Representation and Normative Power. Intersectional perspectives through the work of The Swedish Union of Tenants 1
The Swedish Union of Tenants has observed a decreasing number of members that want to volunteer in the organization's governing Boards of Trustees. There is a misrepresentation between the membership base and the leadership in the organization in terms of diversity which could obstruct the democratic leadership in the long run. The project runs in conjunctions with the ongoing work for the organization's future strategies and goals.
This project examines the relationship between representation, power, and normative values at the Board of Trustees and Election Committee at regional level. Which norms about gender, age, class and ethnicity affect the recruitment and elections of trustees? How has the professionalization process of the organization changed the board members work? What knowledge is expected from new board members and what knowledge is valued less important?
The first phase of the project is a qualitative interview study with members of the regional Boards of Trustees and Election Committees. The results of the study are used in the next interactive phase where the chairmen of all nine regions in Sweden meet with the researcher in workshops, to discuss the work of the boards from a norm critical perspective. The interactive research approach challenges the distinction between theory and practice and enhances the ability to create useful tools. The theories that influence the project stem from feminist theory, intersectionality theory and norm critical theories.
This project examines the relationship between representation, power, and normative values at the Board of Trustees and Election Committee at regional level. Which norms about gender, age, class and ethnicity affect the recruitment and elections of trustees? How has the professionalization process of the organization changed the board members work? What knowledge is expected from new board members and what knowledge is valued less important?
The first phase of the project is a qualitative interview study with members of the regional Boards of Trustees and Election Committees. The results of the study are used in the next interactive phase where the chairmen of all nine regions in Sweden meet with the researcher in workshops, to discuss the work of the boards from a norm critical perspective. The interactive research approach challenges the distinction between theory and practice and enhances the ability to create useful tools. The theories that influence the project stem from feminist theory, intersectionality theory and norm critical theories.
Final report
Aim
Research has shown a change in Swedish civil society since the 1990s. Although people's voluntary activities have not been reduced overall, the involvement has changed within the social movements, in terms of a smaller number of people already engaged becoming more intensely involved while the number of passive members is increasing. It has resulted in a concentration of power to a few, and the average age of volunteer board members has increased. Civil society researcher Lisa Kings shows that the established organizations have difficulties to include and engage two social groups – young people, and especially young men, and residents with foreign background (Kings 2013). King's report concludes with a call to these organizations that they “should, through critical examination and self-examination, pay attention to exclusionary mechanisms within their own organization" (Kings 2013, p 53). It is from this thought that the project drew its energy and pace.
Thus, the project "Representation, Power and Norms: Intersectional Perspectives on the Swedish Union of Tenants" does not examine the quantity of volunteer board member, but rather looks at which groups are included and why certain groups are excluded, through a norm critical lens. The problems raised by The Union of Tenant were that fewer volunteer board members could have a negative effect on the internal democracy in the organization. Also, they asked, in what way does representation and diversity affect issues concerning democracy, leadership and legitimacy. I chose to 1) examine how the concept of diversity was interpreted and operationalized in the organization work, 2) have a broad perspective on representation and diversity, where relevant social categories (not only age) were explored both individually and in collaboration with each other in line with intersectional theory, 3) put my focus on how intersections shape normative positions and organization of work among the elected boards and 4) examine if and how internal norms might exclude social groups that do not have a strong representation in the organization’s boards.
Methods and empirical material
My empirical material has been collected during a two-year period, through group interviews and individual interviews with elected representatives and employees in the organization's nine regions spread in the country. The focus has been on elected representatives in boards, the chairman and election committees. In addition to the interview material, the analyzes are also based on internal organizational reports, statistics and policy documents, participatory observations on conferences and training courses, and an interactive workshop series with the group of nine regional chairmen during the period. The project was based on an interactive research approach. This meant that participants, both elected representatives and employees in the organization, was given the opportunity to discuss and provide feedback on research questions, methods and preliminary analyzes. It also meant that I have been involved in and influenced some of the processes that led to the material being analyzed, for example certain policy documents. In this sense, the research process has been in constant interaction between previous scholarly work, critical theories and the practical work that has been carried out in the organization.
