Address Gender Discrimination Research Articles

Influence of Gender Discrimination on Girl Child Education in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria

This study aims to investigate the prevalence of gender discrimination and its impact on girl child education in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to assess the level of awareness of gender discrimination in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State, to identify societal beliefs influencing girl child education, to explore factors hindering girl child participation in education, and to examine the effects of gender discrimination on societal development. The study utilized a descriptive survey method with a sample size of 120 respondents, including both male and female teachers from 10 schools in Odogbolu. A researcher-designed questionnaire with a validity index of 0.86 was employed for data collection. Data analysis was conducted using mean and standard deviation. The study revealed an alarming level of awareness regarding gender discrimination in Odogbolu, with a majority of girls being treated as inferior. Significant relationships between societal beliefs and girl child education were identified. Discrimination against the girl child was found to be more prevalent in rural areas. Factors such as early marriage, cultural issues, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, and religious bias were identified as hindrances to girl child education. The effects of gender discrimination on societal development include dropout rates, mental health issues, inadequate female representation, poor academic performance among teachers, and limited access to education for girls. The major recommendations are to implement awareness programs to address gender discrimination, enforce policies to protect the rights of girl children, provide support systems for girls facing societal barriers, and promote community involvement in advocating for girl child education.

Promoting Gender Equality and Addressing Gender Discrimination through Education: The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Initiative (BBBP) in India

Promoting Gender Equality and Addressing Gender Discrimination through Education: The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Initiative (BBBP) in India

(464) Impact of Training on Confronting Discrimination and Harassment by Patients and Peers

Abstract Introduction Discrimination and sexual harassment within the workplace have a negative impact on well-being and productivity and are often underreported due to lack of comfortability in confronting the offender. Objective We aim to assess the prevalence of these abusive behaviors within a urology department and the impact of a dedicated training session on comfortability reporting/confronting discrimination and harassment. Methods Employees within a urology department at a single institution were invited to take a survey regarding discrimination and harassment both before and after a dedicated training session on reporting and confronting these behaviors. Statistical analyses were performed between pre- and post-survey groups, genders, and roles within the department. Results A total of 166 employees completed the pre-training survey, while 79 (47.6%) completed the post-training survey. 116 (69.9%) respondents identified as female. Roles within the department included physician (48/166, 28.9%), advanced practice provider (21/166, 12.7%), nurse (42/166, 25.3%), and nonclinical staff (51/166, 30.7%). The training demonstrated a positive impact in respondent comfort level with addressing gender discrimination, where 19/23 (82.6%) people who answered neutral/ disagree/strongly disagree changed their answer to agree/strongly agree compared to 7/56 (12.5%) who changed their answers in the opposite way (p=0.02). More women reported experiencing sexual harassment at least once a year compared to men (38.6% vs. 16.7%, p<0.0001). Patients were the most commonly reported offenders of abusive behaviors towards staff. Conclusions Specific training on strategies for addressing abusive behaviors can help employees feel empowered to confront gender discrimination by both patients and their peers. Disclosure No

Gender Inequality in the Cocoa Supply Chain: Evidence from Smallholder Production in Ecuador and Uganda

Most cocoa is grown by smallholder farmers whose livelihoods depend largely on the income from cocoa. Today, cocoa production must increasingly comply with social and environmental requirements as the worldwide demand for sustainably produced cocoa is growing steadily. There is, however, insufficient information available on whether the sourced cocoa is produced under gender-equitable conditions. We address this by examining two cocoa supply chains using our own sex-disaggregated survey data from producing communities in Ecuador and Uganda that supply the Swiss market, using descriptive and inferential statistics. Our results show that women in Uganda were highly involved in cocoa production on both male and female managed farms, but their decision-making power was limited to female managed farms. In Ecuador, women were moderately engaged in decision-making yet participated less in cocoa production. Our log-linear regression analyses for both cases showed substantial differences in annual cocoa revenues of farms managed by women compared to those managed by men. Several socio-economic and agronomic factors for which women face structural inequalities largely explain the revenue gap, such as poorer access to productive resources. Indeed, our findings suggest that cocoa production is characterised by high levels of gender inequality, suggesting that private and public sustainability efforts do not sufficiently address gender discrimination. These findings can help design interventions for more gender-equitable rural development that address the complexity of disadvantages in the local context. Offering gender-specific trainings within private programs and promoting women's access to credit by the public sector represent first steps towards gender equality.

