Gender equality in development cooperation between Finland and Namibia – Finnish experts’ views
Ira Luoto University of Eastern Finland Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies
Department of Social Sciences Master's Thesis in Sociology April 2020
Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies Department of Social Sciences Author
Ira Luoto Title
Gender equality in development cooperation between Finland and Namibia – Finnish experts’ views
Academic subject Sociology
Type of thesis Master’s Thesis Advisors
Laura Assmuth and Joanna Bunikowska Date
April 2020
Pages
86 + 3 appendices
Abstract: Europe and Africa regenerate partnerships and discussion of equality and women’s position in the society is continuous and vivid. This thesis examines how Finnish development cooperation experts perceive gender equality in development cooperation and partnership between Finland and Namibia. Also, a goal is to consider their ways to speak about gender and gender equality. The experts worked for governmental organizations during and after development cooperation between Finland and Namibia. Data was collected by doing thematic expert interviews. Themes that arise from their interviews were analyzed to find out how these development cooperation experts perceive gender.
The material was analyzed by approaching gender equality as similarity, difference, and diversity of genders. The analysis is divided into four parts. The first part focuses on gender equality in the Nordic welfare state model and expertise in equality and development cooperation. Secondly, the interest is on gender mainstreaming and changes regarding gender equality in development cooperation practices. The third part discusses gendered labor markets and needs and actions for empowerment. And lastly, women’s participation in decision making and gender, sex, and sexuality of development cooperation are pondered.
Interviewees exposed the Finnish perspective and reflected Finnish equality through comparison to Namibia. Experts perceived gender equality differently in Finnish and Namibian contexts, and gender equality was considered as a matter of women. Finnish women were portrayed as equal citizens who benefit from female-friendly national policies, whereas Namibian women’s gendered positions were more complex and subordinated to male domination. Through this comparison, the experts constructed an image of Finland as an equal nation, the national policies of which shaped its development cooperation and policies.
Keywords: Gender, gender equality, gender equality perceptions, the image of Finland, development cooperation, Finland, Namibia.
Archive location University of Eastern Finland Library Additional information
Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja kauppatieteiden Yhteiskuntatieteiden laitos Tekijä
Ira Luoto Työn nimi
Sukupuolten tasa-arvo kehitysyhteistyössä Suomen ja Namibian välillä – suomalaisten asiantuntijoiden näkemykset
Oppiaine Sosiologia
Työn laji Pro gradu Tutkielman ohjaaja/ohjaajat
Laura Assmuth ja Joanna Bunikowska Aika
Huhtikuu 2020
Sivumäärä 86 + 3 liitettä
Tiivistelmä: Eurooppa ja Afrikka uudistavat kumppanuussuhteitaan ja keskustelu tasa- arvosta ja naisten asemasta yhteiskunnassa on jatkuvaa ja vilkasta. Tämä opinnäytetyö tutkii kuinka suomalaiset kehitysyhteistyön asiantuntijat ymmärtävät sukupuolten tasa- arvon kehitysyhteistyössä ja Suomen ja Namibian välisissä kumppanuussuhteissa.
Tavoitteena on myös tarkastella kehitysyhteistyöasiantuntijoiden tapoja puhua sukupuolesta ja sukupuolten tasa-arvosta. Asiantuntijat työskentelivät valtion organisaatioissa Suomen ja Namibian kehitysyhteistyön aikana ja sen jälkeen. Aineisto kerättiin tekemällä teemoiteltuja asiantuntijahaastatteluja. Haastatteluista nousevia teemoja analysoimalla saatiin selville, kuinka kehitysyhteistyön asiantuntijat käsittävät sukupuolen.
Aineiston analyysissä sukupuolta ja tasa-arvoa lähestyttiin käsittämällä sukupuoli samanlaisuutena, erilaisuutena ja monimuotoisuutena. Analyysiosio on jaettu neljään osaan. Ensimmäinen käsittelee pohjoismaisen hyvinvointiyhteiskuntamallin sukupuolen tasa-arvoa ja tasa-arvon ja kehitysyhteistyön asiantuntijuutta. Toiseksi, mielenkiinnon kohteena on sukupuolten valtavirtaistaminen ja sukupuolten tasa-arvoon liittyvät muutokset kehitysyhteistyön käytännöissä. Kolmannessa osassa keskustellaan sukupuolittuneista työmarkkinoista, sekä voimauttamisen tarpeista ja toimista. Lopuksi pohditaan naisten osallistumista päätöksentekoon, sekä sukupuolta ja seksuaalisuutta kehitysyhteistyössä.
Haastattelut paljastivat suomalaisen näkökulman ja heijastelivat suomalaista tasa-arvoa Namibiaan vertailun kautta. Asiantuntijat käsittivät sukupuolten tasa-arvon eri tavoin Suomen ja Namibian konteksteissa ja sukupuolten tasa-arvoa pidettiin naisten asiana.
Suomalaisia naisia kuvailtiin tasa-arvoisina kansalaisina, jotka hyötyvät naisystävällisestä kansallisesta politiikasta, kun taas namibialaisten naisten sukupuolittuneet asemat olivat monitahoisempia ja alisteisia miesten valta-asemalle.
Tämän vertailun kautta asiantuntijat tulivat rakentaneeksi kuvaa Suomesta tasa- arvoisena valtiona, jonka kansalliset toimintapolitiikat muovasivat sen kehitysyhteistyötä ja -politiikkaa.
Asiasanat: Sukupuoli, sukupuolten tasa-arvo, sukupuolten tasa-arvokäsitykset, Suomi- kuva, kehitysyhteistyö, Suomi, Namibia.