Important findings
Empirically, I have been able to demonstrate links between sociological representativeness within elective boards (which persons and groups become elected and remain in decision making group), norms within the organizational culture (behaviors, attitudes, languages, silent agreements, organization of work) and unconscious exclusion of minority groups. My material shows complex relations between and organizations “willingness to change” and “resistance to change”. By using a norm-critical perspective, that is, examining those who are included in the norm and how they claim to maintain power in the organization, I have been able to clarify that the difficulties in working with broader representation are not just based in individual peoples resistance to is but also about organizational conditions and organizational culture. Through an intersectional norm-critical perspective, I show how power within the organization interacts with the hegemonic power of the surrounding society, and at the same time creates alternative opportunities for positions of power. The Union of Tenants is for example an organization where white Swedish older women from the working class now have had the opportunity to both gain and retain power, after decades of struggle for space in relation to white men from the working class. Through the organization’s official ambition to actively include both younger people and people with a foreign background, the positions of power and a fight for space are negotiated again.
My theoretical point of departure in this project stems from intersectional theory, ie how different social power systems interact both structurally and at the individual level, for instance rasism, sexism and ageism. I started out investigate which social categories were relevant, based on gender, ethnicity, and age, but also be open to the fact that other variables could prove to be central. Early on it became clear that the organization was mostly interested in understanding norms that affect ethnicity and age, as the majority of elected representatives are white Swedish born over 60 years. It became necessary to add class perspectives in the analysis that included material conditions, education and social capital. In addition, concept of racialization and whitness was needed to understand the complex ways of excluding not only people born in other countries, but also black and brown people with Swedish background. Intersectional studies often show how power interact in multiple ways in order to subordinate certain groups, for example, black, immigrant women in the low wage professions, in comparison to white Swedish men in the high wage professions.
I, however, wanted to understand dynamic power relations through intersectionality where ethnicity, racialization, class, gender and age not only create multiple subordinations but to each other, but rather a complex set of practices. Through my material I have been able to contribute with theoretical reflections on intersectional complexity (cf. Nash 2008). In order to understand how these processes are expressed within the organization, it has been necessary to link class aspects to critical whiteness studies theoretical concepts such as "white ignorance" (Mills 2017, Swan 2017), "white privilege" (Bergo 2015), "white flight" (Kye 2018) and "white tears" (Srivastava 2006). It made it possible to show patterns in the passive resistance that exist within the organization despite the official attitude to diversity work and broadened representation.
The last contribution I want to mention is a methodological reflection on my own situated position (cf. Haraway 1988) as a black feminist researcher within an organization characterized by normative whiteness and working class ideologies but who claim to work with diversity. By rediscovering concepts from black feminist methodology and auto-ethnography, I could follow and track events in the research process that affected the results (cf. Collins 1986, Griffin 2012). As feminist scholars have shown for decades, it cannot be stressed enough that the research process is not conducted by a neutral and objective scholar whose own position does not affect the empirical world in which the research is situated. My specific position as a black female academic (who was also read as “young” in the eyes of many of the participants) both opened up new issues and made certain meetings in the empirical data collection more difficult. Since the material in this part consisted of own field notes and observations from a perspective that was not requested by the investigated organization, I also got an in-depth opportunity to reflect on ethical approaches regarding material collection and publishing strategies.
Continuation of collaborative research
The findings and analysis of the material have been spread throughout the project, both within and outside the academic context. Since the project has had an interactive research approach, it was necessary to share preliminary analyzes and results for employees and active within the Union of Tenants. The project has resulted in a comprehensive organizational report to the Union of Tenants and we are developing ways to further spread the results within the framework of the organization's activities. Through lectures, workshops and other educational initiatives, I have participated and spoken at about 20 gatherings where different civil society organizations, including the Union of Tenants, have arranged conferences, courses, network meetings, staff meetings etc.
