Social representations of gender and their influence in Supported Employment: employment specialists’ experiences in Sweden

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant characteristics.

Group	1, P	2, CA	3, P	4, CA	5, CA	6, DA	7, P	8, DA	9, DA	10, DA	Total
Number of participants	3	6	4	5	4	2	4	2	4	5	39
Gender
Men	0	2	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	2	8
Women	3	4	3	5	3	2	3	2	3	3	31
Age (years)
30 or less									2		2
31–40		1	1			2	1	1	2	3	11
41–50	1		1	2	3		1				8
51–60	1	5		3	1		1			2	13
61 or more	1		2				1	1			5
Education^a
University exam											29^b
In Social sciences											18
In Health sciences											6
In Educational sciences											3
Other university exam											2
Vocational diploma^c											8
Unspecified upper secondary diploma											3
Years working in the field^a
+10 years SE experience											11
3–10 years SE experience											15
<3 years SE experience											8
+5 years in VR or with PWD^d											5
Working experience unknown											5

P: Private SE organization; CA: Coordination Agency; DA: Daily Activities. ^aDue to integrity reasons for the participants, education and years working in the field are only presented as totals in the whole study sample. ^bOne of the participants has double university exams in different fields, therefore the total number in education add up to 40. ^cMainly in the field of disability. ^d“+5 years in VR or with PWD (persons with disabilities)” is only provided for participants with less than 3 years of SE experience.

Table 2. Example of the topicalization and thematization.

Episode from the transcripts		Name of episode	Topic	Theme
Moderator 1:	Do you who work in this team have any idea who they are who come to you from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency?	CA^a/VR – Gender/Interactions in VR – Need before gender, seldom thinks about whether it is a man or a woman.	Individual focus hides gender	Gender-related interactions in VR
Barry:	It depends on what you mean by the question. Those who come to us are often people who want to test their ability to work; no matter what gender you have, it’s about wanting to make a change in life and stop being as sick as you are.
Bella:	I agree. I think it’s very difficult. I also haven’t thought about whether we have the most men or women. It’s not something I’ve thought about in that way, but in general I’ve thought of women, but that’s not what I’ve focused on. As Barry says, it’s more their need for our support. I’m just checking, do I work with more men or women? I thought I’d check it right now because I’ve no idea. So, I think it’s very difficult to say.
Hanna:	But of course, there are gender differences. Well, I think so. I myself am part of the norm critical group and work to become better at seeing and preventing negative effects of stereotypical norms. But it is difficult to see your own norms when you work with 10 individuals. Then you try to see them, not their gender, but their person. But it’s good to be aware that the suggested job at a recycling center is a typical male profession. Would I have suggested it to my girls as much as to my guys?	DA^b/VR – Gender/Interactions in VR – Difficult to detect gender differences when working with a few individuals.
Helena:	It’s important to remind oneself of that. I probably don’t think as much, so I’d probably need to think more about gender than I do. This is what I think, we are so influenced in our organization by the individual approach. We start from the individual we are working with right now. The individual perspective – what the person wants, is able to do and needs, so then I easily lose this gender perspective.
Desirée:	And then also that women may generally be more "prudent" and more cautious. And we, who work with these women, then we also become more careful when trying to adapt to the individual.	CA^a/VR – Gender/Interactions in VR – Adapting to being more careful with women.	More careful with women/ Faster toward work with men
	(Doris smiles and nods.)
Desirée:	I may be a bit muddled right now, but that’s what I was thinking.
Moderator 1:	Do the rest of you recognize what Desirée is describing?
Doris:	Yes!
Gabriella:	And I also think, linked to gender, I think about whether we, or I, am quicker to talk about [employment] when it’s a guy who’s out on an internship than if it’s a girl. These are my thoughts. I don’t know.	P^c/VR – Gender/Interactions in VR – Faster toward ”job talk” with the boys, more careful with the girls.
Moderator 2:	Why do you get that idea about yourself? What’s the basis of that experience?
Gabriella:	Yes, but you know, a bit like we talked about yesterday, these girls I work with, they often have so many things going on. (Greta nods.) And just getting away from home and breaking their pattern; it’s such a big goal that it’s like “Yes! Now we’re out, and it works!” But the guys are in a different position most of the time, they are more ready and then I follow that too. I’m sitting here wondering if I perhaps do this, because the goal looks so different most of the time.

^a Coordination agencies. ^bDaily activities. ^cPrivate SE organization.

Table 3. The five themes with their corresponding topics.

Theme	Differences in personal and health factors among VR participants^a	Gender norms in society influencing VR	Energy-intensive environmental issues influencing VR	Gender-related interactions in VR	Gendered paths in the welfare system
	(All groups)	(All groups)	(9 groups)	(All groups)	(5 groups)
Topics	Compliant/ Determined-Demanding 8 groups	Gender roles – men breadwinners, women mothers 7 groups	Home and family influence women’s energy 6 groups	More careful with women/ Faster toward work with men 7 groups	Different paths into VR 5 groups
	Feeling insecure/Feeling secure 7 groups	Expectations on female/male behavior versus criteria for diagnosing 5 groups	Social demands in "female" work 6 groups	Broadening horizons 6 groups	Cracks in the system influence women more 2 groups
	More mental illness/Less mental illness 6 groups	Men and women hiding disability 4 groups	Other surrounding issues taking energy from women 4 groups	Easier to find work for men than women 6 groups	More boys among school refusals? 2 groups
	Want fulfilment from work/Want income from work 5 groups	Stigma for women with ASD/Stigma for men with ID 3 groups	Disability, an aggravated trap for women 3 groups	ES’^b,c methods and values influence the VR 6 groups	Men want employment immediately, difficult with the internship system^c 2 groups
	Bigger social network/ Smaller network-Network online 4 groups	Societal norms about suitable roles for men and women 3 groups		Individual focus hides gender 6 groups
	Relations in focus/ Activities in focus 4 groups	Different ideas about men and women’s mental health 3 groups		ES^b follow societal norms and participants wishes 3 groups
	Easier to express emotions/Harder to express emotions 4 groups	Choosing the same work as your parents 3 groups		Strengthen women’s self-confidence 3 groups
	Young women want education/ Young men want to work 3 groups	Gender specific choices for work 3 groups		Skewed working material strengthens gender roles 3 groups
	Great exposure to violence/ Exposure to violence 3 groups	Workplaces more tolerant with men 3 groups		Engaged employer important, especially for women 2 groups
	Higher education/ Lower education 2 groups	Higher societal requirements on women 3 groups		Different expressions by men and women, might benefit men in VR 2 groups
	Internalizing problems/ Externalizing problems^c 2 groups	Norms for mothers to be supporting 3 groups		Women connect with men, men with men^c 2 groups
	Dependence/ Independence 2 groups	No perceived gender differences in young participants 3 groups
	Introvert at school/ Extrovert at school 2 groups

^aThe female trait is before the/. The male trait is after the/. ^bEmployment specialist. ^cEspecially in relation to women/men from other cultural settings other than the Swedish.