Säilytyspaikka Itä-Suomen yliopiston kirjasto Muita tietoja
2. Theoretical background ... 7
2.1. Altering definitions of gender equality – equality as difference, similarity, and diversity. ... 8
2.2. Gender equality in the Finnish welfare model... 10
2.3. Finland as a pioneer of gender equality and development cooperation ... 12
2.4. Heteronormativity in development cooperation ... 16
3. Data collection ... 19
3.1. Expert interviews ... 20
3.2. Conducting interviews ... 21
4. Thematic analysis ... 24
4.1. Description of the informants and the material ... 25
4.2. Forming the preliminary classes from the material ... 26
4.3. Analyzing the contents of themes ... 29
5. Gender equality in social model and Finnish expertise on development cooperation .... 32
5.1. Gender equality in the welfare state model ... 32
5.2. Expertise on gender equality and development cooperation ... 36
5.3. Women-friendly national policies shaping development cooperation ... 40
6. Gender equality on the focus of development policies... 42
6.1 Gender mainstreaming ... 43
6.2. Changes in speaking about gender equality within development policies ... 47
6.3. Success and urge to apply gender in development cooperation practices ... 49
7. Labor markets and empowerment of women ... 52
7.1. Gendered labor markets ... 52
7.2. Needs and actions for empowerment... 56
7.3. Career-oriented Finnish, and empowered Namibian women ... 59
8. Equal rights and opportunities of women in Finnish and Namibian societies ... 61
8.1. Women’s participation in decision making ... 62
8.2. Gender, sex, and sexuality in development cooperation ... 65
8.3. Women's strong position in politics and Finland’s support for sexual minorities as part of nation-building ... 68
9. Varying definitions of gender equality ... 71
10. Gender equality improves women’s position in Finland and Namibia ... 78
List of references ... 82 Appendices (3)
1. INTRODUCTION
Yes, I would see that everyone has an equal opportunity to fulfil their aims and dreams. So, in my mind, how would I define that, that it is related to many things, like what is the balance of power and…maybe some hidden, that you don’t even recognize…things. Yes, I would define that everyone has an opportunity to fulfil their dreams and…
Kyl mä nyt näkisin et kaikilla on yhtäläinen mahdollisuus toteuttaa niitä omia tavoitteitaan ja omia unelmiaan. Et se on mun mielestä, miten mä sen määrittelisin, et siihen liittyy hyvin paljon juttuja sitten niinkun et mikä on se valtatasapaino ja…ehkä semmoset piilotetut, mitä itsekään ei tiedosta…asiat.
Joo mä määrittelisin et jokaisella on mahdollisuus toteuttaa niitä omia unelmiaan ja…1
(Interview 6)
The Finnish interviewee, who worked in Namibia, defines gender equality and claims that everyone should have equal opportunities to accomplish their dreams. This person also notes that power structures in society and culture affect equality. This study observes how Finnish development cooperation experts perceive gender equality in development cooperation. I will analyze their ways to speak about gender and equality to understand how they perceive equality. These public servants worked for governmental organizations during and after development cooperation between Finland and Namibia. Long roots of countries’ mutual history were often emphasized in encounters with Namibians when I studied at the University of Namibia for one semester. For this reason, I have been interested in the development cooperation of Finland and Namibia and chose it as my research topic.
Public servant’s perceptions of gender equality in development cooperation is a very topical issue due to the European Union’s Strategy for Africa, which was published in 2020 as a result of the 6th Summit of the African Union and the EU. The aim is to shape equal partnerships between the continents. (European Commission, 2020.) Furthermore, 25 years have passed since the World Conference on Women and the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action in 1995, which was one of the most notable agenda for advancing women’s rights and empowerment globally (United Nations and World Conference on Women, 1996). This study can expose the Finnish perspective on African partnerships and
1 Interview quotation from the research data. See Chapter 4.2., page 25 in this research.
perceptions of gender equality within the discussions considering the Finnish-Namibian context during the last decades. Overall, Finland, gender equality and women have been in public discussions internationally due to the current government, which is led by women, Sanna Marin as the world’s youngest prime minister so far. Over the change of the decade, Finland has been globally in headlines as a country of young and strong female leaders.
(Finnish Government, 2019;Henley, 2019.)
Finland and Namibia have a long history of cooperation. The common path started from the times of religious missionaries in the 1800-century, and since 1970 Finland supported the independence movement of Namibia. Namibia became independent in 1990 and one of the main recipients of Finnish development aid. Finland decided to fade out this aid in 2004 since Namibia had risen amongst lower-middle-income countries. After this transition of development cooperation, new forms of cooperation were introduced. (Päivöke, 2008, iv.)
So, we talk about Africa and practically every country there, so politics and development and the economies cannot be separated. They are all interrelated and therefore, in a sense, one must seek a holistic view. Now in Namibia, well, it still needs a lot of support for their development. Like is our support this kind of financial development cooperation, projects or something, or is it commercial cooperation. Because in my opinion, a commercial project may be, firstly, bigger, and more effective than a development project. If you think about it from the perspective of the country's development. Or if the support of development is considered, then political dialogue may be quite good
Siis puhutaan Afrikasta ja käytännössä jokaisesta maasta siellä, niin ei voi politiikkaa ja kehitystä ja taloutta erottaa toisistaan. Kaikki ne liittyy toisiinsa, ja siks pitää tavallaan hakee kokonaisvaltaista näkemystä. Nyt Namibiassa, siis kylhän se edelleenkin tarvii niinkun tukea niitten kehitykselle. Se et onks se meidän tuki sit tällaista rahallista kehitysyhteistyötä, hankkeita tai silleen, vai onks se sit tällaista kaupallista yhteistyötä. Koska mun mielestä kaupallinen hanke saattaa olla ensinnäkin isompi, ja tehokkaampi kuin kehitysyhteistyöhanke. Jos ajatellaan sen maan kehityksen näkökulmasta. Tai sitten jos ajatellaan sen kehityksen tukemista, niin sitten poliittinen vuoropuhelu saattaa olla ihan hyvä...2
(Interview 5)
The interviewee speaks about different ways of cooperation. This person aimed to explain why development is still often addressed, even if the actual development cooperation was
2 Interview quotation from the research data. See Chapter 4.2., page 25 in this research.
dispelled. After the transition, Finland aimed to foster an economic and commercial partnership with Namibia. Additionally, few development cooperation instruments were still included in the transition plan, such as Local Cooperation Fund (LCF), which was supposed to support initiatives that strengthen civil society and enhance gender equality for instance.
(Valjas et al. 2008, pp.29-43.) Even if the traditional development cooperation was ceased, there were still development cooperation instruments in use. Hence, gender equality is studied in this context.
Gender equality has been in the spotlight of Finnish politics since ‘Women in Development’
(WID) – thinking in the 1970s. Since then gender has been acknowledged especially in the field of development. (Koponen, 2005, pp.152-162.) Due to the changing nature of Finnish – Namibian partnership, it is crucial to study how gender equality is considered in the cooperation of these countries. This thesis observes how Finnish experts talk about gender and gender equality. The aim is to find out how they perceive gender equality in development cooperation between Finland and Namibia. Especially the focus was researching cultural understanding of informants through the factual chain of events they present. The main research question is:
• How do experts of development cooperation in governmental organizations perceive gender equality in partnership between Finland and Namibia?
Two subquestions included in the primary one are:
1. How do experts signify gender in interviews?
2. How do they speak about gender equality?
Even if Namibia is not a Finland’s development-aid recipient anymore, they used to have development aid donor-recipient dynamics between the two. Therefore, it is beneficial to explore how Finns speak about Finnish gender equality in the development cooperation of Finland and Namibia. Finnish equality discourses may create a distinction between “equal Finnish society and unequal societies in developing countries”. In terms of women’s equal opportunities to participate in politics, for instance, Finnish society is sometimes described as forward-looking and evolving, but developing countries are not presented to be in the same state (Jauhola, 2012, p.324).
