Who is represented? : A content analysis of municipality websites in Värmland county.

Abstract: This is a study about how the 16 different municipalities in Värmland county are representing ​diversity and equality on their websites by use of content analysis. I analysed diversity and equality in photos of people, ​first in a general context on the municipality homepages and then on their pages related to business and work. I found that there was a substantial knowledge gap in this area (of analysing official messages through photos displayed in the municipal context), although much research has been done previously on commercial imagery, for instance in advertising. From my analysis I concluded that nearly all of the municipalities in Värmland county could and should improve on representing diversity in their photos, both on their homepages and on their pages related to business and work. Looking at representations of gender only, the county of Värmland as a whole is closing in on a almost equal representation of women and men. But with some municipalities sprawling representing only one gender, there is definitely room for improvement here as well.