ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses gender in two crucial dimensions – men/women and forms of masculinity/femininity – and looks at both of them in general terms and specifically in relation to public organizations in Scandinavia. The main thesis is that, as a workplace, the public sector represents a prominent institution that contributes to the construction of gender. This large female workplace1
is not regarded here primarily as an expression and manifestation of the interests of women; rather, women – in the social sense – are seen as being created by the public sector, thus reproducing existing gender relations. This thesis holds above all for Scandinavia, but we believe it also applies to those welfare states which have a high proportion of women in public organizations.