Female leadership in communication management in Spain: making a difference in a sexist culture

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the position of women in the communication management sector in Spain from their own experiences. The study examines female communication and leadership styles, emphasising the cost of leadership in which they are leaders or led.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a qualitative methodology based on in-depth interviews with 22 women actively working in top companies and agencies: female communication directors, female employees with a female leader and female employees with a male leader. Data were analysed through thematic analysis.FindingsResults show mixed communication and leadership styles. In addition, the high level of self-demand of female communication managers stands out, making it challenging to achieve a work-life balance and the implementation of successful role models.Social implicationsExploring the factors of female leadership remains necessary to understand and make their situation in various industries and positions visible. It also helps remove barriers to leadership, guide organisations in addressing gender discrimination issues and develop mechanisms for the internal promotion of female professionals.Originality/valueTo the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first study exploring the leadership and communication styles of women in the Spanish Public Relations (PR) and communication management industries. It also highlights the aspects influencing the cost of leadership.

How Female DJs and Producers Narrowed the Gender Gap in Electronic Dance Music: Strategies and Campaign that have been Successful in the Last Decade

A voice is missing from the electronic dance music (EDM) industry: whether in prominent festival line-ups like Tomorrowland and the Ultra Music Festival, or press that features achievements of top music stars, women are underrepresented. Indeed, the EDM industry has long been male-dominated and permeated with gender imbalance. Only until the last decade did the gender gap begin to close: since 2012, investigations examining gender ratio and female artist participation at music festivals have reported an ascending trend of female producers/DJs. Through analyses of past interviews with women musicians and other sources of documentation that shed light on their experiences, this research investigates the possible factors that contributed to the gender imbalance in the EDM industry, as well as the strategies that female producers/DJs developed to work against the gender disadvantages. Hopefully, through exploring the ways that women worked to overcome gender barriers, this research casts light on real solutions that address gender discrimination and sexism in the EDM industry, and thereby help to make other industries that have pronounced gender gap more diverse.

Addressing gender discrimination in Vietnam's light manufacturing industry: What role for labor law?

This paper explores women workers’ experiences of gender discrimination at work in Vietnam and whether labor law might enable them to challenge discriminatory practices. Interviews with workers reveal how discrimination is generated and entrenched through seemingly neutral workplace rules and culture. The coercive and intensive nature of assembly work has deterred or prevented working mothers from enjoying fair and decent work. Survey findings on female workers’ mobilization of the law suggest that women who have experienced discrimination in the past are less inclined to choose a legal means when faced with future discrimination. In most cases, women would choose not to take any action or opt for a non-legal means to raise their voices. In conclusion, even though women workers in general do not consider law a potential tool to tackle discrimination, they have absorbed and appropriated the language of the law to make sense of unfair practices at work.

Addressing Gender Discrimination in the NBA with a “Hammon” Rule

The purpose of this conceptual study was to examine how the National Basketball Association (NBA) should address gender discrimination in sports by implementing the “Hammon” Rule for head coaching and general manager hiring processes. Drawing from societal perceptions (Sagas & Cunningham, 2004; Schaeperkoetter et al., 2017), leadership (Burton, 2015) and the infusion of the Ecological-Intersectional Model (EIM) (LaVoi, 2016) as conceptual focal points, this article asserts that the NBA has important opportunities to lead other professional sports leagues to aid in its recruitment and retention of women in front-facing leadership roles. Utilizing Lapchick’s (2020a) report on race and gender for the NBA, this study calls for progressive action. As the current literature documents, legal and cultural factors, as well as leadership and lack of advocacy, all play a crucial role in how women are perceived within sport. This study provides a multi-faceted approach to addressing gender discrimination at the coaching and general manager levels, including accountability measures necessary for structural and organizational change to address gender discrimination in the NBA and beyond.

