The management of governmental policies for a gender-equal society of power distribution. : The case of the Swedish Police Authority.

Abstract: The Swedish police authority is an extended arm of the Swedish government. The government implements governmental policies for its authorities, aiming at sustaining and improving the safety and wellbeing of society. In Sweden, one of the main policy safeguards is gender equality, which has been the focus of this study. It builds upon a well-established regulatory system for the representation of women in leading positions and argues for the benefits associated with tackling certain equality challenges. Up until now, most of the scholarly contributions on organization management, in relation to governmental policy, have dealt with leadership power and its efficiency, rather than equality. This study showed that the contemporary application of governmental policy has an impact on organizational culture. Through policy, gender equality could be increased as it encompasses potential benefits associated with leadership and power distribution. The study showed that this is also the case for the police authorities in Sweden in which applying gender policies has implications for managers' decisions when these are used to make the organizational leadership structures more equal. The application of policies to allow gender equality has also implications for employees regarding their work performances when advancing up in hierarchies.