It is relevant to examine the Finnish perspective because gender equality from a Finnish point of view is sometimes perceived as an export commodity, that we can take to other countries and continents. It is often seen as something ‘we have’ and which is ‘part of ourselves’ and therefore is a result of ‘our achievements’. (Tuori, 2007, p.22.) Also referring to Kantola, Nousiainen, and Saari (2012, p.13), Finland’s exemplary position in the international arena of equality discussions is good to be questioned and to disclose the problems and challenges relating to Finnish perceptions of equality.
This study approaches perceptions of equality from the viewpoint of three definitions of equality in feminist discussions and equality policies. Equality as similarity was typical for the second wave liberal and socialist feminist movements in the 1960s and 1970s. Equality as the difference was typical for the radical feminist movement in the same decades. Later since the 1990s postmodern feminists paid attention to intersecting differences among gendered groups and emphasized the diversity of gender. (Squires, 1999, pp.115-139.) This division to three different ways to define equality includes varying manners to perceive gender. By analyzing how the interviewees speak about gender, it is possible to ponder how these three politicized approaches to gender equality occur in development cooperation experts’ speeches.
The chronological change in ways to determine equality points that definition of the concept of equality is changing in time and place. Also, Ylöstalo (2012, p.57) presents that one exact definition of gender equality is not existing, but there are merely discussions on different ways to understand gender equality and gendered power hierarchies. This study recognizes varying characteristics of the concept of equality and aims to understand the perceptions of those public servants, who consider the implementation of gender objective in their work.
Admittedly, I conducted and interpreted interviews through my assumptions and gendered position as a white, Finnish woman who esteems consideration of gender as diverse categories (Kuusipalo, 2002, pp.214-215; Squires, 1999, pp.124-126).
Finnish research on the topic is relatively old, although public discussions are vivid.
Therefore, the amount of found literature to support my findings was rather limited, since I needed literature related particularly to the Finnish context. The outline of this research is as follows: Theory and background context are connected as one chapter since there is no previous empirical research on the topic. Theory chapter consists of four parts: Firstly,
altering definitions of gender equality are explained through equality as similarity, difference, and diversity. Equality as similarity emphasizes the relation of gender and state.
The focus is on the welfare state model and how equality is presented as an achievement of Finnish social structures (Julkunen, 2016). Secondly, the connectedness of welfare state and equality is illustrated; welfare state policies aimed to favor women’s interests, helping to combine family life and career. (Julkunen, 2002, pp.34-37.)
The third theory chapter focuses on Finland as a pioneering country of equality in terms of development cooperation. Finnish equality is seen as something that already exists, in comparison to developing countries are presented through a deficit of this equality that we hold (Jauhola, 2012, pp.315-316). Raevaara (2005, pp.175-178) suggests in her research that Finnish politicians tended to emphasize Finnish expertise and know-how on questions related to equality; gender equality formed a fundamental base of politics that should not be questioned. Lastly, the fourth theory chapter describes the heteronormative nature of development interventions and Finland’s stance in supporting the position of sexual minorities. This part acknowledges the convergence of gender, sex, and sexuality, and the importance of taking sexuality into account in development cooperation.
The data collection chapter discusses the characteristics of expert interviews and how the interviews were conducted. After that, the way to do thematic analysis will be presented.
This chapter is divided into three parts: a description of informants and material, forming the preliminary classes by coding the material, and lastly, analysis of themes and their contents. Division to three separate parts is based on Hirsjärvi and Hurme’s (2015) way to describe qualitative thematic analysis as an analysis process.
The analysis part is divided into four main chapters including subchapters. Experts' ways to speak about gender and gender equality from the Finnish perspective are analyzed through the following approaches: The fifth chapter discusses the welfare state model and Finland’s expertise on equality and development cooperation. The sixth chapter focuses on gender mainstreaming as a strategy to enhance equality, and changes in development policies are pondered. The seventh chapter pays attention to gendered labor markets and the empowerment of women. The last chapter considers the way experts signify gender and equality in terms of women’s participation in decision making and politics. The last part of this chapter focuses on gender, sex, and sexuality in development cooperation. The
interviewees emphasize topics such as Finland’s support to sexual minorities and political dialogue of Finland and Namibia within questions regarding sexual minorities. After analysis, the discussion and conclusion chapters follow. The discussion presents the results of the study, whereas the latter suggests some further deductive thoughts and critique.
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The theoretical framing of this study includes four different approaches. In the first one equality is divided into three approaches to determine gender: difference, similarity, and diversity, as Judith Squires (1999, pp.115-139) presents. Secondly, the relation of equality, the Finnish welfare model and development cooperation policies will be discussed. The third approach encompasses discussion of Finland as a country of an example of gender equality in terms of development cooperation. Lastly, the fourth view tackles the discussion of heteronormativity in development cooperation.
Demand for advancing equality is legally binding because of the Finnish constitution.
Finland is also part of the European Union and the United Nations. Finland has accepted a dualistic model, which means that if Finland agrees with commitments on the international level, it will change part of the domestic legal system. (Nousiainen, 2012, p.52; Kantola and Nousiainen, 2012; Pentikäinen, 2012.) European Institute for Gender Equality (2020) defines gender equality in the following way:
Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born female or male. Gender equality implies that the interests, needs, and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, thereby recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men. Gender equality is not a women’s issue but should concern and fully engage men as well as women. Equality between women and men is seen both as a human rights issue and as a precondition for, and indicator of, sustainable people-centered development.
(European Institute for Gender Equality 2020).
In the definition women and men should have the same responsibilities and opportunities.
Definition denies the need for women and men to become the same. Also, their interest, needs, and priorities shall be considered, taking diversity into account. The latter means recognizing different groups of women and men, considering factors that affect their position and identity, such as their sexuality, ethnicity, age, or social class for instance. The definition also calls for engaging men and perceives gender equality as a human right issue, and a precondition and indicator of development.
Despite internationally recognized definitions of gender equality, the concept is not unambiguous. Gender equality is something, that almost the majority supports in Finland.
Opposing arguments are not generally approved. Sometimes people divide equality to “right and wrong” equality. The concept is determined by the norms and values of the person who defines it. (Ylöstalo, 2012, p.14.) People agree on the importance of equality but definitions of “right” equality are varying (Nousiainen, 2012, p.31). This study aims to understand what kind of different definitions of gender equality interviews include.
