International Conference on Gender Research

Gender-Based Violence and Intimate Partner Violence in Greece During the COVID–19 Pandemic

Melina Emmanouela Niraki — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during lockdown periods, there has been an increase in cases of Gender-based Violence (GBV), Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), and Domestic Violence (DV) globally. This increase has been characterised as a “shadow pandemic” or a “second pandemic”. While previous research has shown a correlation between Violence against Women and times of crisis, little attention has been paid to the Greek context, which revealed a worrying increase in femicides in 2021. In particular, the significant response of civil organisations, women’s rights activists, and the #metooGR social movement in 2021 brought several GBV cases to public attention, triggering social mobilisation towards the fight for gender equality, elimination of GBV, and social justice. This research investigates Greece as a case study, focusing on GBV in the form of IPV in Greece since 2020, particularly during the first and second lockdown. To theoretically ground this investigation, a literature review on the topic has been conducted, complemented with statistics from annual reports on Violence against Women from 2019, 2020, and 2021, which were conducted by the General Secretariat for Demography and Family Policy and Gender Equality, a governmental actor dedicated to these matters. These annual reports are a newly formed initiative in Greece. Furthermore, through expert interviews with members of civil society and women’s rights activists, the discussion will move forward to the unique protection challenges faced during the pandemic, combined with newly invented ways to fight GBV and IPV, while giving survivors a possible way out even during this unique occasion. Based on the secondary data analysis and interviews, an increase in IPV is observed, accompanied by a lack of alignment between legal provisions and law enforcement, and a lack of an established action plan that can assure prevention and protection for women from the moment they experience violence until the closure of their case.

The Establishment of Gender Quotas for Leadership Positions in Cooperatives to Promote the Principal of Voluntary and Open Membership

Marianna Ferraz Teixeira — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The present work aims to understand whether the establishment of gender quotas for the composition of management positions in Brazilian and Portuguese cooperatives would have the power to fully promote the principle of voluntary and open membership. Therefore, an approach to the roles imposed by society on men and women and propagated by patriarchy is essential to understand why women created the feminist movement and how important it is to achieve equality. In addition, it is essential to understand the characteristics of cooperatives, as well as its first principle - voluntary and open membership - in order to verify the reasons why cooperatives become an ideal model for promoting gender equality. Despite this, in the Brazilian and Portuguese cases, the data show that there is a disparity between men and women from entry, but that it is more relevant when observing the managerial positions. Thus, based on this information and in view of the barriers that keep women away from leadership positions, understanding the conditions for implementing affirmative action such as quotas is essential to verify the possibility of its implementation in the case of cooperatives, in respect for the principles that govern them. In this way, the use of the focus-group methodology seeks to fill in the information collected by the doctrinal, legal and statistical study, based on the empirical analysis of the opinions of jurists and directors of cooperatives on the feasibility of the implementation and of alternatives capable of leading to parity.

Gender Equity in Hospitals: An Italian case Study

Ginevra Gravili, Francesca Loia — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The topic of gender equity is increasingly cited as a goal of health policy despite the rise in the number of female doctors around the world, and attempts to enhance gender awareness have gained prominence. Recently, initiatives to increase gender awareness have been numerous nevertheless, the topic of gender equity in the medical profession has not been adequately assessed. In order to fill this gap, this paper examines the current state of gender equity literature in hospitals, with a systematic literature review on Scopus, and, then, it focuses on an Italian case study to identify the characteristics that obstacle or support gender equity in terms of salary, career, and professionalism. The finding highlighted some reflections regarding the roles in the Italian hospitals and obstacles to gender equity, such as the stereotyped judgments, as well as shed light on new considerations regarding the actions aimed at managing gender disparity in such working environments. This has important implications for practice in health care organizations and human resource management, which are highlighted in conclusion, together with the limitations and future research avenues.

Visibility of Innovative Female Founders in Germany

Andrea Ruppert, Martina Voigt, Veronika Kneip — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The current state of research in Germany shows that women are significantly underrepresented in innovative start-ups. The important potential of female founders for the innovation culture in Germany is thus not being exploited. The visibility of innovative female founders has an impact on their success, as it facilitates their access to capital, networks and markets. In addition, visible role models can motivate young women to contribute their own innovative potential to a start-up. This work-in-progress paper provides insight into the conception and the methodical approach within the project “Visibility of Innovative Female Founders in Germany” which examines the mechanisms and structures that influence the visibility of innovative female founders. On the one hand, the activity/passivity of female founders with regard to public visibility is investigated. On the other hand, the project examines selection mechanisms of media professionals as well as venture capitalists and identifies the success factors for the public visibility of (female and male) start-up founders in high-tech companies. By comparing the results of these two sub-surveys, best practices will be identified and measures to improve the visibility of innovative female founders will be developed.

Sexual identity in the workplace: Reasons for (not) coming out

Mónica Gonçalves, Regina Leite, Emília Fernandes — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Extant research on non-normative sexual identity and non-heterosexual people exposes the various forms of discrimination and oppressive practices and behaviors from peers, supervisors and subordinates, clients and organizations in general. This situation creates a dilemma to those workers regarding the self-disclosure of their sexual identity. Most studies shows that the majority usually prefer not to reveal their sexual orientation and or sexual identity in their organizational settings. In the Portuguese context, investigation in this area of research is still scarce. The present paper aims to contribute to this debate by extending knowledge on the reasons underlying the decision to share with others the sexual orientation and/or gender identity at work. To examine the reasons non-heterosexual workers and with non-normative sexual identity offer for disclosing or not to those with whom they interact at work, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 participants with different socio-professional profiles and geographical locations. Women and man were recruited from the personal network of one of the researchers using a convenience and snowball sampling approach. The study findings provide insight into the main reasons why the interviewees choose to disclose or not to disclose. Participants reported as main reasons for disclosure: friendship relationships in the workplace and an inclusive working environment. On the other hand, the decision for non-disclosure results from the anticipated sexual discrimination, the perception of a hostile environment and the lack of friendship relationships. The main results are in line with other studies conducted in international contexts. The study highlights the heteronormativity of Portuguese work settings and the persistence of sexual discrimination of workers with non-normative sexual identity despite the development of Portuguese legislation regarding sexual equality.

It’s all about Priorities: Tips for Successfully Implementing Gender Equality Actions

Maria Sangiuliano, Kyriaki Karydou, Danai Kyrkou — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The adoption of an inclusive Gender Equality Plan (iGEP) in Research Performing Organisations (RPO) and Research Funding Organisations (RFO) is a dynamic process that mobilises knowledge and skills, and at the same time creates challenges in each step. The Horizon 2020 CALIPER project supports seven RPOs and two RFOs across Europe in implementing iGEPs, focusing on the STEM fields. At this stage, CALIPER partners completed the first iteration phase of their iGEP implementation lasting 12 months. This work-in-progress paper presents practical examples from their GEP experience so far, focusing on the activities/steps an institution can put in place to adopt an inclusive approach to the GEP process. The “tips” are grounded in the formative evaluation reports, drafted by the CALIPER RPOs/RFOs after the end of the first implementation iteration. This action-oriented paper targets practitioners, active in Gender Equality (GE) in Research and Innovation (R&I).

