Inspirerad av Sara Farris’ begrepp femonationalism undersöker kapitlet hur svensk politisk diskurs konstruerar berättelser om icke-europeiska muslimska migrantmödrar. I såväl etnonationalistiska, konservativa, nyliberala som workfare-orienterade socialdemokratiska sammanhang framställs dessa mödrar som kulturellt tillbakablickande, ointresserade av jämställdhet, ovilliga att ta avlönat arbete, som mödrar till ”för många” barn och som bärare av traditionella värderingar. Sådana beskrivningar kopplas till bredare farhågor om bidragsberoende, fattigdom och en föreställd kriminalitet bland deras barn och ramar in kvinnorna som misslyckade mödrar. Hög fertilitet och påstådd ovilja att arbeta läses som tecken på bristande jämställdhet och legitimerar politik som kräver assimilering eller hänvisar mödrar till osäkra arbetsvillkor. Kapitlet visar hur jämställdhet mobiliseras för att upprätthålla exkluderande och rasialiserade hierarkier.

Using quantitative and qualitative methods, this study investigates inequalities in occupational status and wages between native-born and foreign-born employees in elderly care institutions in Sweden. It finds that employees from Africa, Asia and Latin America - the "Global South" - are disadvantaged in both respects. Combinatory explanations of the inequalities are needed. The shorter work experience of foreign-born workers in the care sector plus the lesser value given to educational credentials obtained outside Sweden are among the factors related to human capital theory. Access to less-valuable resources in the workplace social networks of foreign-born employees is related to social capital theory. The processes that result in exclusion from powerful social networks, in turn, are found to be affected by discrimination in the workplace.

Populärvetenskaplig rapport från ett projekt om ojämlikhet mellan kvinnliga och manliga anställda och mellan anställda från olika delar av världen i svensk äldrevård samt förslag till förbättrad jämlikhet på arbetsplatserna.

When encountering problems and dissatisfaction in the workplace, employees may choose between three strategies: voice; exit; or silence. Using survey data and interview material from a study of employees in an elderly care organization in Sweden, this article investigates the workers' perceptions of the eligibility and prospects of these strategies and which individual characteristics and situational factors might affect them. The focus is on racialized workers (operationalized through their region of birth) who, according to earlier studies, are less likely than other employees to choose voice behaviour. Contrary to some earlier studies, the results here attribute such a propensity to the importance of power differences across racial hierarchies' rather than to differences in cultural values. Individuals in this (racialized) category have a lower occupational status, earn less and experience less favourable relationships with their managers.

This dissertation is about the experiences of low-paid single mothers in sustaining their families in Sweden in the early 2000. The investigation builds upon interviews with twenty low-paid single mothers living and working in Stockholm. Ten of the women are Swedish-born and the other ten are Iranian-born but have been residing in Sweden for several years. A majority of the Swedish-born women belong to the working class, while most of the Iranian-born mothers are from a middle class background. This study is based on an extended definition of sustenance that encompasses support for livelihood and meeting the family needs that conform to socially accepted norms. Sustenance requires incomes to cover expenses and care work. The informants sustain their families mostly from wage work. However, they also seek allowances from the social security system to buy goods and services that they combine with care work to sustain the family. The care work for younger children demands much time and physical work, while caring for older children requires more mental and emotional work. Sustenance for these mothers implies fulfilling all these demands and also to ensure that the children’s’ needs are met. Several factors influence the mothers’ sustenance. Low wages and the single responsibility for children means less money and more time devoted to care work. Few fathers take significant responsibility for their children’s sustenance. The mothers get support from their social networks, often from other women and from the welfare system. Ethnic background negatively affects sustenance for the Iranian-born mothers mostly in the form of reduced cultural and social capital. Children are the highest priority among all the families. However, the priorities may differ among the families and are connected to the mothers’ class, ethnic background and their access to cultural capital.