Ylöstalo (2012, p.57) describes that rather than having a single true definition for the concept of gender equality, there are multiple discussions about understanding equality and gendered power hierarchies. For that reason, despite the official definitions of the concept, public servants’ understanding of it might vary. Due to varying characteristics of equality as a concept, it is beneficial to study how people, who used to work in development cooperation perceive it through the ways they signify gender. Since they worked in positions that are crossing borders of two states, they can bring examples of their understanding from both contexts and reflect what Finnish equality is.
2.1. Altering definitions of gender equality – equality as difference, similarity, and diversity.
Squires (1999, pp.115-139) discusses the history of feminist discourses on equality and presents three approaches: gender as similarity, difference, and diversity. Equality as a concept and in politics is constantly in flux, and its content is changing and multidimensional. Gender as similarity, difference, and diversity are attached to historical and social contexts and hold differing ways to understand gender and sexuality. The approach to gender as a similarity between men and women is typical for liberal and socialist feminists, that were part of the second-wave feminist movement in the 1960s and 70s in Finland. The approach of similarity includes an abstract and neutral gender norm, which enables the similarity of men and women. Both liberal and socialist feminist discourses criticize gender hierarchy that oppresses women to a male norm. (Kuusipalo, 2002, pp.208- 210.)
Liberal and socialist feminists paid attention to the public sphere in women’s lives, such as work and education. That can be seen in welfare model policies that favor women’s participation in work-life and combining it to the traditional role in the home sphere.
According to that view, gender roles are supposed to be in harmony. (Kuusipalo, 2002, p.211.) When the male is a primary norm in the society, women can assimilate and reach
gender-neutral category to become accepted. Within society’s norms women are equal when they obtain gender-neutrality and access to the labor market instead of only participating in the society through motherhood in the home sphere. (Squires, 1999, pp.116-124.)
Equality as similarity approaches women through citizenship and motherhood. Women’s citizenship is differentiated from men’s when gender categories are approached through similarity. Women are preferred to be presented through neutrality and compared to the masculine, although the similarity of genders demands for equal citizenship and participation. On the contrary, in the approach of gender as a difference, maternal thinking focuses on women’s responsibilities as mothers who need to be present to give love and care.
(Squires, 1999, pp.120-121.)
Radical feminists in the 1960s and 70s oppose patriarchy, which positions men on top of the gender hierarchies. The relation between men and women is political, and this power position is embedded in people’s lives in multiple ways. When gender is approached from the direction of difference between men and women, the supremacy of men comes to the personal and intimate level of individuals; the personal is political. Besides, femininity and women are always defined by mirroring from masculinity and male norm. (Kuusipalo, 2002, p.211.)
Postmodern feminism in the 1990s paid attention to intersecting differences among gendered groups. Diversity approach acknowledges that there is not such a category as men or women, but women and men in differing positions. Social discourses and practices construct, repeat and confirm these categories. Regarding this approach, gender and sexual identities are constantly changing. It criticizes thinking which considers either similarity or difference between genders; in the latter two women are fundamentally less than men. Also, a binary understanding of gender that recognizes men and women even within a heteronormative view, maintains the hierarchy between genders, by perceiving gender as a premise instead of a subject of critique. (Kuusipalo, 2002, pp.214-215.)
Interviews are analyzed by applying this division of three approaches to feminist discourses.
Gender as similarity, difference, and diversity have been applied in Finnish equality policies and gender mainstreaming strategies, to include a gender perspective into domestic and foreign policies (Saari, 2012, p.185). Regarding that, informants as experts of development
cooperation are familiar with gender mainstreaming. Supposedly, three approaches to equality might influence the interviewees' perceptions of the concept of equality.
In previous literature, the division of equality as similarity, difference, and diversity has been applied by Ylöstalo (2012) in the research of work communities in Finland. She studies how workers define gender equality within work on equality in the workplace. She collected material during equality projects of a chemical factory and a work community of the public sector. The work communities understood gender equality in three different ways: equality as equal rights, equality based on gender difference, and lastly, equality based on diversity of gender. (Ylöstalo, 2012, pp.12-20, 262.) This study leans on her findings that discussion on equality has multiple voices and definitions, instead of having only one and correct essence.
Even if the same rights are important in work for gender equality, it is crucial to recognize power structures, expectations, attitudes and ideas that concern men and women. Also, she perceives that breaking down inequalities, that are formed by hierarchies between two differentiated genders, the concept of gender needs to be demolished and analyzed. To conclude, to promote a more diverse understanding of gender, there must be enough understanding of what diversity of gender is and how it should be carried through in practice.
(Ylöstalo, 2012, pp.263-265.)
2.2. Gender equality in the Finnish welfare model
The idea of the Nordic welfare model started to form in the 1960s, and the social model was notably directed to favor women’s issues. Women friendly welfare state and state feminism rose among the other visions and strongly influenced state politics. State feminist representatives, decision-makers on a higher level and strong women’s movements on a grassroots level of the society were seen as the best combination to actuate women-friendly politics. Overall, state feminism aims to integrate women, who advocate women’s interest, into the politics and state institutions. (Julkunen, 2016, pp.213-215.)
Julkunen (2002, p.32) presents an old statement: “the welfare state is a girl’s best friend, even better than diamonds”. Women’s position improved notably during the period between the Second World War and the 1980s, and many democratic states started to reform their welfare models since the 1980s. Whereas Finland came rather late with the modernization processes comparing to other countries before that. On the other hand, Finland was
recognized to be a pioneer in providing women’s political rights and the possibility to do paid work. (Julkunen, 2002, pp.32-33.) Throughout history, female-friendly national policies based on the idea that women would participate in labor markets and equally be able to produce and reproduce, more accurately have children and do paid work. Overall, from the viewpoint of economic interests, women’s participation in labor markets has been an indicator of evolving or already happened equality. (Jauhola, 2012, pp.315-318.)
Legislation has directed the evolution of equality in Finland. The welfare model was formed from work-life, economic, and social questions. Development of social and economic growth were key factors to make an approved base for pursuing equality between men and women. Therefore, opportunities to educate and participate in work life were seen as essential to social development, rather than as a value as itself or a question of existing norms. (Kantola, Nousiainen and Saari, 2012, pp.15-16.)
Despite the noble aims, welfare policies do not always recognize the diversity of gender.
The welfare model might give an advantage to women in a heterosexual relationship, and those who have a certain level of education to be able to work besides running a family.
(Julkunen, 2002, pp.34-37). State feminism has been criticized to be heteronormative, and indifferent to multiculturalism. Sexualized and racialized Finnish state is nominated to be internationally one of the top leaders of equality due to the high number of women participating in education, labor, and politics, thanks to the public childcare and parental leaves for instance. (Mulinari et al. 2009, p.11.) The latter phenomena as indicators of equality should be questioned to see the changing nature of equality in terms of constantly changing society and its needs, due to the heterogeneous population.