Addressing gender discrimination in cognitive assessment using the English Comprehension Test

Orientation: The empirically designed English Comprehension Test (ECT) is theorised to measure verbal reasoning and is currently undergoing validation. The test development produced two versions of the ECT, namely, ECT version 1.2 and ECT version 1.3. This study focuses on the latest test version, ECT version 1.3. Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to statistically explore the performance of men and women who were assessed by the empirically designed ECT. Motivation for the study: Cognitive assessment has often been used as a discriminatory tool against gender, race and/or languages. The discrimination against race and gender were the consequences of a patriarchal system and Apartheid in South Africa, as black men and women were deemed to be subordinate to white men. With the demise of Apartheid, measures have been put in place to guard against unfair assessment practices. In addition, legislation was developed to ensure that test developers and test users employed assessments that did not unfairly prejudice individuals based on their race, gender and language. These measures are imperative to ensure fairness and equal opportunities for men and women across race and language groups. Research design, approach and method: This study used a quantitative cross-sectional design. The ECT was administered to a non-probability convenience sample of 881 individuals. The data were analysed by differential test functioning (DTF) in Winsteps and analysis of variance (ANOVA) in the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) package. Main findings: The results indicated that the majority of the test items did not present any bias, but five possibly biased items were identified across gender groups in the test. These five items that were possibly biased appear to be affected by language and not gendered knowledge, and this, however, necessitates further investigation. The ANOVA results only indicated statistically significant differences across the different language groups, thereby confirming the DTF results. Practical/managerial implications: A major limitation of this study is the restriction of range and lack of generalisability. Contribution/value-add: This study promotes the use of DTF and ANOVA as a means of ensuring fairness in assessment practices across gender groups. Moreover, it contributes to cross-cultural test development and validation research in South Africa.

Bank credit, microfinance and female ownership: Are women more disadvantaged than men?

Using a comprehensive dataset on unlisted firms in 22 developing countries this paper analyses the relationship between gender, microfinance and access to bank credit. Using heckprobit to control sample selection bias, we reveal evidence of discrimination against female-owned and female-led firms. Also, we find that a mechanism for microfinance to empower women is facilitating loan applications and loan approvals for female-owned firms. Our paper highlights the importance of addressing gender discrimination in the credit market in order to facilitate the development of female-owned firms.

Experiences and Perceptions of Gender Discrimination and Equality among Korean Surgeons: Results of a Survey of the Korean Surgical Society.

BackgroundPrevious studies that have focused on the challenges faced by female surgeons, such as the gender pay gap, gender biases, lower likelihood of promotion, and gender differences in the perception of discrimination against women, are reviewed. A more comprehensive understanding of explicit and implicit gender discrimination and experiences and perceptions of discrimination is needed. This study aims to determine the current prevalence and degree of gender discrimination in the Korean Surgical Society and to compare the experiences and perceptions of gender discrimination between male and female surgeons.MethodsWe analyzed 400 responses from a survey sent to all members of the Korean Surgical Society. This electronic survey included 16 items on experiences of gender discrimination and 17 items on perceptions of gender discrimination. We conducted χ2 tests and binary logistic regression on the data regarding these experiences and perceptions of gender discrimination.ResultsAdjusted analyses found that female surgeons were more likely to experience gender discrimination than their male counterparts across all categories of discrimination. Further, adjusted analyses showed that female surgeons were more likely to confirm the presence of gender discrimination than male surgeons.ConclusionFemale surgeons were more likely to experience implicit and explicit gender biases and discrimination throughout all stages of their career progression. We also discovered significant gender differences in the perception of gender discrimination, as well as the experience of it. Changing the male-dominated culture and raising awareness of gender biases and discrimination among male surgeons are crucial steps toward addressing gender discrimination in surgery.

