Gender system analysisGenovate Toolkit

WHAT

Despite a growing awareness of gender inequality there are still obsolete structures and practices within e.g. innovation systems. Acker for this reason proposed analysing gender systems in relation to structures, interactions, symbols, and identities.

WHY

The purpose of analysing gender systems is to identify aspects that contribute to the doing of gender, and make an activity plan for change.


Time
2-40 h

People
1-5 persons

Dificulty
3

Phases

Print

HOW

Prepare
Pens, paper, organizational material, annual reports etc.

Analyse and map structures:

  • What is the numerical representation of women and men?
  • What is the gender balance in terms of work roles?
  • What is the gender balance in terms of hierarchy and power?
  • What is the gender balance in physical location? Who is where?
  • What is the gender balance in terms of promotions?
  • How do the structures affect symbols, interactions, and individual identities?

Analyse and map interactions:

  • What interactions do women and men, women and women, and men and men have during a work day? A work week?
  • What is the gender distribution in the interaction? (i.e., how many women and men)
  • What is the power balance in the interactions? (i.e., how is power distributed among women and men)
  • Who decides? Who is acknowledged? Who supports whom?
  • How do the interactions affect structures, symbols, and individual identities?

Analyse and map symbols:

  • What symbols and images represent the organisation?
  • What do they state in terms of gender equality?
  • What are the visible and invisible norms that people conform to?
  • What is the work place culture, and what does it symbolise in terms of gender equality?
  • How does the symbols affect structures, interactions, and individual identities?

Analyse and map individual identities:

  • What symbols and images represent the organization?
  • What do they state in terms of gender equality?
  • What are the visible and invisible norms that people conform to?
  • What is the work place culture, and what does it symbolize in terms of gender equality?
  • How do the symbols affect structures, interactions, and individual identities?
Reflect
  • What did we learn?
  • How does the established corporate identity correspond with the analysis of the gender system?
  • What actions can be taken to change?
  • Who should be involved and who should take responsibility for activities?

Methods

Gender app

x h xx persons
WHAT

This is a tool for gender mainstreaming collaboratively created by two universities and some industry stakeholders, a gender mainstreaming checklist. The tool is designed to facilitate the integration of a gender and diversity perspective in projects and other activities. The app contains a checklist of practical gender mainstreaming in projects or other activities.

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Gender observations

2 h 1-3 persons
WHAT

Gender observations is a tool to explore and bring to life differences in how women and men act and react in everyday interactions.

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Gender system analysis

2-40 h 1-5 persons
WHAT

Despite a growing awareness of gender inequality there are still obsolete structures and practices within e.g. innovation systems. Acker for this reason proposed analysing gender systems in relation to structures, interactions, symbols, and identities.

READ MORE

Value exercises

WHAT

Value exercise is a tool that encourages a discussion about your values, your team’s values, your organization’s values, and society’s values. The exercises can be a good way to begin a seminar or session, as an “ice breaker”, and as a way to stimulate new thinking. It can be varied in a number of ways, depending on issues, what statements are important to explore, and what prior knowledge and understanding participants have.

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World café

3-4 h 6-xx persons
WHAT

World café is a tool that invites stakeholders and other interested parties to explore questions and issues.

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Critical Incident Technique

2-4 h 1-7 persons
WHAT

Developed by Flanagan in 1954, the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) is originally a technique for collecting observations on human behaviour to identify a particular event that somehow has been critical, either positively or negatively. The technique can be used in interviews, in focus groups, or in workshop settings within a work group.

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Personas

2-40 h 2-7 persons
WHAT

Personas are fictional descriptions of a person whose goals, feelings, perceptions, experiences, etc. are relevant to the work group it is designed for. It is a commonly implemented design method to make the design team emphasize user experiences.

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Action plan for change

X h X persons
WHAT

An action plan helps us go from visions to reality. It describes the way your team will use its knowledge, strategies, and competences to meet the objective of a gender equality and diversity aware innovation system. An action plan consists of a number of short- and long-term actions.

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