Publications of Julkunen (2002) and Mulinari et al. (2009) illustrate the situation during the first decade of the millennium. Same-sex marriage was legalized in Finland in 2017, and there have been improvements in parental leaves regarding same-sex parents (Seta, no date).
During last years, diversity and intersecting differences between people, for example, the impact of gender and sexuality, ethnicity and social status on an individual’s position, have gained more attention in public discussions Julkunen (2016, pp.228-229).
In addition to relating equality to the idea of the welfare state, the Nordic countries prefer to make a difference between them and former colonizing countries. Typically, the Nordic
model is presented to be democratic, economically developed and value welfare. Their political relations to other nations are perceived to be merely related to peacebuilding, aid, and cooperation, instead of imperialism and colonialism. Among the other Nordic countries, Finland is sometimes presented as an international independent actor, which performs as a mediator of peace and respects globally recognized human rights. (Mulinari et al. 2009, pp.1, 8). Regarding this idea, it is interesting to study how Finnish experts bring and foster gender equality in another country, more closely in Namibia. According to the above-mentioned definitions on the characteristics of the welfare model, domestically Finland is declared to be exemplary in terms of the welfare of its citizens. There is a highly developed social system that supports women, who are globally recognized to be in a subordinated position comparing to men in many states. (Julkunen, 2002, pp.32-38.)
The image of a state and social system as women’s allies have been questioned in public discussions. Despite that, equality is still strongly something that is part of Finnishness and national identity. Finnish understanding of gender order is approved to be something worth teaching to people from a different country of origin. While it becomes as part of nation- building and something that ‘we are’, it becomes less like ‘something that should be done and considered’. (Tuori, 2007, pp. 29-30.) Overall, the way to speak about the particularity of Nordic and Finnish gender equality takes the issues regarding it to the other countries and cultures. That makes it more difficult to recognize and make corrections on questions related to inequalities in Nordic countries. Also, division of equal and unequal countries constructs the nation and national identity, that estranges ‘us’ from the ‘others’ (Jauhola and Kantola, 2016, p.193).
2.3. Finland as a pioneer of gender equality and development cooperation
Finnish expertise in terms of equality is viewed with pride in public discussions, and national excellence has been justified by Finland’s active role as a supporter of women’s rights and equality in global and development politics. Equality has been even nominated as a national export commodity, that Finland has a right and almost even obligation to promote internationally. (Jauhola and Kantola, 2016, p.189.) When Finland faded out development aid and bilateral cooperation during the transition period of Namibia in 2004-2007, Local Cooperation Fund (LCF) became an essential instrument regarding support of civil society, human rights, and good governance (Valjas et al. 2008, pp.4-5).
Due to changed emphasis on civil society support in Namibia after the transition, it is interesting to find out how experts understand “Finnish equality”. How do the representatives of equality pioneer describe the implementation of equality objectives in their work, especially when trade and economy are increasingly underlined in the relation of these countries, as it is suggested in the evaluation report of Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland? (Valjas et al. 2008, p.6).
Women’s rights and the promotion of gender equality are strong themes in the creation of the image and reputation for Finland internationally. Human rights and development were in the focus earlier in the 90s, and later in 2000 also international security and crisis management came along as main concerns. Previous literature presents critique, that in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, women’s issues are mostly included in development politics and human rights. Consequently, there has been a deficit in the approach of gendered in trade policies. (Jauhola and Kantola, 2016, p.201.)
Equality policies in Finland and the concept of gender equality are often related to an idea of equality as a national project and welfare state model as a system that supports the better position of women. That kind of view presents social and political changes, such as women’s right to vote, as national achievements. (Jauhola and Kantola, 2016, p.189.) Also, Finnish gender equality is often described through constant evolution, which is justified by emphasizing notable milestones in history. Some common examples are for example women’s right to vote the first time in elections in 1906 and 1917, secondly to be able to work in civil service office since 1926, and lastly, women-friendly benefits of the welfare model. (Jauhola, 2012, pp.316-317.) The latest example of the successions would be a notable the high number of women in the government of Finland in 2020 and Sanna Marin as the prime minister (Finnish Government, 2019).
Since the 1990s, political discussion regarding the balance of gender quotas and expertise were notable. In former Finnish Parliament since 1995, decision-makers discussed within three frames: firstly, with quotas, they wanted to find high-skilled experts to take advantage of the best resources and benefit the society. Secondly, quotas were supposed to be temporary to reach gender equality in the close future. Thirdly, in their discussion politicians constructed an image of Finland as part of the Nordic countries of equality. Within the latter,
quota supporters negotiated between the image of equal Finland and speech about deficits regarding equality. (Raevaara, 2005, pp.174-175.)
Raevaara (2005) discovered that approaches of gender equality and building Finnishness intersected within the frame of appreciation of expertise and know-how on equality related questions. Being a qualified expert was part of a national equality project. Gender equality was viewed as a fundamental base of politics and questioning it would have questioned the common rules of the political field. Having expertise and qualified women were arguments to support quotas. It is notable, that expertise and its deficit concerned primarily only women as political actors. Also, a higher number of women in politics was supposed to solve social problems and foster the common good. (Raevaara, 2005, pp.175-177.)
The way to speak and understand equality is always linked to social and historical contexts.
When society changes, so change the manners to speak about equality. Perceptions and ways of speaking reflect and construct social reality. According to previous literature, in the last decades in Finnish public discussions, there was a way to speak about equality as something that already exists, due to previous achievements of the nation. Sometimes other topics, like the economy and other aspects of politics, get more visibility in public than gender equality.
Regarding this view, the idea of already existing and less interesting gender equality leads attitudes easily to thinking that there is no need to do anything to foster equality since Finland already has it. (Holli, 2002, pp.13-14.)
In addition to Holli’s observation of perception on gender equality as already existing, developing countries are sometimes presented through a deficit of something that we have:
equality work is needed to be done more there than here. Jauhola (2012, pp.315-316) calls this kind of view as “a global campaign of justice”. It includes the idea that Finland as a pioneer of equality can internationally show an example and make gender equality promotion as an export commodity of development politics. Through this kind of thinking equality work starts to support economic interests. (Jauhola, 2012, pp.315.) Development can be defined as an objective, social process, and intervention. Firstly, development as an objective is an aspired ideal. Secondly, development as an empirical social process considers it a phenomenon which is already happened or about to happen. Lastly, it is an intervention that aims to good results through rationally planned actions. (Koponen, 2016, pp.63-64.)