The Gender Gap in Morocco’s Entrepreneurial Process: Towards a Typology of Female Entrepreneurs

Salwa Aligod — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The gender gap in entrepreneurship persists across the globe. Although many governments are making significant efforts to change the landscape, there is still much work to close this gap, especially in developing countries. Morocco, a Muslim and patriarchal society, does not escape this reality. It has one of the lowest rates of gender equality in entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurial gender gap in Morocco is alarming since it is manifested throughout the entrepreneurial process (from the intention to action), and female TEA has been far below male TEA for many years now (GEM, 2021). By analyzing the paths of Moroccan entrepreneurs, this paper proposes exploring the characteristics of the entrepreneurial process from a gendered perspective. Through semi-structured interviews among nineteen entrepreneurs, this study explores the entrepreneurial process in its complexity and diversity of contexts. The aim is to deeply understand how female and male entrepreneurs live their entrepreneurial adventures in a patriarchal and Islamic context. The results show that the entrepreneur's gender is not the relevant factor to analyze gender gap in entrepreneurship but rather context which justifies the emergence of new typology of female entrepreneurs.

Gender Equality in the role of Independent Directors. Is it linked to sustainability?

TOMMASO BECK, SIMONA ARDUINI — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The growing interest in social, environmental, and ethical aspects of business has underscored the need for a change of course from the typically male composition of Boards of Directors (BoD). Too often, in the past, management and board positions were delegated to men, not only based on competence, but also because of cultural biases and “male traditions”. Falling behind on this issue, and particularly with reference to gender equality related to the concepts of sustainability and ethics, would certainly mean missing new opportunities in value creation for companies. In this sometimes precarious, yet steadily increasing scenario, the important figure of the Independent Director (ID) and his gender, is too often overlooked. This figure, in fact, works concretely in the interest of the company and shareholders, overseeing and guiding the company itself in the right direction. Due to his non-executive role in the board, the ID, as opposed to the internal members of the BoD, enjoys an autonomous point of view.

The purpose of this paper, in a nutshell, is to examine this important profile from a gender perspective in order to observe the statistics with respect to the number, effectiveness, and performance of the female gender in this role. In addition to the phenomenon of detecting the performance of the IDs, the issue has also gained ethical importance, for example, in the same sustainable "good governance" strategies that have arisen in the past fifteen years. For this reason, in our view, the presence or absence of female IDs must necessarily also be read in terms of its impact on sustainability, as its cue for encouragement and outreach. The study concludes with a factual discussion of the empirical analysis conducted on a sample of thirteen banks in the Italian scenario, with reference to the present and the gender of the IDs. Through this statistical study, it was possible to draw a clear picture in support of the literature examined for the relationship between sustainable practices and female IDs, creating also a link between the theory analyzed and the practice identified in this field of research.

Gender Narratives in Academia: how gender is constructed through gender policies in Italian universities

Giulia Arena — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This proposal aims to explore gender equality measures in the academic context, which is undergoing changes such as the recent introduction of the Gender Equality Plan requirement and the broadening of equality, diversity and inclusion topics, both in research and in the actions practically proposed. Assuming that gender is continuously made and 'unmade' through gender policies (Acker, 1990), the key question is what kind of gender narrative is proposed by these measures, often attributed to the framework of gender mainstreaming (O'Hagan and Klatzer, 2018). This paper aims to discuss and problematise this assumption from a theoretical and critical perspective, with the use of the methodology known as Critical Frame Analysis that originates in the field of public policy (Bacchi and Eveline, 2010). The use of Critical Frame Analysis applied to the main policy documents on gender measures and objectives at the Italian national level leads to a theoretical proposal on the reclassification of academic gender frameworks.

Socio-Technical Energy Systems: Configurations That Work Better for Some

Joy Clancy, Dr Ewert Aukes — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The political character of the energy transition requires a fine-grained perspective on the power games occurring to bring it about. There are approaches specifically geared towards calling out the identity-based inequalities in such social processes termed as grand challenges, and then there are those specialised in studying the role of technology in the energy system and how actors in that system interact with these technologies. Feminist social scientists have highlighted the entanglements of intersectionality with technology in general and energy more specifically. At the same time, the literature on Science and Technology Studies (STS) emphasizes a social dimension, e.g., how technology is co-constructed by societal actors or how large technical systems structure our daily lives. Of relevance for feminist social scientists, STS approaches are well-positioned to analyse how technology creates, re-enacts, or mirrors power asymmetries. STS approaches understand technologies as socio-technical systems that inadvertently incorporate societal realities in production and consumption which allows an analysis of the covert seats of power in socio-technical systems. Similarly, energy systems have been a popular research object in STS due to their large-scale, often high-tech character, especially when considering modern energy technologies. Regardless of the common scope of intersectionality and STS regarding power asymmetries, there is still significant room for “hybridization” of these approaches. Although the energy domain has seen efforts being made with the development of notions such as energy poverty, energy justice, or energy democracy, the hybridization effort with STS has not been taken further significantly. This paper, we contributes to the hybridization of the STS and intersectionality lenses.

The Cultural Closet: Masculinity Tested by Sexuality in Turkey

Ayşegül BAKIR, Özlem Haskan Avcı — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study aims to explore the experiences of Muslim Turkish men who hide their romantic relationships from their families. The study was carried out according to the phenomenological design and through semi-structured interviews. Participants were Turkish male university students aged between 18-33 years. The data was analyzed involving an inductive system of categories and codes. Four themes emerged from the analysis: Family attitudes towards romantic relationships, reasons for hiding sexual experiences from family, consequences of the prohibition of premarital sex, and indirect sources of information about sexuality. According to the findings, families' pressure and control practices related to gender norms lead men to hide their romantic relationships and sexual experiences from their families. Families' prohibitive attitudes towards premarital sexuality result in Turkish men lacking family guidance in sexuality education. These attitudes have adverse effects on individuals' mental health and romantic relationships. Socially, there are risks such as hasty and early marriages.

Motivation of Men and Women to Join the Armed Forces

Kristýna Binková, Eva Štěpánková — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The armed forces are traditionally the domain of men, however, in recent decades this trend has changed slightly - there has also been an interest from the women´s side in entering the field of the national defence. The article is based on the practice of the Czech Armed Forces, where the representation of women has been relatively stable for many years - around 13%. The purpose of the article was to find out how significantly selected factors reflecting the specifics of the military profession motivate young men and women to join the army, and on the contrary, discourage them from doing so. The aim was then to identify whether there are differences between motivational aspects of men and women. The data was obtained in the form of a semi-structured questionnaire, which was completed by 179 respondents – the first-year military students of the University of Defence, the only military institution of higher education of the Czech Armed Forces. No statistically significant difference was found between the motivation of men and women based on their perception of financial evaluation, employee benefits and position of the Czech Armed Forces in society. However, for several factors notable differences were recorded. Participation in foreign military missions, working with military technology, working in the field, interest in history and interest in warfare play more important role in motivation to join the army for male soldiers than for female soldiers, while women are proven to be motivated by interpersonal relations more than men. Moreover, in relation to aspects causing demotivation from joining the army, female soldiers tend to be discouraged by risk of injury, risk of loss of life, possibility of being sent to a foreign military operation and fear of bullying much more than male soldiers.

