Frida Linehagen is a distinguished expert in leadership, organisation, and gender equality in public organisations, with over 20 years of experience as a military officer and leader, and more than a decade in academia. She holds a PhD in Risk and Society Safety from Lund University, completed in 2023, with a focus on gender equality in military organisations.

Currently, Frida serves as a researcher and developer within the Swedish Armed Forces, leading gender integration initiatives in the Navy. She is also an affiliated researcher at the Swedish Defence University and a Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London. Her ongoing research examines military families and civil-military collaboration, building on her expertise in military sociology and the military profession.

Before her current roles, Frida was the Head Instructor for Leadership at the Naval Warfare Centre, where she designed and implemented leadership training programs. She also chaired the women's network within the Swedish Navy, and previously served as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Defence University in Washington, D.C.

Frida has led significant projects that have shaped leadership education in the Swedish Navy and contributed to policy and organizational change within the Swedish Armed Forces. She is a member of the Gender, Peace, and Security initiative at the Swedish Defence University, as well as networks for women in the Armed Forces. Her work has earned her several prestigious awards and NATO’s Award for Excellence for her co-authorship of a book within a NATO Research Task Group.

Frida is a sought-after lecturer, sharing her research and experiences across academia, the Armed Forces, and wider societal organisations. Her work is widely recognised for advancing awareness and action on gender inequality within military organisations and beyond, influencing policy, practice, and cultural norms in Sweden.

Research:

• Gender equality in military organisations
• Leadership and organisational culture in male-dominated environments
• Civil-military collaboration and power dynamics
• Military families and their role in defense communities
• Gendered experiences in the military profession

Frida leads research at the intersection of gender, leadership, and the military profession, applying sociological and organisational frameworks to explore how gender shapes experiences and structures within the Armed Forces.

Her current research focuses on improving gender integration in the Swedish Navy and understanding the unique challenges faced by military families. She also examines how power dynamics in civil-military collaboration are mediated by institutional and cultural factors.
Through her work, Frida seeks to advance both theoretical and practical insights into creating more inclusive and resilient military organisations.

Publications:

Books

• Linehagen, F. (2023). Gender (in)equality within the Swedish Armed Forces: Resistance and Functional Disinclination.Publisher: https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/publication/b6b6de40-6eaf-4003-9bc4-88221bc39cb4
• Persson, M., Alvinius, A., & Linehagen, F. (2022). Skolans värld möter samhällskriser. Studentlitteratur AB.

Book Chapters

• Linehagen, F. (2020). "Power Resources Among Female Military Personnel." In Rethinking Military Professionalism for the Changing Armed Forces, pp. 95–112.
  https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-45570-5_7

Research Articles

• Linehagen, F., & Wester, M. (2023). "To Stand in Line and Fit In—About Military Men's (Un)Reflected Navigation in the Armed Forces." Sociology Compass, 17(3), e13056.
  https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/soc4.13056
• Linehagen, F. (2022). "Collective Agreement as Investment in Women in the Swedish Armed Forces: A Critical Discourse Analysis." Journal of Gender Studies, 31(3), 364–376.
  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09589236.2022.2035213
• Linehagen, F. (2018). "Conforming One’s Conduct to Unwritten Rules: Experiences of Female Military Personnel in a Male-Dominated Organization." Res Militaris, 8(1), 1–25.
  https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1257441&dswid=-8251

Media Articles

• "Resistance to Gender Equality in the Armed Forces" – Dagens Nyheter, March 21, 2024.
  This article highlights Linehagen’s research on the systemic resistance to gender equality within the Armed Forces and how it affects organizational development.
  https://www.dn.se/sverige/det-finns-motstand-mot-jamstalldhet-i-forsvarsmakten/
• "Naval Lieutenant: 'The Armed Forces Are Built By and For Men'" – TV4 News, March 8, 2024.
  In this interview, Linehagen explains how historical structures and norms in the Armed Forces continue to impact efforts for gender equality today.
  https://www.tv4.se/artikel/27LgQiskH8sCQap3XOJPfp/marinkaptenen-foersvarsmakten-aer-byggd-av-och-foer-maen
• "Why Gender Equality Work in the Armed Forces Is Progressing Slowly" – Officerstidningen, November 7, 2023.
  This article discusses the male-dominated norms and structural issues that Linehagen identifies as barriers to gender equality in the Armed Forces.
  https://officerstidningen.se/darfor-gar-jamstalldhetsarbetet-i-forsvarsmakten-langsamt/
• "After Sexual Misconduct Investigations: 'Reports Must Go to the Police'" – Swedish Radio P4 Blekinge, January 8, 2024.
  Linehagen emphasizes the importance of reporting suspected sexual misconduct within the Armed Forces to the police rather than handling it solely internally.
  https://www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/misstankta-sexualbrott-maste-polisanmalas
• "Researcher: The Armed Forces' Gender Equality Efforts Are Failing" – Kvalitetsmagasinet, November 8, 2023.
  This article summarizes Linehagen’s findings on the resistance to gender equality present at various levels within the Armed Forces.
  https://kvalitetsmagasinet.se/forskare-forsvarets-jamstalldhetsarbete-brister/
  
  

PhD Supervision Subject:

• Gender in the military 

PhD Students:

• Linda Jarl, examining Sweden’s integration into NATO.
• Annika Öhrner Lindén, focusing on women in physically demanding roles in the Armed Forces