Browsing by Author "Thorell, Ellen"

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"I can't change my life situation": An exploration of the relation between agency and social structure for women in the fishery sector in Mangalore, India
(2014-10-21) Thorell, Ellen; University of Gothenburg/School of Global Studies; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för globala studier
A lot of people in the global south's fishery sector live in great poverty. Despite this there is a lack of research which comprises the importance of social sustainability as well as the role of women in the sector. The aim for this paper was to further the understanding of how much agency women in the fishery sector has within the current structures in their context. The research consists of interviews with four women selling fish at a market in Mangalore, with one clerk at the operating corporation and with one union worker. The results from these interviews are discussed together with previous research on agency and social structure. The results show that due to the prevailing structures, the women feel they have little ability to choose how they want to live. The results indicate a lack of resilience due to that the respondents need the market to survive, and if the fish at the market would decrease they would lose their livelihood. The women have low influence on the decisions that might affect the future of the fishery sector and the market. To increase the social sustainability in the fishery sector there is a need for a greater amount of dialog.
The Intersectional Intention: (Re)producing Inequalities When Trying to Attain Gender Equality in Sweden
(2017-06-27) Thorell, Ellen; University of Gothenburg/Department of Cultural Sciences; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper
This thesis investigated the understanding of intersectionality that is being (re)produced in a Swedish governmental investigation report on gender equality (SOU 2015:86). The aim of this study was to critically examine examples found in the SOU-report of the proposed ambition that intersectionality should be implemented into gender equality politics. Analysis was conducted with the help of the What’s the problem represented to be? - method developed by Carol Bacchi (2009a). Focus areas were the intersectionality implementation intention and the meaning and effects this would create for those being governed. The findings point to intersectionality being used as a method to favour gender equality, and not as a critical approach to understand the intersection of social categories. Furthermore, the need for a greater understanding of categorical differences has been explored along with the lack of political dimension in the field of gender equality and intersectionality in politics overall. The thesis concludes that by ignoring the complexity of intersectionality in political implementations, this approach could (re)produce inequalities and thus have negative effects for non-normative subjects. Additionally, a de-politicized use of intersectionality is found which makes intersectionality as a concept more static and thus may hinder fruitful political discussion.