Examining Barriers to Entry: Disparate Gender Representation in Cybersecurity Within Sub-Saharan Africa

Danielle Botha-Badenhorst, Namosha Veerasamy — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Globally, women are underrepresented in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), this underrepresentation is even more prevalent, as fewer women pursue STEM careers in SSA when compared to the global norm. Cybersecurity is a critical subsection of STEM; one that is widely accepted as a field with enormous growth potential, yet only a small proportion of these jobs belong to women. Despite attempts to narrow the gender gap in cybersecurity, persistent factors still contribute to this disparity. Within this field, developing countries struggle with the same issues that impact their more developed counterparts. Issues that impact both SSA and the global participation of women in cyber-security include lacking representation and awareness as well as retention problems. Further, issues such as harassment, gender bias and the idea that cybersecurity is a “man’s world” are also contributing factors. A slew of other factors is also at play in SSA; this includes issues of low school attendance by girls, restricted educational opportunities, and other systemic challenges. Girls and women are less likely to complete lower and secondary education, which has a ripple effect – fewer women reach higher education in SSA when compared to global trends. Generally, higher or tertiary education is necessary to join the cybersecurity workforce. Research exploring the challenges women in SSA face when trying to enter the cybersecurity field is limited. This paper presents an overview of the most persistent challenges faced in SSA and globally. It highlights the current skill shortage in the cybersecurity field that is exasperated by global challenges, including issues unique to the region. Educational pathways available to girls and women are explored, as well as the issues leading to widespread skill shortages within SSA. Programs striving to increase the participation of women in cybersecurity are discussed. Lastly, some suggestions to remediate this pervasive issue are also provided.

Non-Binary Parents and Carers: Naming the Specific Detriment Faced

Claire Brown — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This empirical qualitative study reports a subset of findings derived from a wider narrative inquiry conducted in the UK. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with six participants: four who self-define as non-binary or neutrois and have lived experience of adoption, fostering or birth parenting and two social workers with experience assessing and supporting non-binary carers. Purposive followed by snowball sampling sought to include participants with a range of identities from this hard to access sample. A thematic analysis was employed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six stages and utilising an analysis framework integrating elements of cisgenderism, stigma theory and Foucauldian analysis of discourse and power. Findings showed three key themes emerged: 1). Barriers for non-binary carers, 2) Prejudice in adoption and fostering matching processes, 3). Intersectional disadvantage. Cisgenderism was found to affect non-binary carers at micro, meso and macro levels, ranging from the interactions people had with individual family members, friends and professionals, to organisational policies, procedures and responses, to overarching ways in which wider cisgenderist ideas have infused and influenced society. The stigma attached to non-binary identities is unearthed and unpacked to contribute to a developing conversation aiming to promote inclusion of non-binary identities within social and family life. The key finding of this study that non-binary people do experience specific detriment when trying to start or grow their families adds to a burgeoning conversation on the wider specific detriment that non-binary identity faces within contemporary society. This paper speaks to the ways in which cisgenderism can subtly and pervasively influence a devaluing of identities that sit outside of entrenched binary gender norms. The findings of this exploratory study are as such relevant not only to professionals and academics working with non-binary carers, but more widely to gender theorists and sociologists across the globe.

An Evaluation Tool for Extracurricular Activities to Reduce the Gender Gap in Computer Science

Canali Claudia, Francesco Faenza — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In the last few years, workforce with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) competencies has proved to be crucial for countries' innovative capacity and global competitiveness. Yet women are vastly underrepresented in STEM and, in particular, in ICT and computer science fields, both among workers and degree holders: this gap hinders the possibility for ICT employment to be strengthened and for women to take advantage of career opportunities, thus perpetuating gender inequalities in these disciplines. To counteract these effects and attract girls towards ICT-related fields of study and careers, several initiatives have been organised all around the world, such as summer camps and dedicated extracurricular activities. However, these initiatives are usually not supported by proper evaluation tools allowing researchers and practitioners to understand the actual benefits of the carried-out activities on girls' competencies and future attitudes. In this paper, we propose an evaluation tool for extracurricular activities aimed at reducing the gender gap in ICT. The proposed tool aims at capturing both a quantitative and a qualitative evaluation, including an Implicit Association Test (IAT) along with a more traditional questionnaire consisting of thematic sections designed to analyse various aspects of the activities' impact on girls. The tool has been applied in the context of two summer camps related to national and international projects aimed at attracting girls towards computer science and STEM disciplines: the ‘Digital Girls’ project, organised since 2014 by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in collaboration with other universities and local institutions, and the “STEM for Future” Erasmus+ project. Based on the results obtained by the summer camp case studies, we discuss some critical elements that can hinder the efficacy of the evaluation tool, giving suggestions to overcome these potential issues.

‘Men are from Mars, and Women are from Venus’? Doctoral Students’ Perspectives on Doctoral Education

Sónia Cardoso, Teresa Carvalho — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Gender influences the lives of doctoral students, shaping both their doctoral experience and their views on doctoral education. Following this argument, the purpose of this paper is to investigate gender differences in students’ perspectives of what doctoral education entails. The emphasis is on how and to what extent male and female students’ perspectives differ in reflecting changes in doctoral education’s concept, which appears to be shifting from traditional to instrumental. A study was conducted to determine how Portuguese doctoral students perceive doctoral education in terms of its structuring dimensions. The study’s findings, gathered through 11 focus groups interviews with 31 doctoral students from three Portuguese public universities, five scientific fields and evenly distributed by gender, suggested that a hybrid concept of doctoral education is valued, combining elements of its traditional concept and an instrumental concept. This hybridity, and even a propensity toward a more instrumental perspective, appeared to be particularly prevalent among female doctoral students. The paper advances some explanatory hypotheses for these trends while highlighting clues for future research.

Gender Equality Plan: An Explorative Analysis of Italian Academia

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Since 2015, the European Union, always sensitive to gender issues, has been recommending and actively supporting the implementation of the Gender Equality Plan (GEP) in academic and research organisations: a set of commitments and actions that aim to promote gender equality through a process of structural change. Moreover, the European Commission recognises GEPs as an eligibility criterion for participation in all Horizon Europe calls for research and innovation. Gender issues in academia are particularly topical in Italy. According to the last Global Gender Gap Report, in terms of economic participation and opportunities, Italy ranks 110th out of a total of 146 states, after several developing countries. In the country, even though women outnumber men among graduate students, a strong inequality in superior grades of the academic careers persists. In compliance with Decree No. 2/2019, and in line with EU-COM No.152/2020, Italian universities are required to adopt a GEP, which identifies the strategy of individual universities for gender equality. Consequently, most Italian universities have implemented their first GEP edition in last two years. Despite the growing attention to gender issues in academia, studies on GEP implementation and content are still scarce. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the implementation of GEPs in Italian universities by responding to the following research question: (RQ1) What is the state of the art about GEPs in Italian universities? Content analysis will be employed to identify to what extent universities have disclosed the information related to their GEPs. The study consists of the analysis of the total population of 67 Italian public universities that have been drafted referring to the period 2019-2025 (except for one GEP drawn up for 2015-2021). Results highlight that most universities easily disclose information on goals, actions, beneficiaries and institutional members and that universities seem to have difficulties in identifying the subjects operationally involved in the plan implementation, the financial resources and the expected results of the policies adopted for each action. This paper is original for two reasons. First, it provides insights into GEPs as a novelty strategic tool. Second, it represents the first empirical study that provides an overview of the GEPs’ structure and contents, with a focus on Italian academia.

