In homosocial male-dominated organisational cultures, it is usual that women act on heterosocial expectations, i.e., orient themselves towards men in order to be included (Lipman-Blumen, 1976: Holgersson, 2013). As noted by, e.g. Bird (1996), heterosociality is still a concept in need for theoretical development. In this paper, we explore lived experiences of heterosociality in Swedish academic organisational cultures to (1) identify various ways in which heterosociality manifests in organisational cultures, and (2) to conceptualise the consequences of heterosociality for the creation and maintenance of homosocial cultures.Heterosociality affects the establishment and reproduction of homosocial culture, as these two phenomena are fundamentally co-created. Our research reveals several key consequences. Men are consistently positioned as superior and self-evident, embodying the normative ideal in academic professions, while women are constructed as deviants of lesser value. This manifests in men's broader scope of culturally sanctioned actions and expressions, including the ability to advocate for equality without negative repercussions (Armato, 2013). We identify a 'individuality paradox' wherein men are simultaneously viewed as independent agents and collective norm-setters, while women face the contradictory expectation to avoid gender-based collectivity yet are invariably categorised as a homogeneous, deviant group. Furthermore, men's relational patterns –competitive behaviours (Berdahl et al, 2018), 'manhood acts' (Schrock & Schwalbe, 2009), or homosocial brotherhood (Fisher & Kinsey, 2014) – are valorised within the culture. Paradoxically, while heterosocial practices enable this system's maintenance, they are simultaneously devalued due to their feminine associations.

In this article we develop a theoretical perspective of how professional identities in multi-professional organisational settings are co-constructed in daily interactions. The research reported here is located in a healthcare context where overlapping knowledge bases, unclear divisions of responsibilities, and an increased managerialist emphasis on teamwork make interprofessional boundaries in healthcare opera- tions more complex and blurred than ever. We thereby build on a research tradition that recognises the healthcare sector as a negotiated order, specifically studying how professional identities are invoked, constructed, and re-constructed in everyday work interactions. The perspective is employed in an analysis of qualitative data from interviews and participant observation at a large Swedish hospital, in which we find three main processes in the construction of space of action: hierarchical, inclusive, and pseudo-inclu- sive. In most of the interactions, existing inter-professional divides and power relations are sustained, pre- venting developments towards integrated interprofessional teamwork.

In this paper, we suggest a research agenda based on a review of literature exploring gender in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) published in key field-specific journals in nonprofit studies. The literature review shows that gender is often included as an unproblematized variable and that few studies focus on organizational processes that (re)produce gender inequalities and promote gender equality in NPOs. There is thus a need to expand our knowledge concerning gender in NPOs. The purpose of this paper is therefore to contribute to the development of empirical and theoretical work concerning organizational processes that (re)produce gender in NPOs. In order to inspire such endeavors, we outline a research agenda that proposes an understanding of gender informed by gender theory, an acknowledgement of NPOs as arenas where gender is (re)produced, and a development of theories on NPOs as gendered organizations.

Background Home care is beset with work environment issues and high staff turnover, while research concerned with interventions to improve the work environment is sparse. Few of the existing interventions apply a participative approach, despite this being associated with more positive outcomes and sustainable change. This paper presents a framework, rooted in action research and action learning, for participatory work environment interventions in home care, and demonstrates how this framework has been implemented in four Swedish home care organizations. Methods The framework has three phases (pre-intervention, intervention planning and intervention implementation) and consists of cycles of action and reflection in three constellations: a group of researchers, a reference group with labour market organization representatives and home care managers, and intervention work groups in the home care organizations. The work was documented and analysed with focus on the realization of the framework and challenges that were met on the way. The interventions were evaluated using a pre-/post-test questionnaire design. Results Parts of the framework were successfully implemented. The pre-intervention phase and the intervention planning phase, with intervention work groups, worked well. All four groups identified one intervention relevant to their own context. However, only two of the proposed interventions were fully implemented and evaluated. The high staff and management turnover, and the high rate of organizational changes made it impossible to evaluate the interventions statistically. Yet, data from open-ended questions in the post questionnaire showed that the two implemented interventions were perceived as successful. Conclusions The participatory framework, presented in this paper, seems promising for work environment interventions in home care. The framework was designed to reduce the risk of known disturbances affecting the process in unstable organizations. Despite this, it proved challenging to execute the framework, and especially the interventions, due to changes happening at high speed. In the two cases where organizational changes were not dominating, the interventions were implemented successfully. While the prerequisites for participation and successful implementation could be improved somewhat, the main issue, the instability of the organizational context, is hard for researchers or the individual home care units to tackle alone.

Home care for the elderly constitutes a large and growing part of the social welfare system. Though, home care work is associated with a number of work environment-related challenges, including an increased risk for injuries, musculoskeletal disorders, high levels of sick leave and staff turnover, as well as stress and high workload, research is sparse. The present study explores local initiatives to improve the work environment initiated by the home care organizations themselves, and asks whether or not these initiatives affected gender equality. A qualitative web survey was sent to Swedish home care organizations, with open questions about change initiatives intended to have a positive effect on the work environment. There is an impressive amount of local work environment-related change initiatives going on. 80 categories of change initiatives were identified in answers from 178 units. However, these change initiatives were seldom evaluated or made accessible to stakeholders outside the organization. Main themes were concerned with work organization, digitalization, and planning, which largely follows trends in society (ie, digitalization, teamwork), rather than the actual needs identified by research (eg, musculoskeletal disorders). Despite apparent gender-related challenges, little of the work was associated with gender equality. The results indicates that there is a huge learning potential as the identified initiatives can serve as inspiration for others. However, to fully take advantage of these type of initiatives, more systematic evaluations are required.

The purpose of this paper is to develop our theoretical understanding of the transformative potential of separatist methods in gender equality work by studying a women-only programme at a male-dominated higher education institution in Sweden. The analysis explores in what way a separatist method, that has an interactive design and content with a power perspective, can support change leadership. Extant research has criticized women-only programmes for excluding men from gender equality work, and for placing the responsibility for gender inequalities and change efforts on women. This critique is based on analyses of women-only programmes that are intended to support women in their careers on an individual level. Findings show that the studied method supports the participants in their change leadership. They highlight that the common understanding, sense of belonging and agency that emerged within the programme was a source of both emotional and intellectual empowerment, here labelled ”collective empowerment”. Frustration emanating from increased awareness is also handled through ”collective empowerment”. The study concludes that the critique against women-only programmes is not relevant for initiatives that conceive gender equality work as organizational change. 

Förändringsinitiativ med enbart kvinnor möter ofta kritik utifrån föreställningar om att män utesluts från jämställdhetsarbete eller att kvinnor belastas med skuld för ojämställdhet och ett särskilt ansvar för ökad jämställdhet. Genom begreppet kollektiv egenmakt undersöker artikeln förändringspotentialen i separatistiska metoder i jämställdhetsarbete i mansdominerade organisationer.