Enabling Gender Equality: Future Generations of the Global World: Volume 23

Cover of Enabling Gender Equality: Future Generations of the Global World
Subject:

Table of contents

(22 chapters)

Part I: Gender Challenges in the Global System

Abstract

Considering the recent trends of the increasing globalization of the market economy and the diffusion of democracy, the modern world needs to pay closer attention to pro-women and pro-girls policies if gender discrimination is to be challenged. Such policies could mark an era of building greater gender equality across the world by strengthening domains of women’s well-being that have been shown to decline in the initial years of the democratization and globalization of countries.

Women, who have more complex societal roles than men and whose employment is more tenuous, are more vulnerable to the rapid restructuring in macro-political and economic systems and bear more of the costs of systemic changes. My world-scale analyses show that women and men benefit unequally from the growth of democracy and the global economy – men’s well-being improves with the growth of democracy and globalization but women’s well-being declines. According to my follow-up studies, the decline lasts for over a decade (2014). These findings suggest that prior results of research proposing that democracy and the global economy improve people’s well-being are most likely biased when gender and the level of development in countries are not accounted for. To protect women and girls and to avoid gender discrimination, globalizing and democratizing countries should prioritize gender mainstreaming in their policies.

Abstract

Women as a group have long been treated unequal to men, and subjugated and exploited just because they are women. Till now, women have been the most marginalized and vulnerable group across the societies and economic systems. However, because of the sustained and dedicated works of Feminism, now their right to equality has been recognized and legalized in almost all the countries. Over the past 100 years, since Feminism began as a moment and theory, now we have a large body of knowledge and a vast experience to understand and redress women’s inequality and injustice significantly.

The present paper is an attempt to represent the picture of women from a gender perspective. Gender analysis shows that ‘Women are not born weak, they are made weak’. I myself fully subscribe to this view. Although the biological differences between men and women cannot be denied, but despite this women are as efficient as men. They are not born by nature inferior to men in reason, intellect, talent or in any other respect. In fact, they are made weak by religious, cultural, socio-economic and other conditions prevailing in the patriarchal society.

Sexual and biological difference is a genuine difference but should not be a ground to distribute burden and benefit. The concept of women equality assumes that women are different from men, but treated as weaker and need privileges to be at par with men.

This paper also tries to explore the factors responsible for the inferior and secondary status of women in society and suggests some serious strategies to enhance the status of women and to make them enable to live a dignified life.

Part II: Gender Challenges at Work: Policies and Practices

Abstract

Sexual harassment against female employees in the workplace is one of the topics that have gained the serious attention of various segments of the Sri Lankan society. More than 50% of the female population in Sri Lanka is employed today. Many of them have experienced sexual harassment at least once in their workplace. Since sexual harassment is recognized as a criminal offence in Sri Lanka, this paper intends to investigate whether the prevailing penal laws of the country are sufficient to prevent and deal with these cases and punish the perpetrators. Furthermore, this paper investigates the other possible legal response in the civil law regime to provide a safer legal environment for the victims of sexual harassment. This paper also discusses the relevant international standards in improving the existing laws in the country. This study engages in the field research including interviewing relevant stakeholders (200 women employees including skilled, unskilled and managerial level from government and private sector institutions situated in the Western Province, Officer In Charge of Police of 6 Police Divisions in Colombo District as the highest industrialized District in the Western Province and 3 Commissioners of Labour Department of Sri Lanka) in addition to the desk review of the literature.

Abstract

Women’s participation in higher education significantly increased over the recent decades in India. Despite visible accomplishments, this study demonstrates persistent gender gap at the top administrative academic positions. Based on conducted study in Lucknow University in India, female administrators face subtle barriers in academia which are not faced by male administrators. Expectations from females’ university leaders are higher than from their male counterparts. Also, as the study shows, female academic leaders receive limited support from the top administration at their institutions and are often discourage from seeking leadership roles.