In the academic context I have participated at the seminars with the research group for civil society research at Ersta-Sköndal College, and presented research results at CEMFOR (Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies on Racism) at Uppsala University, the conference G16 (National Gender Research Conference) and at the Advanced Seminar for Gender Studies at Södertörn University and at the Institute for Housing and Urban Research at Uppsala university.
One of the events where several actors from different arenas really collaborated was at the conference Folk och Kultur (People and Culture) where I was invited talk about my research under the theme "Walk the talk: How can the mission of diversity be put into practice?". In that space, researchers and practitioners from different municipalities and civil society organizations participated in discussions on how to deal with inclusion and diversity in civil society. Finally, a new project is launched in collaboration with an established theater in Stockholm, where I am part of a group of researchers and a writer to develop a performance piece that problematize democracy, Swedish social movements, diversity and representation.
Research has shown a change in Swedish civil society since the 1990s. Although people's voluntary activities have not been reduced overall, the involvement has changed within the social movements, in terms of a smaller number of people already engaged becoming more intensely involved while the number of passive members is increasing. It has resulted in a concentration of power to a few, and the average age of volunteer board members has increased. Civil society researcher Lisa Kings shows that the established organizations have difficulties to include and engage two social groups – young people, and especially young men, and residents with foreign background (Kings 2013). King's report concludes with a call to these organizations that they “should, through critical examination and self-examination, pay attention to exclusionary mechanisms within their own organization" (Kings 2013, p 53). It is from this thought that the project drew its energy and pace.
Thus, the project "Representation, Power and Norms: Intersectional Perspectives on the Swedish Union of Tenants" does not examine the quantity of volunteer board member, but rather looks at which groups are included and why certain groups are excluded, through a norm critical lens. The problems raised by The Union of Tenant were that fewer volunteer board members could have a negative effect on the internal democracy in the organization. Also, they asked, in what way does representation and diversity affect issues concerning democracy, leadership and legitimacy. I chose to 1) examine how the concept of diversity was interpreted and operationalized in the organization work, 2) have a broad perspective on representation and diversity, where relevant social categories (not only age) were explored both individually and in collaboration with each other in line with intersectional theory, 3) put my focus on how intersections shape normative positions and organization of work among the elected boards and 4) examine if and how internal norms might exclude social groups that do not have a strong representation in the organization’s boards.
Methods and empirical material
My empirical material has been collected during a two-year period, through group interviews and individual interviews with elected representatives and employees in the organization's nine regions spread in the country. The focus has been on elected representatives in boards, the chairman and election committees. In addition to the interview material, the analyzes are also based on internal organizational reports, statistics and policy documents, participatory observations on conferences and training courses, and an interactive workshop series with the group of nine regional chairmen during the period. The project was based on an interactive research approach. This meant that participants, both elected representatives and employees in the organization, was given the opportunity to discuss and provide feedback on research questions, methods and preliminary analyzes. It also meant that I have been involved in and influenced some of the processes that led to the material being analyzed, for example certain policy documents. In this sense, the research process has been in constant interaction between previous scholarly work, critical theories and the practical work that has been carried out in the organization.
Important findings
Empirically, I have been able to demonstrate links between sociological representativeness within elective boards (which persons and groups become elected and remain in decision making group), norms within the organizational culture (behaviors, attitudes, languages, silent agreements, organization of work) and unconscious exclusion of minority groups. My material shows complex relations between and organizations “willingness to change” and “resistance to change”. By using a norm-critical perspective, that is, examining those who are included in the norm and how they claim to maintain power in the organization, I have been able to clarify that the difficulties in working with broader representation are not just based in individual peoples resistance to is but also about organizational conditions and organizational culture. Through an intersectional norm-critical perspective, I show how power within the organization interacts with the hegemonic power of the surrounding society, and at the same time creates alternative opportunities for positions of power. The Union of Tenants is for example an organization where white Swedish older women from the working class now have had the opportunity to both gain and retain power, after decades of struggle for space in relation to white men from the working class. Through the organization’s official ambition to actively include both younger people and people with a foreign background, the positions of power and a fight for space are negotiated again.
