Lack of gender awareness affects not only the conditions under which people work, itis also an obstacle to organisations’ ability to produce, develop and organise for innovation.This article presents an approach called action-orientated gender research, amerger of two theoretical perspectives: a) the doing-gender perspective, with its understandingof gender as formed in on-going relational activities and b) learning theorywithin the action research tradition, which focuses on reflection, learning and especiallyreflective learning for transformation. Gender theory and learning theory are combinedinto joint learning processes in networks of participants from different organisationswithin innovation systems. This makes it possible to uncover taken-for-grantedassumptions and gendered power relations which constrain the development of newinnovative possibilities in organisations.This article will present basic theoretical characteristic of the action-orientatedgender research approach, plus examples of how we have worked with this approachin a network of middle managers. Moreover, we will elaborate on the important considerationswe have discovered for organising transformative learning aimed at developinggender-aware, innovative organisations. The empirical material in the articlecomes from two meetings. One in which co-research was conducted with two managersworking in the same organisation. The other meeting took place one month laterwhen all the managers in the Gender network were present. During this second meeting,observations from the earlier co-research were presented and discussed using theconcentric circle method.

By using gender theory in joint learning processes in innovation systems, new perspectives can develop that creates new innovative possibilities in organizations. An action oriented gender research, with a focus both on creating new knowledge and on change processes, can create new patterns of actions and through those sustainable possibilities for gender mainstreaming. To mainstream gender in the production of services and production, the life of the organization or the innovation system itself, need to be addressed. How the constructions and interaction of the organizations evolves, does affect what is possible to achieve in new innovations. Action oriented gender research gives a frame to make the organizational “culture” visible. By not only make it visible, but also focus desirable changes, can contribute to a sustainable growth with the assumption of inclusion of the whole society. The so called “Doing gender-perspective” helps to create awareness of gender as an impeded structure of the organizations goal.

Pappret handlar om ett förändringsarbete för jämställda organisationer på genusvetenskaplig grund. Fem regionala nätverksgrupper med deltagare från 25 organisationer inom såväl privat som offentlig sektor har deltagit. Deltagarna i de fem grupperna träffades under en längre tid för att ”gemensamt kunskapa” – skapa kunskap om genus och jämställdhet i organisationer. Deltagarna hade ett åtagande att agera förändringsledare och gruppens funktion var att ge stöd åt förändringsprocesser.Den fråga som utforskas är hur normer om genus kan bli framkallade och förändrade – med stöd i såväl genusteori som lärandeprocesser i grupp. Projektet befann sig i skärningspunkten mellan genusforskning och ett praktiskt förändringsarbete för jämställda organisationer. Två forskningstraditioner har kombinerats: genus- och aktionsforskning/interaktiv forskning som smält samman till Aktionsorienterad genusforskning.Jag diskuterar särskilt en av de fem nätverksgrupperna, som bestod av deltagare från en organisation. 17 deltagare, nio kvinnor och åtta män, träffades totalt 20 dagar under 1,5 år för att i gemensamma processer reflektera, medforska, lära och förändra. Metodologi från aktionsforskning har använts och en rad förändringsprocesser och motstånd har efter hand utvecklats. Pappret diskuterar hur förändringar i den organisationens ”kultur” skedde parallellt med projektet och genom deltagarnas aktörskap och stöd från organisationens ledning.

Detta bidrag presenterar ett pågående tillämpat genus- och jämställdhetsprojekt - Genus- och jämställdhetsutveckling i Fastelaboratoriet. Projektet syftar till en ökad och hållbar jämställdhetsintegrering och högre genusmedvetenhet i ett innovationssystem. I projektet deltar 8 industripartner samt 6 akademiska avdelningar och två genusforskare vid Luleå tekniska universitet. En genusteoretisk plattform “doing gender in organisations” kombineras i projektet med en interaktiv forsknings- och utvecklingsansats med syftet att öka hållbarheten i förändringsprocessen. I papret görs ett nedslag i processen hos en industriell partner. Bidraget beskriver erfarenheter från hur en grupp mellanchefer i ett tekniskt och mansdominerat industriföretag reflekterar över mötet med genusteori och lärande kopplat till nya handlingsmönster hos dem själva. Deltagande interaktiva metoder, som genusobservationer och ”concentric circles” beskrivs som ”framkallar” kulturen så att värderingar och normer som hindrar en ökad jämställdhetsintegrering och genuskompetensutveckling blir synliga. En övergripande diskussion förs om reflekterande läroprocesser och medforskning i organisationer med nyttoinriktade mål och en handlingskultur med starkt fokus på problemlösning inramat av ett naturvetenskapligt paradigm. Ett paradigm där en naturlig måttstock är den evidensbaserade forskningens. Papret problematiserar även hur förändringar i en jämställdhetsintegreringsprocess kan förstår och mätas i relation till begrepp som radikal och inkrementell förändring.

Learning Community is a way of shaping innovations – by learning of each other, give different perspectives and through reflection see different organizations in various ways.This paper is about how a learning community within the Innovation system Fiber Optic Valley is conducted. The group concists of people from 10 different organisations, both private and public, with a triple helix-design. 2-4 participants, mostly in a middle manager-position, is part of the group who meets twice a year as a whole group.Methodology from Action Research has been used in framing the processes. Especially Action learning (McGill & Brockbank 2004) has given both a theoretical basis and methods for building on the relationship between reflection and action. By learning from experiences, through reflection, opens possibilities to reconsider past events, making sense of ones actions and find new ways of behaving at future events (ibid: 13).One example of joint knowledge is discussed; one of the participating organizations are in an inner circle with an outer circle as a reflecting team. The issue is to develop awareness about the workplace culture, through reflection and gender theoretical perspectives. The process gave insights about that particular organization, but also perspectives about the other 9 participating ones.The learning community is aiming at being a platform for knowledge production between practitioners, researchers and others (Senge & Scharmer 2001). In order to create new knowledge you need a shared understanding for theory development, tools and practical knowledge as equally important parts and dependent on each other (ibid).Different kinds of reflecting teams, concentric circle (McGill & Brockbank 2004) helps to create a space for reflection and challenge. By going deeper in an organisation, gives an opportunity do shared perspectives that can contribute to new insights and learning. In the Learning Community, interventions are welcome, from all of the group.Learning community is a part of an approach called Action-oriented Gender Research. It is placed in the intersection between practical equality work and gender research – with the so called doing gender-perspective (West & Zimmerman 1987, Acker 1992).

Research roles in action-oriented gender research provide opportunities for closer, deeper and more common understanding of change. The joint processes create a new knowledge and shared analysis of the action-oriented gender research can contribute to deepening perspectives.This kind of research puts different demands on the researcher compared with many other types of gender research. There are dilemmas with being interactive, flexible and reflexive in that you are participating and are a part of the action processes at the same time as you are researching them. To connect these participatory, action-oriented and learning processes is a challenge that I want to address in this paper. After the background section, I present a summary of what I call my research: action-oriented gender research. The researcher's role is the main part of the paper, which concludes with some discussions of dilemmas.