On Leggings and Lemongrass Shots: How Momfluencing Perpetuates the Feminine Mystique

Annabelle Clawson — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

n this paper, I situate the Instagram ‘momfluencing’ industry within Betty Friedan’s framework of the feminine mystique, specifically the sexual sell. The sexual sell is the concept of targeting housewives for profit, promising identity and fulfilment in exchange for product purchase. I bring this into conversation with the momfluencing industry by integrating Friedan’s research on the impact of 1950s women’s magazines with modern research on the impact of social media advertisements (specifically through influencers) on women. Then, I apply my comparative work to some of the most popular momfluencers. I claim that while advertisements today do not appeal so explicitly to a woman’s rightful place in the home, the sexual sell has not been eradicated—it has mutated. What makes the momfluencer different (and more dangerous) than the straightforward magazines of the 1950s is her marketing approach: she is not just selling products. Rather, she brands herself and she is the product. Furthermore, I illustrate how momfluencing has armed and mobilized the sexual sell by exploiting the existing identity crises in women. Their lack of fulfilment is what feeds, and has always fed, the feminine mystique. I then state that because the momfluencer can only succeed at the financial and emotional expense of other women, the industry is ultimately destructive. While the momfluencing industry has the potential to be a powerful feminist play with its opportunities for women entrepreneurs, its rampant success must be interrogated: Why is the flawless housewife who ‘has it all’ still the picture of achievement for women? This leads to my conclusion that despite isolated empowerment to the momfluencer herself, the success of her industry limits the role of women everywhere because it squanders women’s identities while capping their potentials at housewifery, impeding progress that could be made otherwise. By showcasing unachievable domestic fantasies and capitalising on women’s lack of fulfilment, the momfluencing industry perpetuates Friedan’s feminine mystique.

An Acute Crisis adds to Unresolved Chronic Crisis

Penelope Engel-Hills, Nicola Engel — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Residents in a community in the South Peninsula of the Western Cape, South Africa live with the reality of unresolved challenges. The women and children of this community face a burden from the prevailing inequality and structural violence that plays out in their daily lives as high levels of unemployment, substance abuse, violence in many forms, food insecurity, high school dropout rates and teenage pregnancy. The complexities of living in this community were exacerbated by the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown regulations that destabilised all previous notions of normality. The pre-existing social challenges can be viewed as the residents’ experiences of hazards and stressors that have been in place for years in the unequal social structures of South Africa (The World Bank 2022). In this environment, of what can be interpreted as a community in chronic crisis (Dekker et al., 2021), the addition of the acute crisis of the pandemic, posed further cumulative effects on households that impacted more seriously on those who are already the most vulnerable. This paper presents reflections on the stories of women talking about their experiences of the global pandemic to this coastal community. We aim to show the impact on their lives as members of families within their community. The analysis will utilise the phases of a crisis (Emergency Management, 2022) where the pre-crisis or prodromal phase was recognised as life in the chronic crisis of structural violence. The acute or crisis phase of the pandemic became a lens for the effects of an existing long-term crisis compounded by athe. The response or chronic phase of the acute crisis was again found to be exacerbated by the existence of a long drawn out response phase to the chronic crisis. This paper is a window into the innovative attempts by this community to cope with the immense challenges of Covid-19, followed now by the post-crisis (resolution) phase that reflects the ongoing efforts to rebuild the community in the face of the cumulative effects of the pandemic, as but a temporary diversion from the challenges of a continuous chronic crisis. The post-crisis phase remains incomplete, however, a deeper understanding of crisis upon crisis provides knowledge that can assist those implementing social interventions in this community to tackle challenges as a state of chronic crisis for residents.

Challenges of Women's digital inclusion in the Portuguese context

Barbara Barreiros, Isabel Fonseca, Cecilia Pires — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The gender barrier in the technological area represents a significant challenge for the members States of European Union. Also, in Portugal the participation of men and women in ICT is still uneven. This position is the result of the historical evolution of the position of women in the Portuguese society. This article aims to review the digitally index of women and the level of representation of women specialists in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Portugal comparing with the position occupied by men and the rank occupied by women in other members States of the European Union. It also intended to know the policies that have been implemented in Portugal with the aim of improving the digital inclusion of women. To achieve our goals, we supported our study in statistics data and we recapitulate Portuguese policies adopted to strengthen female representation in the digitally and ICT market. Furthermore, we looked at the 2020 European Commission report on this subject (which presents pre-pandemic COVID-19 data, 2021 (which represents data during the period of the pandemics and the period of the emergence State in Portugal) and the 2022 report (which represents post-pandemic data to understand the evolution and impact of female digital inclusion caused by the COVID-19 period. The research technique adopted is document analysis based on the systematization of statistical data from the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, reading articles, academic books on the subject and the political programs implemented in Portugal to meet the digital challenges of women. we conclude that Portugal is on the right path, however, it is still too early to assess the success of the measures implemented.

The professional paths development in Polish cultural organizations from female perspective

Anna Góral — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The last decades have been characterized by numerous changes in the functioning of the organizations. One of them concerns the understanding of the organizational roles of women who, initially identified with lower administrative staff, began to use specialist and managerial positions more and more often and more effectively. Despite what numerous studies have highlighted the increase in the participation of women in leadership positions in organizations is still slow, even in sectors with high feminization rates. This paper focuses on one of the most feminized organizations in the economy – public cultural organizations. On the one hand, they are perceived as traditional, stiff, boring, and by some, even unnecessary organizations. On the other hand, people perceive them as progressive, inspiring, and extremely important from the viewpoint of broadly understood social development and thus consider them as ‘friendly’ for marginalized groups, including women. This paper presents the findings of a research conducted between January 2021 and April 2022 among cultural workers in Poland. The research was based on a survey among 512 public cultural organizations and 20 biographic interviews with female managers working in various cultural organizations in Poland. The purpose of this research was to map the organizational environment of Polish cultural and arts managers. The study provided rich empirical material documenting the impact of the far-reaching gendered nature of work in public cultural organizations, which influences the professional development of women in these workplaces. Additionally, and what makes Polish case interesting to study, is the context of the research. As proven by this study, although, previously functioning in Poland socialist system, supported the professional activization of women, the transformation period 1989 significantly slowed down those processes and consequently in some sectors of economy even deepened existing inequalities. Public cultural organizations, according to participants of those studies, are its example. The findings presented in this paper broaden the knowledge about both gender inequality in cultural industries and theory of gendered organizations. The main contribution of the study revealed career development challenges for women working in public cultural organizations.

Women in Management Positions: A Systematic Review and Future Research Agenda

Brescia Sofia Guerrero-Ochoa, Franklin Cordova-Buiza, Evelin Aragon-Grados — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Throughout history, there has been an idea that women had to follow orders, which caused them to be kept in subordinate positions even after they entered the labor market; fortunately, during the last few decades, research focused on gender and female leadership has increased substantially. This has facilitated the visibility of women's potential in top positions in organizations around the world. It has been proven that the presence of women on boards of directors’ benefits organizations because it allows them to have a wider diversity of talent for business management. The present study aimed to analyze theoretical and empirical studies on the factors that facilitate women's access to board positions between 2017 and 2022. This systematic review was conducted based on the PRISMA statement strategy of articles in the Proquest, Ebsco, ScienceDirect and Scopus databases. Articles published between the indicated years were selected, in Spanish and English, using inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a subsequent critical analysis of the articles obtained. A total of 34 articles were included from which the corresponding results were extracted. The results show that there is a greater amount of research on the subject in European and North American countries, published almost entirely in English. And according to the analysis, the factors that facilitate women's access to board positions can be divided into political types, such as rules, regulations and quotas, cultural factors such as support for women, equal opportunities and gender equity, organizational factors such as organizational culture, policies, practices and training programs, and social factors such as media visibility, the presence of mentors and partner support. The research concludes that the most investigated factors were political, as these factors increase the number of women on boards in the short term; however, it’s also necessary to highlight the importance of a fusion with social, cultural, and organizational factors to achieve long-term improvement; as well as the commitment of all the agents that interact in the professional life of women. This paper will contribute to future scientific research on women's access to board positions.