Overcoming gender inequality in Ukraine: political, legal, social and educational dimensions

The issue of gender equality as an equal treatment of all, regardless of social or other circumstances, is important for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and the implementation of a number of international legal instruments to combat gender discrimination. The study aims to characterize the state of gender inequality in Ukraine and outline possible ways to overcome this phenomenon through the use of political, legal, socio-practical and educational measures. It is carried out using a systematic analysis of international and domestic indicators of gender inequality that constitute the methodological basis for establishing the level of gender inequality, as well as regulatory analysis of documents adopted by international and domestic organizations. The undertaken analysis demonstrates that Ukraine has an extensive legal framework designed to ensure equal rights and opportunities for men and women, address gender discrimination, and harmonize Ukrainian and international gender policies. At the same time, the gender equality indicators (Gender Inequality Index used by the UN; Gender Gap Index used by the World Economic Forum), the results of sociological research (World Values Survey; use of domestic work; leisure practices) evidence that the issues of gender inequality, gender asymmetry and gender stereotypes are unresolved and require the introduction of institutional mechanisms to ensure equality. Such mechanisms could include: legal expertise, gender quotas, gender budgeting, work with local communities and social service providers, ensuring gender sensitivity of services, including social ones, formation of gender-based competence, implementation of promotional work, introduction of gender approaches in educational institutions.

Towards Equal Rights in the Global Game? FIFA Strategy for Women’s Football as a Tightly Bounded Institutional Innovation

FIFA’s recent (rhetorical) embrace of human rights prominently includes commitments to address gender discrimination and promote gender equality both on and off the pitch. What promise does FIFA’s ‘first-ever global strategy for women’s football’ hold as a means of fulfilling such commitments? A feminist institutionalist approach to this question offers insights into the bounded model of change endorsed by the Women’s Football Strategy. It reveals that the Strategy’s three key objectives serve as ‘common carriers’ for both long-standing institutional interests (in power, profit, and prestige) and newer institutional interests (in women footballers, women’s football, and women in football governance). The assumption that these two sets of interests are mutually reinforcing is brought into question by exposing the ways in which FIFA’s mainline institutional priorities, combined with certain structural features of football governance, blunt the reformist potential of the Women’s Football Strategy. Bounded by old institutional features, the Strategy reflects a partial and incremental, rather than comprehensive and revolutionary, approach to addressing gender discrimination. FIFA’s commitment to human rights therefore remains unfulfilled vis-à-vis women in football.

National implementation processes for the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: towards gender-responsive approaches

ABSTRACT Women are disproportionately and differently affected by adverse business-related human rights impacts. Despite this, to date there has arguably been too little attention to the rights of women and girls in processes to implement the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), including National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights (NAPs). This poses a problem for states and other actors involved in such processes, as inadequate attention to the rights of women and girls risks perpetuating and normalising the systemic discrimination faced by women and girls in societies. This article identifies gaps in gender analysis of five select business and human rights topics (labour; land; essential services; trade and investment; and remedy) and provides suggestions as to how states might strengthen their gender focus when addressing these topics in their NAPs. We argue that UNGPs national implementation processes must be gender responsive if they are to make a meaningful contribution to addressing gender discrimination and bringing about substantive equality. To conclude, we examine the 2019 Gender Guidance from the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, which provides a useful framework for how this may be achieved in practice, and suggest that it should be utilised by states in UNGPs implementation processes going forward.

Gender and governance of global value chains: Promoting the rights of women workers

AbstractPrivate governance channelled through social compliance programmes and gender initiatives of multinational companies have had limited impact in tackling gender discrimination in global value chains (GVCs). The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) provide a public–private governance framework to address human rights globally, including gender equality. This article considers whether the UNGPs can provide a more effective governance framework for addressing women workers’ rights in GVCs. It argues that interlayered forms of governance (involving public, private and social actors) are critical in addressing gender discrimination in GVCs and advancing a gendered approach to human rights due diligence.

Gender, small firm ownership, and credit access: some insights from India

Using a comprehensive dataset on micro, small, and medium enterprises in India, we examine whether the gender of the owner matters in firm performance and in credit access from institutional sources. The study finds significant underperformance in the size, growth, and efficiency of firms owned by women when compared to those owned by men. In line with the evidence in the existing literature, our findings also support the view that women-owned firms are disadvantaged in the market for small-business credit. These findings suggest that addressing gender discrimination in the small-business credit market could help, partly, in bridging the performance gap between male- and female-owned firms.