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland defines development policy and development cooperation in the following way: development policies are part of the Foreign and Security policy of Finland and aim to promote development globally and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has the main responsibility of it. Development cooperation refers to the means to implement the policy. Participants of the cooperation chain with Finland are developing countries, international NGO’s and other international organizations. (Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, 2020).
Women and equality have been in the focus of Finnish development politics at least since the 1970’s and ‘Women in Development’ (WID) -thinking. The idea of WID was that women are missing from the development and they need to be included. Later Gender and Development (GAD) consider gender more broadly in development and stresses that instead of including women into development, gender hierarchies should be questioned. The Council for Gender Equality promoted strongly a new strategy of women’s rights and a sufficient level of expertise on the subject matter in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. As a result, the first strategy came out in 1988. (Koponen, 2005, pp.152-162.) Jauhola and Kantola (2016, p.201) mention the hype of the World Conference on Women in 1995 in Beijing; because of the current equality-friendly ambiance, new gender strategies and instructions were published such as Strategy and Action Plan for Promoting Gender Equality in Finland’s Policy for Developing Countries 2003-2007. Also the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 ”Women, Peace, and Security”, came into an important role in policies approaching women’s rights and equality. Overall, international human rights agreements and implementation have been in a notable position regarding the formation of Finnish equality policies. (Jauhola and Kantola, 2016, pp.201-203.)
Jauhola and Kantola (2016, p.208) suggest that the most notable acts for gender equality would be the formation of The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), European non-discrimination law, and Istanbul convention which aims to prevent and fight violence against women and domestic violence.
Gender mainstreaming was introduced in the UN World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. The Finnish government pledged to the binding agreement and included mainstreaming as part of decision making and development policies. Gender mainstreaming is a public strategy to promote equality, with varied definitions. (Saari, 2012, p.177.)
According to mainstreaming, Cross-Cutting objectives, formerly themes, have almost the same meaning as mainstreaming. Themes and objectives indicate what needs to be mainstreamed, whereas mainstreaming is merely an approach that points out how gender equality should be promoted. (Stocchetti and Kandolin, 2018, p.17.) In interviews mainstreaming and cross-cutting objectives and themes were differentiated, and the interviewees were asked only about mainstreaming. The aim was to find out how experts would promote equality in their work.
Mainstreaming as a cross-cutting strategy in all planning, implementation, and evaluation processes in public administration, is sometimes criticized: since gender perspective is part of everything, it might unintentionally be faded out. It also questions a need for women, and gender-specific projects and institutions. To avoid weakening the aim, the government is committed to doing both mainstreaming, and promote equality by particular acts. (Saari, 2012, p.179.) Due to challenges to define and implement mainstreaming and gender equality it is important to study perceptions of development cooperation experts to understand how they signify the political objective of enhancing gender equality.
2.4. Heteronormativity in development cooperation
One cannot discuss equality without contemplating gender, and to understand gender it is crucial to find its convergence with sex and sexuality. Gender can be written and spoken by using concepts of masculine and feminine, whereas sex can be defined with dimensions of female and male. Masculine and feminine are social constructions; social and cultural norms impact one’s behavior and demonstration of patterns of sexuality for instance. Male and female indicate one’s biological sex. Gender and sex are intertwined and impact on the identity of an individual. (Squires, 1999, pp.54-55.)
Squires presents that gender as a socially constructed category is highly theorized, while the category of sex remains in margins. They must both be taken into account to form an understanding of sexuality, due to the category of male and female that does not become invisible despite the advanced discussion on social gender. Social habits and acts impact on the physical body and its image, whereas the presence of our bodies imposes our way to perform the social dimension of gender. (Squires, 1999, pp.62-63.)
United Nations Human Rights Council uses the abbreviation LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) to refer to sexual and gender minorities (Gerber and Gory, 2014). This study aims to consider a wider scale of gender and sexual minorities, therefore abbreviation LGBTIQ is used in texts. Human rights advocacy organization Seta in Finland (Seta, 2020) defines lesbian as a “person defining itself as a woman who is sexually and/or emotionally attracted to women.” Whereas gay is a person defining itself as a man, who is “sexually and/or emotionally attracted to the same sex.” Bisexuals can be “emotionally and/or sexually attracted to the same and opposite sex.” Transgender is a person whose gender identity or expression differs from the expectations of the sex which was defined in their birth. Letters I and Q are added to stand for intersexual and queer. Intersexuality means different variations of the biological body in terms of having characteristics typical for men and women, as generally expected. Queer can be an academic or political viewpoint or a way to identify oneself, which points out that a person does not want sexuality or gender to be determined.
(Seta, 2020.)
Equality is often interpreted as a matter of men and women in Finnish discussions. That makes the discussions heteronormative, which refers to the supposition that everyone should be heterosexual and be sexually and/or emotionally attracted only to the opposite sex. The first notably internationally binding agreement that affected on Finland’s laws and policies regarding sexual minorities was the Amsterdam treaty. Finland ratified the Amsterdam treaty with other EU member states when it was put in force in 1999. It enables member states to
“take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, race or ethnic origin, religion or disbelief, disability, age or sexual orientation.” (Juvonen, 2002, p.254; European Parliament, no date.) More accurately Finland committed to supporting the rights of sexual and gender minorities since Yogyakarta Principles was published and put in force in 2007.
The Human Rights Committee organized a session where international human rights experts and the UN experts met to discuss the subject matter. (Halme, 2010, p.67.)
Sexuality in development cooperation often stays unseen or invisible, even if there should be linkages to population, gender, and HIV/AIDS. Sometimes sexuality is dealt with as something that is only a matter of sexual minorities. Sexuality can be also related only to sex, which might associate with a private sphere, even embarrassing and something that does not belong to the acts of development. Even if sexuality is claimed to be absent from development policies, it is still very present in practices. It is presented that
heteronormativity, that acknowledges the social and sexual arrangements of two opposite sexes, is dominant in the areas of development and the work of organizations dealing with human rights and poverty reduction. Overall sexual minorities remain in margins and need to be taken into consideration. (Cornwall and Jolly, 2016, p.526.)
Cornwall and Jolly (2016) stress that all of us are imposed by existing gender norms and their effects on sexuality. They are different in various countries, that is why sexuality needs special attention in development work, especially if development actors’ function in countries where same-sex relations are stigmatized. Heteronormativity in development is criticized also due to its nature to maintain traditional gender arrangements, in terms of men’s power over women in sexual interactions and monogamy of women. (Cornwall and Jolly, 2016, p.527.)
Especially since the beginning of the 2000s, there have been development programs that focus on LGBTIQ matters, but they have been apart from development cooperation programs. Heteronormativity impacts on program planning, implementation, evaluation, and even research. LGBTIQ rights should be considered and included more in development cooperation to enhance gender equality more broadly, and to strengthen self-determination and sexual agency of all individuals. (Mattila et al. 2016, pp.325-326.)