Factors that Facilitate Women's Access to Management Positions: The Case of Peruvian Companies

Brescia Sofia Guerrero-Ochoa, Franklin Cordova-Buiza, Evelin Aragon-Grados — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Over the past few years, the presence of women as managers is important for corporate performance, several international organizations have raised their voices to seek the commitment of states around the world; women have begun to have greater recognition of their social and intellectual abilities to manage companies, but full gender equity within the corporate world is yet to be seen. Following goal number 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 established by the UN, it’s important to improve the situation in countries such as Peru, where the presence of women in managerial positions is still very low so it’s necessary to have more women breaking the glass ceiling and climbing to top management positions (Salas et al., 2020). This research study aimed to describe the factors that facilitate women's access to managerial positions. About the methodology, it was a descriptive type of research, with a quantitative, non-experimental, and cross-sectional approach; the population is all the women who held managerial positions in companies in Lima and Callao during 2021, and the sample was 30 women, with a non-probabilistic sampling for convenience; the technique used was the survey and the instrument was the questionnaire. The results obtained showed that among the factors with the greatest impact were myths and stereotypes, the most required factor to facilitate the access of women in managerial positions was the change in social paradigms, the required impact was the reduction of gender inequality and according to the perspective of women managers the participation of women in managerial positions was proportional to a greater economic return and it’s expected that women managers can make way for other women in various areas of the organization. It was concluded that the factors that are most involved in the access of women to management positions are those linked to the culture and thinking of the population, so it requires a long-term plan and the commitment of women, organizations, the environment, the culture, and government entities to facilitate the access of women in management positions in Lima and Callao.

Do Women Have the Right Skills, Network and Support to Become CEOs?

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigates how women board members in listed companies perceive the fit between women’s leadership skills and how the role of CEO in listed companies is defined in the recruitment process. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 women board members, representing all listed companies in Iceland, to obtain an understanding of their experiences regarding support of women candidates and whether they believe estimates of women’s leadership skills contribute to the small number of women holding the position of CEO in a listed company. Data analysis revealed three themes; the first theme concerns networks and their impact on the appointments of CEO; the second deals with support for women seeking CEO positions and the third considers assessment of women’s leadership skills in relation to CEO appointments. The findings provide a new insight into the experience of women board members as regards the assessment of women’s leadership skills and the support to take on the position of CEO in listed companies in Iceland, but only limited research is available about the topic. The findings indicate that when selecting the CEOs of listed companies, it is a matter of importance that the applicant is a member of a male network and complies with masculine stereotypes of leadership styles. The findings suggest that when appointing CEOs of listed companies there is more support for men’s overconfidence than women’s reserved demeanour and men’s overconfidence is perceived as a better fit to how the role of CEO is defined in the recruitment process. The study provides new insights into how these outdated ideas on effective leadership and gender roles impact decisions when CEOs of listed companies are selected with corresponding likelihood of women being overlooked as successful candidates in the selection process.

Keywords: Gender, effective leadership, CEO recruitment, listed companies, boards, stereotypes.

Perspectives on gender mainstreaming in international cooperation in STI: A comparative study

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Gender equality is the fifth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goal. However, there are still global gaps to be addressed for leveraging science, technology, and innovation (STI) for achieving this goal. Countries and governments at all levels need to effectively utilize STI to help mobilize the global community to assist in gender mainstreaming.

International cooperation encompasses a great diversity of countries, regions, dominant religions, and cultures in broad terms – and this is undoubtedly a relevant hinderance to a gender equality narrative. Even within most homogeneous areas, such as the European countries, different levels of awareness on gender issues still prevail, impacting the practical relevance of the problem. Many gender-related projects, actions, and policies aim to counteract this. However, there is no clear guidance on what is expected from the institutions about addressing gender equality to mainstream gender into international dialogues. Therefore, gender equality runs the risk of remaining a “good intention”. In addition, there is little explicit data on the gender dimension in international agreements.

The design for this study includes qualitative and quantitative data collected in the EU Horizon 2020 Gender STI. The framework is developed based on three main data sources collected from semi-structured interviews, an online survey, and a mapping exercise on gender equality in STI agreements in different regions worldwide. These sources, collected from more than 60 countries worldwide, allow data triangulation to validate the qualitative insights related to gender mainstreaming in STI.

This paper offers critical insights on gender mainstreaming in international dialogues, which are becoming an essential instrument of change if cultural differences are considered. The institutional profile and professional culture are relevant to define each gender balance action's range and foster data production on the subject. Moreover, recent requirements in European funding instruments, such as Horizon Europe, have a broad impact on the international cooperation landscape, inducing a general institutional change and a reverse cultural bias.

Gender Representations in Greek Children’s Literature: Activities of Male and Female Characters

Theopoula Karanikolaou — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In recent decades, extensive research has examined gender depiction in children’s literature as well as its impacts on young readers’ minds and attitudes. Children’s picture books are considered an important socializing factor as they provide their audience with a wide variety of information about life. Due to their young age, children have limited experience and knowledge of the world and therefore they depend on books in order to draw information about socially acceptable behaviours. As a cultural product, literature usually expresses the dominant ideology of the society in which it is produced and consumed. Therefore, intentionally or not, books frequently reproduce established attitudes, regardless of their validity, such as gender bias. This happens due to the fact that ideologies penetrate the language itself and by extension the way we think, speak or write. For this reason it is possible for books of the twenty-first century to still depict outdated gender portrayals. Naturally this is not a conscious, out loud statement of the writer or the illustrator, but it appears implicitly, usually as a given. Such gender portrayals can be outlined in a story by a character’s interests and activities. Leisure activities, sports and other hobbies can provide hints about the character’s personality, physical condition and talents. In the past, research has shown disparities in children’s literature, with male characters monopolizing ‘energetic’ activities and female characters spending their free time more statically. Stereotyped gender representations in picture books reproduce gender biases by implanting them to the next generation’s minds. Using content analysis methodology, this qualitative research examines if gender is depicted stereotypically in children’s picture books published in Greece from 2009 to 2019. According to findings, both male and female characters of the sample engage in activities which are in agreement with traditional gender-stereotyped traits. Implicit gender categorization of interests and hobbies operates restrictively for young children. This new data can constitute a useful tool for science, publishers and the state, as gender inequalities are considered to be the source of various social problems globally.

Empowering women for household economic growth in Latin America: A Systematic Review

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The proposed article describes the role played by women in the different strata of society and, above all, the benefits obtained from their participation in the labor market. The objective was to describe how the empowerment of Latin American women has contributed to the economic growth of families during 2011-2021. In terms of methodology, different methodological and theoretical positions from various researchers about women's empowerment were taken to achieve an integration that allows expressing the need to show the importance of women in economic growth to ensure that the research is valuable, transparent, complete, and accurate for the users. Detailed techniques were used within the Prisma 2020 model; 23 sources of information obtained from Scopus, Redalyc, Science Direct, Elibro, Scielo, and Google Scholar were detected, for which inclusion criteria were applied, selecting 11 information bases, as well as exclusion criteria, eliminating 12 articles that were not related and did not show coherence with the research question, were not within the space-time, did not belong to the Latin American continent or agree with the subject of the study. The analytical-synthetic method was used to the extent that it allowed analyzing empowerment with each of its own characteristics and those proposed by the different researchers to synthesize and describe how Latin American women have been empowering themselves and contributing to the economic growth of families during the last 10 years. It was concluded that Latin American women have been empowering themselves significantly, thereby contributing to the economic growth of their families, where their performance has become vitally important thanks to their actions that have strengthened their leadership and skills within their communities, promoting their active participation in conservation and sustainable development, and demonstrating that greater participation of women in economic activity contributes to increasing the Gross Domestic Product, raising growth and compensating for the fall of the working population.