Vikram Rana at Margot Financial Securities

Well-intentioned efforts to address gender discrimination at the workplace are subverted when people claim concessions as entitlement. Vikram Rana, chief editor and head of production at Margot Financial Securities, Mumbai, was engaged in an energy-sapping battle of nerves with his associate, Neha Salian, an overbearing woman older to him whose workplace ethics were not up to the mark. The management of Margot wanted to promote a women-friendly workplace, and had instituted a Women’s Grievance Redressal Committee in keeping with best practices in the industry. Fearing that a complaint to the grievance committee might mar his reputation and career, Vikram was careful in his interactions with his direct report. Neha defaulted on her duties using familial responsibilities as an excuse, and exploited Vikram’s inability to confront her openly. He yielded to her manipulation, but retaliated by pointing out her professional inadequacies. As matters spiralled out of control, Vikram feared his attempts to enforce professionalism would be misrepresented as harassment. The case explores the interplay of gender dynamics and entrenched biases that contribute to toxic relations. It examines the issue of victim-turned-persecutor through different perspectives. Was Vikram an ineffectual boss who succumbed to bullying? Or was he an over-punctilious bully who was difficult to please?

Perceived Workplace Gender Discrimination and Employee Consequences: A Meta-Analysis and Complementary Studies Considering Country Context

We draw on relative deprivation theory to examine how the context influences the relationship between employees’ perceptions of gender discrimination and outcomes at work using a meta-analysis and two complementary empirical studies. Our meta-analysis includes 85 correlations from published and unpublished studies from around the world to assess correlates of perceived workplace gender discrimination that have significant implications for employees. We extend relative deprivation theory to identify national differences in labor laws and cultural norms as contextual factors that affect the threshold for feeling deprived and moderate the relationship between perceived workplace gender discrimination and employee outcomes. Findings show that perceived gender discrimination is negatively related to job attitudes, physical health outcomes and behaviors, psychological health, and work-related outcomes (job-based and relationship-based). Correlations between perceived workplace gender discrimination and physical health outcomes and behaviors were stronger in countries with more broadly integrated labor policies and stringently enforced labor practices focused on promoting gender equality. Correlations were also stronger in countries with more gender-egalitarian cultural practices across multiple employee outcomes of perceived workplace gender discrimination. Further, results from two complementary studies (one employee survey and one experiment) supported the meta-analytic findings and provided evidence of the relative deprivation rationale central to our theory. Implications for research and practice include the need to consider the influence of the country context in organizational decisions to prevent and address gender discrimination and its consequences for employees and ultimately, for employers.

Addressing Gender Discrimination in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery via the Social Norms Approach

Gender discrimination continues to be a challenge faced by women in oral and maxillofacial surgery. The discrimination itself is perpetrated by a small number of individuals, but it is lack of support and intervention by other surgeons that allows this to continue. The social norms approach is one means to break this cycle: first by identifying misperceptions and then by encouraging individuals to intervene instead of remaining bystanders. To move forward as a specialty, we must actively intervene when discrimination and harassment occur.

Gender discrimination in land ownership and the alleviation of women’s poverty in Nigeria

In Nigeria, gender roles are manifested in social rights and entitlements in a form which denies women equal economic and political empowerment and, in particular, women right to own land. The consequence of gender discrimination in land ownership is women’s lack of access to land which constitutes a major source and means of wealth creation and economic empowerment, hence women’s vulnerability to poverty. This article considers a land redistribution reform which can address the discrimination against women in land ownership and give women access to land for economic empowerment, thereby alleviating poverty among women in Nigeria. The article proposes that an ideal land reform in Nigeria has to fulfil three key objectives of equity, equality and productivity which the article refers to as ‘new equities’. It argues that only a redistributive land reform which integrates these ‘equities’ can adequately address gender discrimination in land ownership, ensure women’s access to land for economic empowerment and alleviate women’s poverty in Nigeria.