forms of bicycle activism appears to be on the rise.The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the ways in which bicycle activists in Sweden construct their politics and the role of bicycle activism as a vehicle for contributing to more sustainable cycling futures. What are their concrete approaches and strategies that inform their activism? How do activists and advocates view bicyclists as e.g. vulnerable, angry or marginalized subjects, and how do they view their roles as spokespersons for these groups? What alternative visions for cycling and cyclists are expressed? Empirically the paper focuses on three expressions of contemporary bicycling activism/advocacy; the Swedish national cycling advocacy organization, the ad-hoc “Ghost Bike Sweden” and the on-line based “Bike Maffia”-initiative in Stockholm.It is argued that all three reflect a “contested terrain” with regard to approaches and strategies to bicycle activism (Vivanco 2013, 103). Although all three share an ambition to improve conditions for cyclists, they reflect core differences in their strategies and views on bicycling as contested practice: from more pragmatic, policy- and solution-oriented approaches to explicitly political and hands-on street-level activism. All three organisations/initiatives also represents different forms of grassroots organisations with different capacities to participate within formal governance structures. However, the more activist based initiatives seem to create spaces for new forms of political engagement beyond formal institutions – initiatives that also are worth listening to.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Balkmar, Dag, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Contested mobilities : politics, strategies and visions in Swedish bicycle activism
- 2017
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Ingår i: Applied mobilities. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2380-0127 .- 2380-0135. ; 2:2, s. 151-165
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cycling is currently the focus of considerable political and public attention in many urban areas. As more and more cyclists claim space on the roads, new forms of political engagement in cycling issues beyond traditional bicycle advocacy have also emerged. Beyond focusing on cyclists’ perspectives and rights, these expressions of bicycle activism show the ways in which bicycles – as potential vehicles for sociopolitical change – are contested political and cultural symbols. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the ways in which bicycle activists and advocates in Sweden construct their politics and practices. Empirically the paper addresses three expressions of contemporary bicycling activism and advocacy: the well-established Swedish national cycling advocacy organization Cykelfrämjandet (Cycling Sweden), the ad-hoc Ghost Bike Sweden, and the online-based Bike Maffia-initiative. The empirical material of the paper consists of qualitative interviews with the leading representatives from each organization or initiative, as well as written and video materials. As arenas for cultural politics, the organizations or initiatives are diverse, exemplifying highly different views concerning conflicts in urban space, strategies for addressing these conflicts, and views of cyclists as subjects of bicycle politics. The paper addresses these issues in a specific Swedish context, also exploring the implications for understanding how political activism is shaped more generally. It is argued that bicycle activism can be viewed as a way of practising cycling citizenship, a perspective that provides a conceptual linkage between new social movement theory and activism more generally.
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