Influence of Workplace Microaggressions on Engineering Female Faculty Motivation to do Research

Mojdeh Mardani, Robert Stupnisky — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Negative and often unconscious beliefs about marginalised groups, including women and people of colour, sometimes manifest in discriminatory and degrading slights called microaggressions. Since most often microaggressions are in the form of subtle actions, unobtrusive comments, or humorous gestures, they are frequently overlooked as innocent and harmless, specifically to bystanders. However, their adverse effects on those on the receiving end are anything but innocuous, even if perpetrators are utterly unaware of their harmful comments or behaviours. Minorities and marginalized individuals often find microaggressions more harmful than blatant racism and discrimination. Six hundred and eleven STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) faculty from ten USA universities completed an online survey in the spring of 2021, of which 39% self-identified as Underrepresented Minority, URM, faculty. This study revealed that on average, URM women were 50% more susceptible to gender microaggressions, which correlated negatively with autonomy (having choice) and competence (being capable and effective), and positively with amotivation (lack of motivation). Case in point, 38% of them believed their opinions were overlooked in a group discussion because of their gender. Women with intersecting identities, such as women of colour, experienced both forms of gender and racial/ethnic microaggressions. They have experienced being ignored at work, being treated differently, and their opinion being overlooked based on their gender and/or their race/ethnicity. While detecting bias and microaggression and acknowledging their occurrence is crucial, taking deliberate and precise actions to disrupt and prevent them from re-occurring is even more pivotal. By realising the prevalence of discrimination and microaggressions towards underrepresented minority female faculty, and sharing insights into the complex and overarching race, ethnic, and gender relations among other social constructs, this study deepens our understanding of the challenges and barriers that this group has to grapple with. By adopting and creating effective institutional policies and professional training in support of diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency we can improve the experiences of URM faculty and positively impact their motivation and productivity.

Intersectional Discrimination in European Labour Markets in the Voices of TCN Women

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Despite migration being a universal and secular phenomenon, recent studies and latest statistics show that unemployment among third-country nationals aged between 15 and 64 years old is generally higher than the rate among the overall population (76% among newcomers). Within this context, the current study aims to find out common patterns concerning the barriers that Third Country National (TCN) Women face in the host labour market and facilitating factors they used to cross them. The current research is supported by a qualitative methodology, based on 74 interviews to women from nine European countries and the analysis of 11 success stories. The interviewees have a very heterogeneous sociodemographic profile, concerning age, country of origin, host country and educational background. Despite some TCN women being employed, most are currently unemployed or in precarious condition. Our study proposes a four-fold categorisation of barriers faced by TCN women: i) cultural and linguistic; ii) diplomas; iii) support system; iv) discrimination. The lack of language skills was mentioned by almost all the women interviewed because free or easily affordable courses are limited.The second category of barriers entails the complexity of recognising academic qualifications and working experience from their home countries. The lack of a supporting system has impact in different dimensions of social and professional inclusion. The last category represents a large number of dimensions, related to an intersectional discrimination based on gender, race and religion. Regarding the facilitating factors that 11 women with integration success stories shared, we would highlight: i) the role and importance of Social and Solidarity migrant organisations as a support for TCN women; ii) the recognition the added-value of TCN women skills, such as being proficient in several foreign languages; iii) the empowerment of success stories reported by the storyteller herself and by other women in a similar situation; iv) the resilience to not give up, despite a considerable amount of obstacles.

Place-Based Solutions for Net Zero: Gender Considerations on ‘Green’ Skills

Giulia M. Mininni, Ralitsa Hiteva — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

There is a global effort towards transitioning to a zero or low-carbon economy due to climate change and the current energy crises. This requires a shift in socio-technical systems and cross collaboration amidst sectors. The move to a clean energy-based economy also involves the creation of a broad range of skills, the upskilling and reskilling of the existing workforce, and providing opportunities for training. While many critical analyses of emerging decarbonisation or green skills, focus on issues of clean energy transition and the distribution of opportunities between fossil fuel-based and clean energy industries, there is limited critical analysis of justice and equality regarding the distribution of opportunities for developing key green skills for place-based decarbonisation.

There is evidence of asymmetric power relations and gender inequalities regarding the acquisition of skills, employment opportunities, kinds of jobs and pay gap which disproportionately affect women. This paper presents compelling evidence of hegemonic masculinisation within the energy industry; this tendency is now mirrored in ecological industries and technologies, including within the renewable energy sector, leading to an ‘eco-masculinisation’ of the sector.

Just transition principles promote a fair distribution of resources and the representation of vulnerable groups, including women and minorities. By relying on local assets and resources, including human resources, place-based approaches to green skills could address local communities’ needs while strengthening their resilience. These processes are pivotal to a fair and equitable transition. By explicitly articulating the context of place in understanding the gender(ed) dynamics of decarbonisation and skills, the authors identify and reflect on an innovative way of understanding the intersections between infrastructures, skills, and masculinisation in the transition to low zero carbon.

Challenges Facing Palestinian Women in Assuming Leadership Positions in Higher Education Institutions: Glass Ceiling

Dr Munawwar Najim — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this study is to reveal the opinions of women leaders about the challenges facing Palestinian women that prevents women from being a leader, which is called the glass ceiling. Mix method was used in this research, using a survey and a questionnaire. The participants of the study consisted of (15) women leaders working in higher education universities in Palestine holding the following positions: heads, deans, committee chairpersons, administrative officers, and vice chancellors. The research came out with several results. The most important challenges came in descending order as follows: social cultural and political challenges, organizational and management challenges, family challenges, and finally the psychological and subjective challenges got the fourth rank. Women are excluded from assuming administrative positions due to several factors, including nepotism and male bias; Women have the ability and competence, but they need a supporter to strengthen them and enhance their confidence to take the step of candidacy for leadership; Lack of confidence in women’s capabilities and their scientific and practical competence from the point of view of men, and fear of the decisions they will make upon assuming higher positions. It is recommended that establishing formal and informal professional networks among women is necessary to strengthen communication, exchange experiences and information, discuss and analyse problems and provide solutions. Also, it is necessary for higher education institutions to provide an organizational climate supportive of women assuming leadership positions, providing them with the latest techniques and modern management methods, to overcome obstacles, and the consequent provision of training and qualification programs and courses that enable them to master their work.

Gender Budgeting as a Dynamic Monitoring Tool for Gender Diversity Management in Universities

Paola Paoloni, Antonietta Cosentino, Martina Manzo — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Since the early 1980s, the economic literature has recognized the importance of valorizing the differences in the corporate context as a necessity and has been fueled by studies using the term "diversity management" (Kelly & Dobbin, 1998; Keil et al., 2007). The attention placed on the issue by both public and private sector organizations has grown exponentially, embracing new contexts and also new shades of diversity (Di Santo et al., 2013). Gender is a focal element of the organizations' multiplicity, the respect for which requires equal representation of men and women in the workplace (Wawryszuk-Misztal, 2021).

The EIGE (European Institute for Gender Equality) Indicator considers different variables, among of which there are employment and education, two closely interdependent aspects which are even more prominently encountered in academia. Gender inequality in academic careers is, in fact, a global phenomenon, although the causes and consequences vary in different national contexts (Piva and Rovelli, 2022). One tool increasingly used by universities to demonstrate their commitment to pursuing gender equality is the gender budget, a document that assesses and restructures budget items considering women’s priorities and needs as well as those of men (Addabbo et al., 2015; Bilyk et al., 2021; Lucchese et al., 2022).

