This article considers the changing nature of social work in England and Sweden in the context of neoliberal reforms, and the consequences of the ongoing shifts to marketisation and differentiation, managerialism and performativity. Drawing on secondary sources and some interview data from English and Swedish social workers, the article argues that social workers in England and Sweden face similar shifts as marketisation, differentiation, managerialism and its related performativity reshape the occupation, all related to the influence of the macro-context of neoliberalism. ‘Evidence based practice' has become elevated as an important approach in line with increasing managerialism and performativity, affecting micro processes of everyday working life. Differences between the two countries lie largely in the timing of reforms and how social workers respond to them in organised ways – through mobilisation within the profession in England and through trades unions and local authorities in Sweden. The changes create uncertainty for social workers; while they are not merely passive victims of change they face difficult conditions in which to forge alternative models of professional practice. Contrary to what might have been expected, given the different social, political and historical legacies in Sweden and England of social democracy and liberalism respectively, comparing the social work occupation in these two countries finds many more similarities than differences in how marketisation, differentiation, managerialism and performativity impact on the occupation.

This paper examines the consequences of the turn to managerialism in higher education in England and Sweden, following the introduction of New Public Managementreforms. The paper considers some of the gender implications, which are explored through the accounts of eight, long-serving, female academics. The first interviews were conducted in 2001 with two female academics in Sweden and two in England, and followed up ten years later in 2011-2012 with four new interviewees, all long-serving female academics. The same interview questions were used at both occasions. While there were differences between the two countries, there was also much similarity. In 2001 respondents generally presented a negative picture of the reforms and highlighted the problems of adjusting to them. Ten years later there seemed to be more accommodation to the reforms. And yet the gendered implications of this are significant: women academics are clearly finding it difficult to pursue research to the extent that they would wish, while they are taking on many teaching and administrative functions.

In this article, we consider the implications of managerial reforms and performativity in higher education in Sweden and England, following the introduction of new public management and the development of neoliberalism. The article examines some gendered implications by drawing on the experiences of eight experienced female academics. The data are drawn from a dataset of interviews. The first interviews we present were conducted at the beginning of 2001 with two long-serving academics from each country. The rest of the interviews we present were conducted 10 years later, with academics who were, like the previous interviewees, long serving. The same interview questions were used for all the interviews. We found differences between the two countries, in terms of social democratic and liberal traditions, as well as similarities. In the earlier interviews, we found the reforms to be viewed negatively, while the later interviews suggested some accommodation in respect of research and management. Yet, despite this, the female academics in both countries had become increasingly subjected to performativity and were experiencing difficulties in undertaking research as they took on more teaching and administration.

We consider the rise of evidence based practice in social work in Sweden and England, countries with social democratic and liberal welfare regimes respectively, through macro (neo-liberal), meso (new public management) and micro (working routine) levels; we also consider its relation to evidence based medicine. Our analysis shows that outcomes are uncertain and subject to resistance, suggesting the reforms are encountering difficulties embedding and securing support from those involved.

This article considers some of the ways in which neoliberalism, through the processes of managerialism, has impacted on the occupation of social work in Sweden and the UK. It is argued that there are similar implications in both countries, through the managerial drive for increased performance in economy, efficiency and effectiveness, but also in the development of evidence based practice. Whilst the key focus of the article is on similarities between these twocountries, differences are also noted. There is also recognition of the way in which resistance to the reconfiguration of social work is taking shape.