My theoretical point of departure in this project stems from intersectional theory, ie how different social power systems interact both structurally and at the individual level, for instance rasism, sexism and ageism. I started out investigate which social categories were relevant, based on gender, ethnicity, and age, but also be open to the fact that other variables could prove to be central. Early on it became clear that the organization was mostly interested in understanding norms that affect ethnicity and age, as the majority of elected representatives are white Swedish born over 60 years. It became necessary to add class perspectives in the analysis that included material conditions, education and social capital. In addition, concept of racialization and whitness was needed to understand the complex ways of excluding not only people born in other countries, but also black and brown people with Swedish background. Intersectional studies often show how power interact in multiple ways in order to subordinate certain groups, for example, black, immigrant women in the low wage professions, in comparison to white Swedish men in the high wage professions.
I, however, wanted to understand dynamic power relations through intersectionality where ethnicity, racialization, class, gender and age not only create multiple subordinations but to each other, but rather a complex set of practices. Through my material I have been able to contribute with theoretical reflections on intersectional complexity (cf. Nash 2008). In order to understand how these processes are expressed within the organization, it has been necessary to link class aspects to critical whiteness studies theoretical concepts such as "white ignorance" (Mills 2017, Swan 2017), "white privilege" (Bergo 2015), "white flight" (Kye 2018) and "white tears" (Srivastava 2006). It made it possible to show patterns in the passive resistance that exist within the organization despite the official attitude to diversity work and broadened representation.
The last contribution I want to mention is a methodological reflection on my own situated position (cf. Haraway 1988) as a black feminist researcher within an organization characterized by normative whiteness and working class ideologies but who claim to work with diversity. By rediscovering concepts from black feminist methodology and auto-ethnography, I could follow and track events in the research process that affected the results (cf. Collins 1986, Griffin 2012). As feminist scholars have shown for decades, it cannot be stressed enough that the research process is not conducted by a neutral and objective scholar whose own position does not affect the empirical world in which the research is situated. My specific position as a black female academic (who was also read as “young” in the eyes of many of the participants) both opened up new issues and made certain meetings in the empirical data collection more difficult. Since the material in this part consisted of own field notes and observations from a perspective that was not requested by the investigated organization, I also got an in-depth opportunity to reflect on ethical approaches regarding material collection and publishing strategies.
Continuation of collaborative research
The findings and analysis of the material have been spread throughout the project, both within and outside the academic context. Since the project has had an interactive research approach, it was necessary to share preliminary analyzes and results for employees and active within the Union of Tenants. The project has resulted in a comprehensive organizational report to the Union of Tenants and we are developing ways to further spread the results within the framework of the organization's activities. Through lectures, workshops and other educational initiatives, I have participated and spoken at about 20 gatherings where different civil society organizations, including the Union of Tenants, have arranged conferences, courses, network meetings, staff meetings etc.
In the academic context I have participated at the seminars with the research group for civil society research at Ersta-Sköndal College, and presented research results at CEMFOR (Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies on Racism) at Uppsala University, the conference G16 (National Gender Research Conference) and at the Advanced Seminar for Gender Studies at Södertörn University and at the Institute for Housing and Urban Research at Uppsala university.
One of the events where several actors from different arenas really collaborated was at the conference Folk och Kultur (People and Culture) where I was invited talk about my research under the theme "Walk the talk: How can the mission of diversity be put into practice?". In that space, researchers and practitioners from different municipalities and civil society organizations participated in discussions on how to deal with inclusion and diversity in civil society. Finally, a new project is launched in collaboration with an established theater in Stockholm, where I am part of a group of researchers and a writer to develop a performance piece that problematize democracy, Swedish social movements, diversity and representation.