3. DATA COLLECTION
Data was collected by doing thematic expert interviews in Helsinki in April and May 2019.
Interviewees were Finnish public servants who worked at different times in Namibia -related positions in public organizations during three decades since the late 1990s. The study observes how these development cooperation experts talk about gender and gender equality within their work and Finnish development policies. The aim is to find out how they perceive gender equality by analyzing themes that arise from their interviews.
The very first, a preliminary informant was found by asking recommendations from another academic whose research topic was related to mine. This person gave contact details of an expert who worked for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland specializing in development cooperation in Africa but did not know the Namibian case. This person gave some recommendations for interviewees over the phone. Thereby, in spring 2017, I conducted two other preliminary phone calls to collect background knowledge. Each call was about one hour long and later preliminary informants participated in actual interviews.
The knowledge that they shared with me helped to frame the study and therefore find the actual main informants. Also, they were eager to help and suggested new informants. All interviewees were found by asking recommendations of previous informants, this practice is called snowball sampling (Tuomi and Sarajärvi (2018, p.74).
Alastalo and Åkerman (2010, p.313) present that in expert interviews data collection and analysis are intertwined, because the information that each expert has is unique and is used to describe a phenomenon on the focus. Therefore, the analysis started from the very first crumb of information and my knowledge piled up over each discussion. Preliminary data collection started before forming the actual research question. Also, policy papers of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland sustained my understanding of the research topic besides discussions.
Eskola and Suoranta (1998, p.16) suggest, that the data collection method and analysis impact on how the study proceeds. As the study is empirical, fixed and changeless hypothesis is not evident in qualitative research, because the preliminary understanding of the subject matter should not let to constrict and lead too much of the analysis. Therefore, hypotheses will rise from the collected material and offer new perspectives to the subject (Eskola and
Suoranta, 1998, p.16). I combined a theoretical framing from previous literature and theories based on my findings in analysis and those hypothesize that rose from the material.
The approach to the qualitative analysis of this study applies feminist ontologies. It questions ways of speaking about gender and equality and how interviewees signify them.
(Ramazanoglu and Holland, 2002, p.18.) Feminist epistemology of equality as similarity, difference, and diversity of gender frames the analysis from the end of the classification onwards. Overall, in addition to different manners to present gender and equality, previous research on equality in the welfare model, Finland as a pioneering country of gender equality, and heteronormativity in development cooperation are also considered.
3.1. Expert interviews
Material for the analysis is collected by doing expert interviews. In this study experts are Finnish public servants whose work was related to development cooperation and after 2007 to multiple forms of cooperation between Finland and Namibia. All of them are aware of Finnish development policies and lived at least awhile in Namibia for work. The study aims to understand how they perceive gender equality, by analyzing themes that arise from the interviews. Accordingly, it was necessary to collect material through interviews.
It is typical for expert interviews that it can reveal facts or cultural understanding of the research target (Alastalo and Åkerman, 2010, pp.312-315). The focus of this study is merely on cultural understandings rather than researching the historical chain of events. Albeit, in this study cultural understanding, is interpreted from the informant’s way to present historical factual events. Since experts talk about things that happened in the past, in the analysis I had to remember a chance of probable mistakes in facts that informants present.
The focus of interest is in Finnish perceptions. To understand how Finnish development cooperation experts perceive gender equality, it is beneficial to interview people who have experience in international work. Raevaara (2005, pp.44-45) presents that in a cross-national context it is observed that countries' ways to speak of gender vary. Informants who worked abroad would signify interesting examples of gender norms and understandings from a Finnish point of view in the Namibian context. Also, Finns have been in Namibia for over a century (Valjas et al. 2008, p.18). This long history might intertwine two cultures interestingly and even occur in interviews.
Alastalo and Åkerman (2010, pp.312-315) present that in expert interviews new knowledge is produced in the interaction between the informant and interviewer. In the analysis, I have to keep in mind that my perceptions of gender equality were unconsciously present in the interviews. Consequently, I might have questioned interviewees’ comments by reflecting them on different interpretations of equality and ways to speak about gender according to my understanding. Data collection over interviews and its analysis are often linked and intertwined (Alastalo and Åkerman, 2010, p.313). The analysis process already started while the idea of the study was shaping. At that time, I made phone calls with a couple of experts to collect preliminary background information about cooperation between Finland and Namibia, to discover who would be relevant as informants.
Information and understanding that can be reached through the expert interviews, is always affected by the current situation, place, power structures, and interaction between informant and interviewer. That needs to be remembered in analysis to be able to collect and reconstruct the implicit knowledge of the acts and perceptions of the informant. (Alastalo, Åkerman and Vaittinen, 2017, pp.181, 184). It is typical for expert interviews, that the irreplaceable nature of informants affects the way of proceeding in discussion; not everyone can be asked the same questions due to their altering expertise. (Alastalo and Åkerman, 2010, p.313).
Therefore, reading certain policy papers and publications of the Ministry for Foreign Affair of Finland regarding Finnish-Namibian partnership helped in preparations for interviews and further analysis. Also, the semi-structured thematic interview was a convenient choice.
3.2. Conducting interviews
Interview questions were sent to the informants before the actual meeting to make memorizing easier for them, and to give the possibility to familiarize themselves with the research topic. Informants might have problems with memorizing certain facts if they need to speak about something that happened a long time ago. Also, experts might talk on a very general level as representatives of employer organizations. (Alastalo and Åkerman, 2010, pp.312-329). Careful preparations by reading policy papers and making preliminary phone calls gave me a contextual understanding of Finnish – Namibian partnership. Also, I studied for six months at the University of Namibia in 2017. During that sojourn, I had an opportunity to construct my perception of equality of gender, and development cooperation of Namibia and Finland. Reading policy papers and the stay in Namibia helped in discussions with high-level experts. Besides, I aimed to familiarize myself with the interviewees'
background, and the nature of their employing organizations to avoid causing detriment to them (Kohonen, Kuula-Luumi and Spoof, 2019, p.8).
Interviews were semi-structured and contained eight themes. Themes were divided into two main groups: gender equality in relations between Finland and Namibia, and policies guiding the promotion of gender equality. The first group included the following themes: Gender equality at work between Finland and Namibia, empowerment, gender expertise, Finnish know-how in gender equality, and lastly cooperation with other actors. The second group included changes in Finland’s focus on gender objectives in development policy, gender mainstreaming, and actions regarding gender equality after the transitional period of Namibia. Hirsjärvi and Hurme (2015, p.66) state that themes are specific hyponyms of the main concepts. Even if I aimed to let the main theories arise from the material, my preliminary selections of themes framed and directed the study from the very beginning.