Abstract

This paper explores the feelings of loneliness, insecurity and vulnerability among Indonesian mothers who lived away from their children while they were working overseas – outside of Indonesia – as domestic workers. I accomplish this exploration by conducting open-ended, in-depth interviews in the tradition of feminist methodology with 38 respondents, including the mothers and daughters in relation to long-distance mothering, were from West and Central Java. In my research, I uncovered three distinct themes that the previous literature had not explored, these are: (a) leaving her own children behind; (b) who takes care of her children; and (c) the work of taking care of another woman’s children. I have found in my study that narratives were strongly informed by my respondents’ educational backgrounds, occupations, marital status, economic situations, and the overall well-being of their children (especially daughters) at the time of the interviews.

Abstract

Financial stress has been found to contribute to mental health deterioration associated with job loss. This study examined whether specific types of income support programs (e.g., unemployment benefits and welfare) reduce the negative impacts of job loss on middle-aged women’s mental health in the United States. Two samples of women previously employed before their mental health assessments in their 40s and 50s were selected from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79). We conducted regression analysis to predict their mental health scores using employment and income support program status. The model also controlled for baseline health before job loss, socioeconomic status, and demographic and family life characteristics. Compared to their continuously employed counterparts, 50 +  women who had job loss without unemployment benefits had significantly worse mental health. However, those receiving unemployment benefits did not have significantly worse mental health. Unemployment benefits’ ameliorating effect was not found in the 40 +  sample; and welfare programs did not have similar mental health effects. Our findings suggest that certain types of income support policies are beneficial to the mental health of certain cohorts of middle-aged women. For different groups of women, additional and alternative measures are needed to reduce the mental health damage of job loss.

Abstract

Although urban agricultural programs rarely alleviate the pressures of food insecurity on a large scale, community gardens and urban farms are still cropping up in underserved communities and gentrifying areas of redevelopment. This paper identifies the purposes these programs serve for their communities and argues that with government support, grassroots approaches can combat complex problems. Using qualitative and quantitative sources employing a wide range of social research methodology to establish triangulation including but not limited to: case studies; interviews, quantitative analysis of land values; comparative analyses of vacant land policies; urban archives news documents and photographs; empirical models of urban land use and food distribution. The study illustrates the community food garden as an oasis from the typical threats of food insecurity, violence, and sexual harassment urban areas often pose. This collection of qualitative data support existing literature which states that if maintained, community agricultural projects result in a multitude of social, economic, environmental, and physical health benefits. Finally, this paper suggests that with proper support, these small programs can have larger societal impacts. This paper views community agricultural projects as an overlooked vehicle for social and structural change. Community members know the struggles in their neighborhoods best; Grassroots programs like urban gardens leverage social dynamics that create sustainable change.

Part III: Gender Challenges in Families

Abstract

The total number of widows in India exceeds 33 million. Yet, despite the large number of women affected, little is known about their living conditions. Widows are particularly vulnerable and deserve special attention within the study of public policy and economic development. This paper is based on an analytical research study conducted by interviewing 300 randomly selected rural widows of all age groups from rural parts of the Vidarbha region. An attempt is made to achieve better understanding of social and economic condition of widows, by focusing attention on widowhood as a social problem. This study explores the dominant ideological construction of widowhood in the context of patriarchy, religion, and customs. Nearly 69% widows were illiterate, 96% had economic problems, and 47% faced discrimination due to caste and religious obligations. Elderly widows constituted 49% of the sample, age had placed them in a difficult position to discrimination, dependence, oppression, and health problems. Among elderly widows there was a wide spread feeling of psychological neglect and isolation. The paper also discusses some key issues of social, economic policy, and action in support of widows’ property rights, social security, employment, social identity, and participation in society.

The study identifies factors that account for high levels of deprivation which includes limited freedom to remarry, insecure property rights, living arrangement of elderly, social stigma, restricted employment opportunities, and lack of social support. The study extensively deals with social work intervention aspects in helping the widows and discusses social, economic, and policy implications of the problems of widows.

Abstract

The recent spate of farmer’s suicide in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, India has left many of those households in the charge of widows. These are the women left behind to live for their children after their husband committed suicide, unable to bear the burden of their debts anymore. The surviving family members of those who killed themselves in distress are prone to depression and tend to have suicidal tendencies too. They are experiencing exclusion in day to day life. This research paper is based on empirical study. Hundred Respondents from Wardha district of Vidarbha region are interviewed. For these widows, life is a tale of suffering and Harassment. Their relations with their in-law soured to a great extent after their husband committed suicide. They have to struggle for basic human rights. They are facing physical, sexual, mental, emotional and economic exclusion in day-to-day life. Sexual exploitation is not a common occurrence, but it does exist. The mental and emotional violence is much more. According to them, ‘The humiliation is greater than the pain of husband’s suicide’. The village social system has many pitfalls for such women. Because of widowhood, in several arenas her quality of life and capabilities have worsened.

