Management control for gender mainstreaming – a quest of transformative norm breaking

Purpose – This paper aims to discuss the gendered dimensions of management control. Gender mainstreaming is a worldwide strategy for gender equality. The question raised in this paper is how a management control system functions under the pressure of mainstreaming gender into a core business. Design/methodology/approach – The evidence stems from a case study at two Swedish Governmental public transport administrations. Interviews, observations of meetings and close reading of documents furnish this paper with data over a five-year period regarding the management control of the policy goal of a gender-equal transport system. The practice of management control for gender mainstreaming is studied by adopting sociological institutional theory and a gender perspective. Findings – The management control system proves to hamper gender equality. In a technocratic core business, the control system fails to support gender mainstreaming. In this paper, the control of a gender-equal transport system results in a quantitative perspective on women and men instead of a qualitative gender perspective on the transport system. Practical implications – This paper has practical implications both for accountants being involved in management control for gender mainstreaming and for all persons involved in promoting gender mainstreaming. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the scarce literature from research with a gender perspective on management control systems. Being exposed to gender mainstreaming, the gender perspective discloses dysfunctional dimensions within the management control system.