This paper aims to investigate whether and how gender budget can communicate the evolution of the gender diversity management approach.

The paper uses a qualitative analysis based on a single case study to answer the research question. In particular, the research is focused on gender budgeting elaborated by the oldest university in Europe: University La Sapienza, set in Rome, Italy. Sapienza University is the most prominent university in Rome and the first to implement this tool. The authors will carry out a documentary analysis of the latest gender budget (2021), comparing it with the previous ones (2016-2020), to see if it is possible to understand how Sapienza's commitment to reducing the gender gap has evolved over the years.

From a theoretical point of view, the research contributes to gender studies and non-financial reporting research, focusing on the role of clear and transparent communication in conveying the value and enhancement of diversity. From a managerial perspective, findings could increase the universities' awareness about which information the gender budget should contain to represent the organization's dynamic engagement against gender inequalities.

Weaponizing Resilience: Women in the Trenches and Fringes of Pandemic Pedagogy

Roy Schwartzman, Jenni Simon — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study foregrounds the conflicting social pressures that women educators in the United States face in dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in higher education. Narratives from three standpoints interweave to provide three perspectives on pandemic-informed practices that can build resilience as an inclusive rather than simply an individual process. The three points of view are: a mother in a non-tenure track teaching position who juggles caregiving duties; a male department head navigating how to energize allyship within a neoliberal educational system that suppresses acknowledgment and support of caretaking; and interactions among members of the Facebook group Pandemic Pedagogy, a global social media hub for educators adjusting to the pandemic’s impact. Collectively, these standpoints constitute a critical autoethnographic multilogue to deconstruct and remediate the systemic gender inequities exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic. The three perspectives converge on implementing feminist ethics of care as both a philosophical and practical foundation for constructively cultivating resilience at the personal, community, and institutional levels.

An Exploration of Critical Incidents Impacting Female Students’ Attitude Towards STEM Subjects

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) subjects are extremely important to any nation's economy. For society to flourish sustainably there should be equal involvement of men and women in these professions. Even though the number of women in STEM areas has increased over the past several decades, there is still a sizable underrepresentation of women overall and in key positions. In the winter term 2020/21, among all the 1,090,804 students in STEM subjects at German universities, only 347,197 were female students (31,8%) (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2022). According to research by Corbett and Hill (2015), the following factors limit girls and women from majoring, for example, in computer science: Cultural prejudices, gender biases, and microinequities (subtle discriminatory actions) all contribute to a lack of sense of belonging in these sectors.

Overall, this study aims to better understand the key situations that affect girls' and young women's decision for or against a career in STEM. In particular, the research is interested in finding out about subtle or obvious discriminatory but also facilitating actions which influence attitude towards STEM subjects. An online questionnaire was distributed to a student panel via a market research institute, which was answered by 777 German female students aged 16-20 years in May 2022. The questionnaire collected female students’ memorable positive and negative critical incidents which had an impact on their attitude towards STEM subjects. On the one hand, female students reported a learning environment in school leading to fear, frustration or anxiety which result into them questioning their math or science competence. On the other hand, female students also reported very positive, memorable experiences and appraisal situations in and offsite the classroom which increase their positive attitude about STEM subjects and might lead to a future career choice in a STEM subject. The authors hope to spark a conversation about how institutions might better tailor their offers to a female audience.

Queer Terror Management: The Effect of Death Attitudes on Gender Stereotypes

Mel Stiller, Andrés Di Masso — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The present research aims to facilitate radical, intersectional psychosocial intervention in gender stereotypes. Queer terror management theory provides a theoretical framework for an effect of death attitudes on stereotypes about sex, gender and desire. An initial version of the theory assumed that death acceptance would inhibit the activation of gender stereotypes, depending on the moderating role of mortality salience. A quasi-experiment with Implicit Association Tests and explicit surveys was run to put the theory to an initial test. Results showed that a more positive death valence in wave 1 - not death acceptance or mortality salience - was associated with less implicit sexual identification, gender prejudice and homonegativity. Explicit results were not conclusive. Future research shall replicate the quasi-experiment and broaden its scope to further kinds of social prejudice.

The Importance of Women Participation in Ensuring Justice in Energy Transition in ASEAN and G7

Theresia Sumarno, Vivi Fitriyanti, Vivid Khusna, Inka Yusgiantoro — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Many countries have increased their climate ambitions, including net-zero by 2060. Gender equality is essential for just energy transition (JET). United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 5 and 7 promote gender equality and access to sustainable energy for all. Women's participation in JET is crucial, yet they are underrepresented in the energy industry. This study promotes women's participation in the JET and strives to reconcile justice and inclusivity in the energy transition from upstream and downstream ASEAN beneficiaries with G7 precedents.

This paper aims to analyse the aspect of justice in the energy transition from women's perspectives in ASEAN and G7 countries. Most of the literature on women's issues in the energy sector is related to energy poverty and energy access. Hence, this paper will contribute to the literature on women's perspectives in the energy transition both in the workforce and in society as consumers.

This paper analyses to answer a question on “how far women in ASEAN have participated in the energy transition (leadership roles to end-users) compared to women in G7 economies?”. We use case studies with cross-analysis of ASEAN and G7 countries throughout this paper to demonstrate the contrast and similarity of gender equality in energy sector by exploring women’s experience as workers in the energy sector and as energy consumers (dirty to clean cooking – clean electricity). We applied strategy basic research by conducting content analysis with intensive literature reviews, and additional aspects of women’s perspectives on this area, those who work and live in these regions to develop regional context. We also adopted the three tenets of justice by Jenkins et al (2016) and analysed the data collected using this framework.

This paper finds that ASEAN and G7 regions are almost at the same level in terms of women participation in ensuring a just energy transition. Despite having more women in the leadership roles in renewable energy sector, G7 is almost at the same level as ASEAN in their effort of improving women’s participation to accelerate and ensure a just transition in the regions.

FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) Health Support for Non-Pregnant Women: Evaluation Findings From the NHS Pilot Programme

Louise Warwick-Booth, Louise Starks — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

There has been little progress in meeting the needs of non-pregnant women with FGM, who might seek medical help in the UK. The NHS funded eight FGM clinics for non-pregnant women across England, 2019-2021. The aim of our evaluation was to test how effective/capable these clinics were in meeting the health and wellbeing needs of women who are not pregnant but have experienced FGM. Our evaluation documented each of the various models of service delivery across the eight commissioned delivery sites, capturing evidence of what works to improve the health and wellbeing of women using these services. Within this we explored the importance of delivering clinics within community settings. We also examined the effectiveness of various staff roles (lead clinician, health advocate and therapist) across each clinic to understand the holistic approach used to deliver services. We captured the views of a small number of service users through individual interviews, to include their lived experiences of FGM and attending the clinic in our data. The main aim of the evaluation was to determine whether the clinics improved the health outcomes of non-pregnant survivors of FGM.

This paper presents findings from the qualitative research component of the evaluation. Drawing upon interview data from 42 professionals as well as 12 service users, we summarise our key findings here. We detail the model of support (community service delivery, with trusted professionals, creating a safe space) and the learning gained from the pilot implementation. Positive outcomes include improved health and well-being for women (mental and physical health improvements). Challenges in service delivery included language barriers, how professionals reach into communities, the stigma associated with FGM as an experience, and mental health problems arising from FGM.

Women Working From Home: Higher Performance and Satisfaction or More Stress?