The aim of this paper is to examine the ways in which leadership at middle management level in the public realm is gendered. This is attempted largely through a consideration of academic literature, supported by some empirical findings from a research investigation into higher education and social work in Sweden and England and a review of literature that reveals varying types of leadership characterized as masculinist. Taking the position that context shapes social relationships and subject positions, and provides opportunities as well as constraints, we consider leadership in the public sector under the sway of newpublic management, framed by neo-liberalism and the valorization of competition, selfinterested instrumentality, uncertainty and risk, operationalized in public sector organizations through performative regimes. It is argued that while some women and men are willing participants in the new regimes, others are antagonistic or ambivalent, finding themselves mired in neo-bureaucratic processes of surveillance and control, often stuck in occupational cul-de-sacs. It is contended that neo-liberalism and new public management are associated with masculinist forms of rationality that elevate individual winners and losers and divert attention from collective issues of gender. Rather than focus on gendered styles of leadership it is suggested that it is more important to look at their gendered performance and effects.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the attitudes of women and men in relation to gender-appropriate domestic responsibilities and equal opportunities in the changing context of neo-liberalism. Design/methodology/approach – The authors draw on results from an empirical investigation involving 1,731 questionnaires investigating the attitudes of women and men in a town in the north of Sweden. Findings – The tentative conclusions suggest that even if they appear to co-exist in contradictory ways, ideas of gender-appropriate domestic responsibilities and equality of opportunity are in the respondents' minds, alongside neo-liberal notions of individualisation. The prevailing attitudes in respect of gender suggest that women and men make apparently free “choices”; the influence of age on attitudes to gender issues is also considered. Originality/value – This paper considers neo-liberalisation and its impact on gender equity in Sweden, a country with a strong reputation for gender equity and a tradition of collective, inclusive social democracy, somewhere we would be unlikely to find its embedded presence. Using a quantitative self-reporting approach to attitudes relevant to the choices made by men and women, the study raises questions about gender-appropriate domestic responsibilities and equality of opportunity in a country that has been and continues to be regarded as one of the most gender-friendly in the world and likely to be resistant to the influence of neo-liberalism. The implications are explored, with the evidence indicating the presence of neo-liberalism co-existing, albeit perhaps uneasily, with traditions of equality of opportunity and attitudes to gender.

Purpose- The focus of this paper is on the attitudes of women and men in relation to gender-appropriate domestic responsibilities and equal opportunities in the changing context of neo-liberalism. Design/methodology/approach- We draw on results from an empirical investigation involving 1,731 questionnaires investigating the attitudes of women and men in a town in the North of Sweden. Findings- The tentative conclusions suggest that even if they appear to co-exist in contradictory ways, ideas of gender-appropriate domestic responsibilities and equality of opportunity are in the minds of our respondents, alongside neo-liberal notions of individualisation. The prevailing attitudes in respect of gender suggest that women and men make apparently free ‘choices; the influence of age on attitudes to gender issues is also considered. Originality/value- This paper considers neo-liberalisation and its impact on gender equity in Sweden, a country with a strong reputation for gender equity and a tradition of collective, inclusive social democracy, somewhere we would be unlikely to find its embedded presence. Using a quantitative self-reporting approach to attitudes relevant to the choices made by men and women, the study raises questions about gender-appropriate domestic responsibilities and equality of opportunity in a country that has been and continues to be regarded as one of the most gender-friendly in the world and likely to be resistant to the influence of neo-liberalism. The implications are explored, with the evidence indicating the presence of neo-liberalism co-existing, albeit perhaps uneasily, with traditions of equality of opportunity and attitudes to gender. Keywords- Neo-liberalism, Gender, Equal Opportunities, Domestic Responsibilities, Change.

This paper examines the role of Contract Research Organisations (CROs) in Swedish health care and pharmaceutical development. Before the recent rise of CROs - which are centrally placed between pharmaceutical companies, public sector health care organisations and test participants in an industry noted for its high financial turnover - recruitment of participants and management of clinical trials were undertaken by academic researchers. Things have changed. In the US, this new state of affairs has been argued to be the outcome of decreasing revenue for physicians and decreasing access to treatment for patients (Fisher 2009). This paper seeks to extend our understanding of the purpose and operation of CROs by reviewing existing literature (cf Mirowski and Van Horn 2005; Fisher 2009), comparing this with data on CROs in Sweden, and placing the study within its neo-liberal context marked as it is by notions of individualism, the politics of choice, self-responsibilisation, and risk. This will enable us explore the changes that CROs have brought to the interrelated practices and processes of risk reduction, prevention and health care in Sweden.

This paper examines changes in local working conditions instigated by the development of contract research organisations in pharmaceutical development. These developments are seen as occurring in the context of Sweden’s ‘circumscribed neoliberalization’. It is shown how staff remain ambivalent about theshifts of location and identity that these developments imply.