Intersectionality in the forest : connecting social diversity and sustainability in the Swedish forest agency

Abstract: The sustainability problems of tomorrow require a creative approach today. This paper examines how social diversity offers opportunities for dealing with environmental sustainability in the future. It employs the approaches of social sustainability and intersectionality to examine the national strategies for equality and diversity within the Swedish forest sector and how these are relevant and used within the case of Skogsstyrelsen, the Swedish Forest Agency (SFA). Through a qualitative analysis of four central strategies and the interview data collected from representatives at district level, this study explored several levels of reality within this context. The results show an overemphasis on gender in the national strategies which is reflected in the regional work and has had consequences both on how the debate on gender is conducted in the organisation but also what attention other aspects of diversity are given. The focus on rights rather than future effects of diversity is also present in the national strategies but achieving targets of diversity need to be founded on a meaningful discussion of what opportunities or challenges it may involve. This paper is a call to question the persisting images of who works in the forest and to explore the reasons why there is still little diversity within the sector. These findings are aimed to be useful for the SFA as an organisation but also to acknowledge the importance of the social dimension and intersectionality within Sustainability Science in the pursuit of a problem-solving science.