This paper deals with suffering and various aspect of social exclusion faced by widows of the farmer and the role of social fabric in handling these problems.

Abstract

Dramatic urbanization in Latin America is causing an increasing proportion of indigenous groups to migrate from rural areas to urban centers. In Peru, this population is primarily comprised of the Quechua-speaking Indians. The cultural marginalization of Quechua in urban areas has left these communities with limited access to basic services such as health care. Quechua women are disproportionately affected by adverse health outcomes due to their economic dependency on their husbands and lack of Spanish language knowledge. In order to investigate this topic, I brought together information from multiple disciplines, consulting government data, ethnographic studies and social research, and studies conducted on health outcomes. It becomes apparent from this information that Quechua women suffer from high incidences of adolescent pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and domestic violence. These health issues are linked to their traditional beliefs and practices and their economic condition. In order to properly address this issue, it is imperative to increase Quechua translators in medical facilities, allow for greater access to sexual education and contraceptives, and to provide culturally competent care that incorporates both traditional and Western practices.

Part IV: Gender Challenges in Politics and Economy

Abstract

General presidential elections are the achievements of the democratic forces and always arouse a multitude of social excitement. The presidential campaigns in years 1990; 1995; 2000; 2005; 2010; and present in 2015 became more and more professional. The role of planning and effective campaigns also increased. After more than 25 years of independence and after successfully carrying out the transformation of a new generation of voters born, raised, and educated in a democratic country whose political decisions are not conditioned in comparison to situation, Communist Poland has grown up and voted in 2015. The expectations of this generation are attributable to a good job, the ability to travel, and actively shaping their own lives. The existing political and party system no longer reflects the new social divisions which are becoming increasingly visible in the country.

Abstract

Media has been crucial to development of economic, political, social, and cultural spheres at the local, national, and global levels. Media through different means has remained not only the source of information and entertainment but it has been able to produce and disseminate information, ideas, beliefs, values, ways of thinking, and narratives which can help us to understand and follow the socio-cultural happenings around the world. In India, television along with internet has become the main source of social media. In fact, television is the most powerful source of social media which covers both urban areas and rural areas. Approximately 47.2 per cent of population in India has access to television. Many researchers are of the opinion that television advertisements present idealized images of appropriate behavior and role for women, making television advertisement an important factor that shapes desired and appropriate behaviors and roles of each sex in developing nations. Some studies mention that changing portrayal of women in advertisements has been the result of increased number of educated women working outside the home. In contrast, entrepreneurs recognize that consumption is related to the creation and production of sense of self. The greater is an association with the sense of self, the greater will be the capacity to buy products for consumption. This paper posits that media, and especially television programs, promote images that appeal to traditional gender role to support economic enterprise of sale of traditional women’s apparel.

Part V: Gender Challenges in Religion

Abstract

This paper looks into the controversial Buddhist Asoke group generally known as Santi Asoke in Thailand. The group has challenged the state Buddhist hierarchy (Mahatherasamakhom) by ordaining women as sikkhamat. The sikkhamats observe Ten Precepts and are highly respected in the group. In the wider Thai society, they are less known and often confused with visiting Chinese bhiksunis. Santi Asoke has been controversial since its emergence in the 1970s due to its strict vegetarianism and harsh criticism on capitalism, consumerism and monastic corruption. It became highly politicised when their most famous lay member Major-General Chamlong Srimuang was elected as the governor of Bangkok and later on established his own political party Palang Dharma (Power of Dharma or Moral Force) to contest in the national elections in 1988. Palang Dharma failed to change Thai politics, but when in 1998 the former Palang Dharma member, telecom tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra established his nationalistic Thai Rak Thai party (Thais Love Thais) to contest the elections in 2000, many Asoke people enthusiastically supported him until 2006 when they joined street protests to oust him. Asoke group has been widely criticised for their involvement in politics. Asoke movement administers several autonomous self-reliant villages in rural Thailand where it practices sustainable organic agriculture, produces herbal shampoos and medicine and runs primary and secondary schools. The sikkhamats are primarily involved in teaching and preaching but have also participated in the street demonstrations. The purpose of this paper is to look into the role and status of the sikkhamats in the Asoke group; explore social and economic background of Asoke sikkhamats; ask why women choose to become sikkhamats; and why do they not seem to want to be ordained as bhikkhuni. The paper is based on many years of observation and interviews with the Asoke sikkhamats and laywomen in their temples, schools, villages, and on the streets of Bangkok.