I had written some detailed questions related to every eight themes to help in interviews.
With these questions, I was able to open the discussion by posing a one. Also, if someone replied very briefly, it was possible to direct discussion with detailed questions. Some interviewees gave very extensive replies, and with detailed questions, the thread was easy to find again if it was lost at some point during a vivid discussion. Questions helped if I did not know what to say or ask the next, they were written in a simple form so it was rather safe to even quickly look up the list and select one from a theme that was not dealt with yet.
Although interviews progressed well and discussions with the informants were sometimes even casual, transcriptions revealed deficits in interviews. Sometimes replies were rather vague despite the more detailed questions. Interviewees moved from theme to theme quite organically but fast and did not go into fine details without a request to define or clarify some facts. Perhaps the experts stayed on a general level while moving from a theme to a theme because they are used to speak about themes of interest. Another option is that they preferred to keep the discussion simple with a student.
Interviews were conducted with seven informants. The aim was to reach 10 interviewees to have a diverse understanding of their perception of equality, but three people refused to participate due to their tight schedules. The length of interviews varied from 45 minutes to 1 hour and 50 minutes. According to Tuomi and Sarajärvi (2018, p.65), the demand for
congruence varies between studies that apply thematical interviews. A weakness of this type of research is the variation between seven interviews. The first three interviews were more open, because of lacking experience of an interviewer. Towards the last interviews, discussions became more structured, because during the first interviews some questions took bigger importance. In the beginning, there were too many optional sub-questions for a one- hour interview, and less important ones faded out naturally. All interviews were conducted in Finnish since the informants were Finnish native speakers. That eased the discussion and allowed us to use also less formal language especially in the beginning and the end of the sessions when the recorder was not on. With short and casual moments, it was possible to break the ice and make us both feel more relaxed.
Since expert interviews happen in an interaction between informant and interviewer, informants’ expectations towards the encounter with interviewer might affect what they speak in interviews. Especially experts in high positions choose their words regarding interviewer’s expertise; they might either simplify their speech to the general level or use typical jargon to their field and have a strong thematic focus as speaking to another expert.
(Alastalo, Åkerman and Vaittinen, 2017, p.188.) In the interviews that I conducted, regardless of the informants’ field of expertise, they presented themselves as experts who are used to speak of equality, even if they signified that it is not their specialty. My understanding deepened after each interview and each theme during an interview. Therefore, it was possible to pose clarifying and defined questions if responses were on a too general level. Nevertheless, I did it too rarely, due to my lacking experience in conducting interviews. Most of the interviews proceeded quite organically, and the order of the themes followed the initiative of the interviewees; the initial order of themes changed due to the topics that the informants signified in their speeches.
4. THEMATIC ANALYSIS
Thematic analysis is characterized to be an approved method for solving practical problems.
By dividing material into themes, I could efficiently collect needed information. (Eskola and Suoranta, 1998, p.129.) I seek an understanding of how perceptions of gender equality manifest through ways to present gender. It was convenient to gather information by forming themes regarding interview structure, remarkable topics in interviews, and previous literature, and then look up how interviewees speak about gender and equality in them.
Qualitative thematical analysis can be described as a three-stepped process including description, classification and deeper analysis of data. The description of the data is the base of the analysis. In the descriptive phase, the purpose is to illustrate characteristics of informants, happenings or targets. Thick description is crucial to profoundly understand the studied phenomenon. The opposite of thick description is called a thin description, which is based mostly on certain facts rather than cultural understanding. (Hirsjärvi and Hurme, 2015, pp.145-150.) The informants’ anonymity had to be well considered in this study since their field of work is rather small and they are easy to identify. That characteristic limited the descriptive phase and only certain facts can be presented to the reader. Overall, I was concerned about how a cultural understanding of experts’ perceptions can be reached since the informants’ backgrounds cannot be revealed.
According to Ruusuvuori, Nikander, and Hyvärinen (2010, pp.14-16) classification is a preliminary, helping tool for analysis and its purpose is to systematically go through the data, keeping in mind research problem, and important concepts. In this research, it is crucial to search for codes that were included in the interview structure and let new focal ones raise from the texts. Conducted interviews were relatively intense, and we managed to keep the focus on the topic of interest. Therefore, there is no need to leave notable parts of the text out; looking for certain codes from each text is relevant. (Ruusuvuori, Nikander, and Hyvärinen, 2010, pp.14-16.) Regarding Hirsjärvi and Hurme (2015, pp.149-150) in qualitative analysis, the descriptive phase and classification approach research material inductively, which means that observations on the research material are generalized. After classification, I started the deductive phase and connect classes and generalizations with previous studies, aiming to create theoretical frames to position my research.
4.1. Description of the informants and the material
Understanding the background of the interviewees is crucial since the informants are experts with unique knowledge on a certain historical period (Alastalo and Åkerman, 2010, pp.312- 314). Experts were selected because of their former occupational positions in Namibian related tasks. Selected interviewees worked at different times in Namibia because the number of Finnish officials working there in total is rather small. Consequently, it was possible to collect material from a few decades-long times.
Evaluation of Finnis-Namibian partnership before and after 2004-2007 transition period is described as: “a move from relations where the emphasis is on development cooperation, to more diversified cooperation and interaction” (Valjas et al. 2008, p.19). Perspectives of people who are aware of Finnish development policies and practices and lived in Namibia for a while are valuable because they have understanding and experience from both countries before and after development cooperation was finished between Finland and Namibia.
Therefore, it is interesting to find out how they signify the promotion of gender equality after the actual development cooperation.
The anonymity of the informants was evident to consider since I collected personal data on the interviewees’ identities. In the interview, I asked their name, hometown, occupation, organization, and position in Namibia and now. Hometown was relevant to know when we organized meetings, but otherwise, it was unnecessary detail. According to the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (Kohonen, Kuula-Luumi and Spoof, 2019, p.11), it is important to plan the research so that all the risks regarding handling research material are estimated. Therefore, I probably should not have asked irrelevant details that might weaken the anonymity of the informants.
A researcher should not promise full anonymity to informants (Kohonen, Kuula-Luumi and Spoof, 2019, p.12). Because the informants worked on a very specific field, they are identifiable. At the beginning of the research process, the informants were told that the intention was not to mention their names but to refer them by fictitious names. Later I decided to call them with numbers, to not reveal their gender and to maintain clarity and accuracy of the rapport. I promised to the interviewees that only the nature of their professionalism and background organization would be presented. Overall, to protect their anonymity their occupational background was not described too much, it was only relevant