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies and organisations have introduced or expanded remote work options, thus creating new opportunities for employees to organise their day-to-day work independently. However, several studies suggest that women tend to suffer more from the double burden, as working from home often leads to a revival of traditional gender roles. Special strategies and instruments are needed to optimise the work-life balance when working from home. The aim of this study was to identify gender-specific stress and success factors for remote work design in order to derive practical recommendations for companies, women and politics to optimise work performance, work-life balance and satisfaction in remote work. To reach this objective, an online survey in Germany (n = 247) examined the perceived work design competencies, individual agreements with managers, corporate culture, perceived collegial support and the relationship with colleagues. The respective influence of these variables on the perceived satisfaction, stress as well as work performance when working from home was examined. Using a multiple regression analysis, it was shown that the three factors workplace design competencies, individual agreements with managers and the relationship with colleagues have a significant influence on all of the examined dependent variables. This means that a strong manifestation of factors has an effect on higher satisfaction, better performance and lower level of perceived stress. Work design competence has the most significant influence on study participants here. Significant gender differences were also identified: on average, women report a higher level of satisfaction and a lower level of perceived stress. Based on the identified factors, the paper discusses specific recommendations for companies, women and politicians to help employees working from home cope better with the associated burdens.

Women's Clothing Microenterprises: A Qualitative Analysis of Consumer Perception

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In the context of the pandemic, an increase in the unemployment level originated, but on the other hand, new businesses such as microenterprises were also started, this with the purpose of generating income. The image of Peruvian entrepreneurship has changed during the pandemic, before the pandemic mainly adult men generated entrepreneurship, but now women, young people and low-income Peruvians initiate this challenge. The main research objective is to explore the consumer perception about women's clothing microenterprises in the city of Metropolitan Lima, capital of Peru. The methodological approach was qualitative with a descriptive scope and phenomenological design; the sample was selected for convenience, with a total of 12 women who buy in women's clothing micro-enterprises, who are around the age range between 18 to 35 years of socioeconomic level B and C between professionals and students; who were subsequently conducted in-depth interviews through telephone calls. The instrument consisted of 12 questions per interview divided into 3 dimensions and 4 sub-categories for each dimension. The users expressed their experiences in the use of women's clothing, which made it possible to generate a consumer profile of this type of business by analyzing the quality of information, speed of response and after-sales service. The interviews were transcribed and then the data were analyzed taking into account the most important and differential points of each response obtained. Among the main results, it was found that the users prioritize the quality of service, the veracity of the product images, the differential value of the garments and tolerance. Negative factors such as distrust and lack of attention to queries were found, elements that should be improved for a better closing of sales. In conclusion, after determining certain positive and negative factors on the perception of women's clothing micro-enterprises, users emphasize the importance of product warranty, which produces a feeling of improvement in quality and customer service.

Editorial, Biographies and Review Committee

Sandra Moffett — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

hosted by
Ulster University Magee Campus, Londonderry, Northern Ireland

edited by

Prof Sandra Moffett

Inside a Métis Community: Space, Collective Trauma, and the Impact of Colonialism

Ginevra Bianchini — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

With Katherena Vermette’s novel The Break (2016) as a case study, this paper analyses a narrative that portrays an attempt of an Indigenous Canadian community to reclaim its voice, identity, and space. The plot is centred around the reconnection with land and culture, while tackling the complicated topic of epistemic violence inside Métis Canadian communities. The novel’s title already frames the narrative and the importance of space in this story and in Indigenous cultures: indeed, the ‘break’ is the name of the land where the sexual assault takes place. This word is used to symbolize and anticipate the ‘brokenness’ that will define the narration: sexual violence creates a crack inside an individual, but also in society. On a more metaphorical level, the ‘break’ symbolizes a fracture that Indigenous communities have experienced in their personal and cultural histories and that has led to intergenerational cycles of violence. It is a metaphor of how Indigenous spaces and cultures have been shattered and violated, both physically and symbolically, by white colonialism. Throughout the story the characters are confronting the epistemic violence consequential to colonialism that has created a division within and between them, while they try to reunite with their own identities and one another through acts of ‘resurgence.’ Despite The Break is highly characterized by trauma and ‘brokenness’, this paper highlights how its powerful narrative deals with the possibility of healing from intergenerational trauma and of breaking cycles of violence that have been imposed on Indigenous communities.

The Decades-Long Struggle of ‘Comfort Women’ for Justice

Erika Miyamoto — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

During World War II, several thousands of women were forced into sexual slavery, known as ‘comfort women’, by the Imperial Japanese Army in comfort stations throughout Asia. After the war, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East was established in 1946 to prosecute the Japanese war criminals, however, it was the ‘victor’s justice’ and failed to adequately prosecute crimes related to the ‘comfort women’. The truth of ‘comfort women’ remained untold in public until the victims started to speak about their experiences at the establishment of the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan. Kim Hak-soon, a Korean ‘comfort women’, was testified about her experiences, and it resulted in encouraging other ‘comfort women’ to share their own experiences in 1990s. On the other hand, the Japanese government has continuously denied state responsibility for the ‘comfort women’. In addition, between 1991 and 2001, the ‘comfort women’ from South Korea, China, the Philippines, Taiwan and the Netherlands filed 10 trials against the Japanese government in Japanese courts, however, all the cases were eventually dismissed. In 1996, the Japanese government established an Asian Women’s Fund to provide compensation, medical welfare and letters of apology to the ‘comfort women’, however, the Fund has been criticised by the United Nations due to the lack of the admission of state responsibility. The debate over the ‘comfort women’ lasting to date has shown the complexity of the legal and political issues, causing continuing sufferings to the ‘comfort women’. This research will analyse the historical context of the ‘comfort women’ to identify the reason why these victims are still not able to obtain their rights to reparation and an effective remedy. It will also examine to what extent the development of international law on sexual slavery can contribute to enhance the right to justice and the right to reparation of the ‘comfort women’. I argue that the Japan’s acknowledgement of violations of international law and the inclusion of a victim-oriented and gendered approach into the reparations are crucial.

Softboys in the age of Millennial Masculinity

Aaron Muldoon — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The last decade has witnessed the rise of a new type of Hollywood film star: the softboy. Actors including Timothée Chalamet and Harry Styles all appeal to the stereotypical characteristics of this type—young, skinny, fashionable, clean-shaven, quirky, gentle and emotionally intelligent. By analysing a sample of mainstream media articles on the softboy published between 2015 and 2023, the following paper seeks to deepen our understanding of this influential internet type and the dominant stereotype of masculinity he undermines—what R. W. Connell termed hegemonic masculinity. More specifically, this paper explores the extent to which the softboy can be understood as the product of an overlapping matrix of demand from gay male and straight female film and television audiences. Within this matrix, the softboy emerges as the result of a delicate balancing act in which he avoids presenting either as too straight, too gay or too masculine. He achieves this balance through a range of strategies involving clothing choices, film role choices, choices about sharing his personal life with the public and a carefully curated public persona. Considering the softboy from a cultural materialist perspective, this paper argues that the affected personality traits and designed sexual ambivalence of the softboy can be understood as a response not of men themselves but of the entertainment industry to both the increased demand for this type from straight female audiences in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the increasingly recognised demand for this type from gay male audiences. For straight women, the softboy appears to have superseded the stereotype of the muscled, bearded, deep-voiced or emotionally unavailable man in the hierarchy of desire precisely because he resists being easily framed as an aggressor. Meanwhile, either by playing gay roles in films or pandering to a stereotypically gay aesthetic or set of behaviours, these actors appeal simultaneously to the gay male audience. This analysis therefore attempts to construe contemporary changes in the nature of masculinity as it is represented by the rise of the softboy film star in terms of fundamental changes in the market of desire.