Abstract

For over 2000 years, Iran was dominated by different religions, and hence, religious texts constructed identity, status, and rights for women. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Islamists attacked “Iranian identity,” and tried to replace it with the “Islamic identity,” fearing that Iranians could undermine the legitimacy of their Islamic identity. The purpose of this discursive psychological research is to find out the level of faith development and religious identity among a sample of Iranian women. Due to the Iranian distinct politics and its young population, the Iranian women’s movement is one of the most important movements in the Muslim world. Findings of my inquiry indicate that a contradiction has been imposed on Iranian women since the revolution. Religious beliefs and practices based on Islamic laws and identities that are enforced by the government generate a traditional atmosphere in the society. Consequently, some Iranian women believe in inevitable destiny and admit that anything that happens is God’s will. They believe that an ideal woman must act according to the cultural and religious norms and traditions. Such women strongly internalize these values and have become a source of control and restriction over the activities of other women. On the other hand, many women attempts to become Westernized (modern) women, far from religious beliefs. This qualitative research provides us with rich detailed data and information about a sample of participants, so any generalizations made from the findings must be applied cautiously.

Part VI: Epilogue: Enabling Gender Equality

Abstract

This research paper aims at showing how a play focused on the rhetoric of gender discrimination can be instrumental to challenge the multifaceted reality of violence. The approach to the play – a contemporary adaptation from Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Book VI) by Canadian playwright Erin Shields – consists of a combination of a philological, linguistic and critical tool able to foreground the way in which language functions, and to interpret the inter-and infra-textualities that make up the work as a whole (Barthes, 1977; Kristeva, 1986). The sacred dimension of myth (whether religious or secular) is also studied in its interaction with human rights, the horror of wars, and the process of becoming inhumane. (Calasso, 2001; Gutmann & Taylor, 1994.). The analysis of the text shows how the violence against woman dealt with in myth is very similar to the violence perpetrated on women during today’s wars. It also shows that violence begets more violence on the part of the victim, who becomes, in turn, a perpetrator herself, in an endless cycle of inhumane actions. The research is directed specifically at an intellectual, rather than active, involvement, and it primarily argues that gender equality needs being enabled in human relationships, and it must preside over punishment. When a reaction to female violation is set in motion in terms of a just as violent revenge, then a metamorphosis of people into beasts is equally (and justly) applied (by the Gods) to male and female inhuman behaviour. That is how Shields takes the opportunity to critique gender equality in the theatre.

Abstract

Building on the content of papers of this volume, this final section asks the key question of whether, after prolonged discussions undertaken for almost half of the century by major world-scale institutions and numerous governments, gender equality is found in todays’ countries, communities, and families across the world. It attempts to delineate whether some researchers are correct stating that great gender equality across the world was achieved since the 1970s at job opportunities, family relations, education, and social position of women in comparison to men. Or whether others are correct showing that women contribute significantly more time to working hours and perform more societal duties while spending less time on rest than men. Finally, whether governments and policy makers created gender-sensitive policies and programs that aim at enhancement and protection of women’s rights, economic empowerment and improvement of women’s well-being, and hence citizens of the global world embrace gender equality in everyday practices. In conclusion, we propose potential policies that could build a better, more equal world for future generations.

Cover of Enabling Gender Equality: Future Generations of the Global World
DOI
10.1108/S0895-9935201523
Publication date
2015-11-13
Book series
Research in Political Sociology
Editors
Series copyright holder
Emerald Publishing Limited
ISBN
978-1-78560-567-3
eISBN
978-1-78560-566-6
Book series ISSN
0895-9935