Employment Opportunities For Women Research Articles

A systematic review of women’s entrepreneurship in the sports industry: has anything changed?

PurposeGender equity in entrepreneurship has been a global issue in several areas, and the sports context is no exception. Therefore, the present study aims to carry out a systematic review of the literature to analyze how female entrepreneurship in the context of sports organizations has been studied in the scientific community.Design/methodology/approachThe Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol was used to ensure the structure and quality of the study. Articles were obtained through a search in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, by using a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria (e.g. research equation, studies published only in English and classified as an article or review). A Microsoft Excel database was developed, from which tables and graphs were generated to help interpret the results.FindingsThe search resulted in 19 articles, grouped into four clusters: education and entrepreneurship, sports and entrepreneurial skills development, barriers to entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. The results indicate that despite all the efforts that have been made thus far, several barriers to female entrepreneurship remain. However, physical activity and sports have been found to aid the development of skills and abilities that may be fundamental to entrepreneurial initiatives. Formation in the context of higher education has also been identified as a fundamental tool for stimulating female entrepreneurship.Practical implicationsThis study can have a positive impact on employment opportunities for women in the sport industry.Originality/valueBesides providing ideas for future research, the results could support the development of policies to address gender equity issues and encourage women to take initiatives in sports entrepreneurship.

Nutritional Status and Intra-household Food Distribution Among Reproductive-Age-Group Women in a Slum Area of Hooghly District, West Bengal: A Mixed-Methods Approach.

IntroductionMalnutrition among women of reproductive age (WRA), especially those living in slum areas, is one of the most concerning nutritional issues because of the extreme nutritional stress they face in the form of inequitable intra-household food distribution (IHFD). This study aimed to assess the nutritional status (NS) and its association with IHFD among reproductive-age-group women along with exploring the perspectives of the stakeholders regarding inequitable food distribution.Materials and methodsThe quantitative part of the convergent parallel mixed-methods design study was conducted among 150 WRA, selected by cluster random sampling from 15 slum areas of Hooghly District, between December 2020 and May 2021. Data were collected using a predesigned pretested schedule with anthropometric measurements. IHFD was quantified by the relative dietary energy adequacy ratio (RDEAR). Ordinal logistic regression was performed to obtain adjusted-proportional odds ratios (aPOR) for higher categories of NS (underweight: reference category). Stratified subgroup analysis was done to assess the influencers of IHFD. For the qualitative part, in-depth interviews were conducted with eight purposively selected in-laws of study participants, and the data were interpreted by thematic analysis.ResultsThe mean age of the study participants was 28.6±6.3 years. The proportion of malnutrition and inequitable IHFD (RDEAR<1) among them was 50% and 46%, respectively. Higher categories of NS were found to be significantly associated with an increase in RDEAR (aPOR=22.6, 95% CI: 2.75-185.45, p-value=0.004). Among underweight and normal NS women, those who were earning members and directly involved in food preparation/production had a greater allocation of food within their households. Physiological intolerance, incapacity of earning, and traditional customs were the most recurring themes transcribed as the barriers to equitable food distribution.ConclusionA high magnitude of malnutrition and its association with inequitable IHFD among WRA warrant policy-level support to increase women's employment opportunities and address gender-based inequities through comprehensive information education communication (IEC) techniques as well.

Does a Slim Body Shape Lead to a Stable Job? Analysis from China's Nonagricultural Labor Market

Based on the integrated data of the China General Social Survey (CGSS) from 2010 to 2017, this study observes that body shape – being overweight or underweight – matters for labor market outcomes. Body shape significantly affects the employment opportunities of Chinese employees, and this effect differs by gender and across the occupational hierarchy. Women face both a slim premium and obesity punishment effects. Slim women, those with normal and lower but not excessively lower weight, are more likely to gain long-term employment contracts in the labor market and face a significantly shorter duration of unemployment, while the opposite is observed for overweight individuals. The relationship between women's body size and employment opportunities also varies with occupational class. The obesity penalty is more pronounced in the higher level occupational class, while the slim premium is more obvious in low level occupations. Occupational segregation further magnifies the impact of body shape on women’s employment. The results suggest that the Chinese labor market is highly demanding regarding women's figures, while it is relatively tolerant of men’s figures.

Mothers’ Perspectives of Complementary Feeding Practices in an Urban Informal Settlement in Kisumu County, Western Kenya

ABSTRACTBackgroundIn informal settlements, the benefits of urban dwelling are diminished by conditions of poverty that exacerbate child undernutrition. The Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) project has identified malnutrition as the leading underlying cause of death in children under 5 in the Manyatta urban informal settlement in Kisumu County, Kenya.ObjectiveThis qualitative study, nested within the CHAMPS project, aimed to understand community perspectives on complementary feeding practices in this settlement.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted with 20 mothers who lived in the urban informal settlement and had a child 6–23 months old. Two focus group discussions were conducted, 1 with mothers and 1 with community health workers (CHWs), to further explore themes related to complementary feeding.ResultsMothers were knowledgeable about globally recommended feeding practices, but such practices were often not implemented due to 1) the community/household water and sanitation environment, 2) the community/household food environment, 3) a lack of income and employment opportunities for women, and 4) sociocultural factors. Together, these create an environment that is not conducive to optimal child feeding practices.ConclusionsTo improve complementary feeding practices and child nutritional outcomes in Kenya's informal urban settings, both community- and individual-level factors should be addressed. Possible interventions include investment in water infrastructure and social protection programs, such as cash transfers.

Improving work and employment opportunities for women with psychosocial disabilities: an action research protocol.

In Kenya, employment rates for persons with disabilities are very low and those with psychosocial disabilities have even more dismal rates of employment. This situation has negative impact on the individual’s recovery, quality of life, mental and physical health. The systemic exclusion of persons with psychosocial disabilities in work and employment disproportionately affects women. The aim of this study is to test the feasibility of disability inclusion training to improve work and employment opportunities for women with psychosocial disabilities in Tana River County, Kenya. The study will adopt a mixed methods research design using action research approach. A sample of women with psychosocial disabilities will be trained using a researcher designed disability inclusion training manual, while employers and other stakeholders will be trained on inclusive employment. Trainings will be tailored to suit different employers and for different types of psychosocial disabilities. Interactive learning and linking sessions involving the two groups and process evaluations will be conducted at different time points to measure the impact of the intervention. Findings from this pilot study will inform future research on work and employability programs for rural women with psychosocial disabilities. The study protocol was approved by Maseno University Ethics Review Committee (MUERC/00851/20). Findings from this study will be disseminated through conference presentations and scientific publications in peer reviewed journals.

Experiences of women students in Engineering studies at a TVET college in South Africa

This article explores the experiences of women students in an Engineering programme at a South African technical and vocational education and training (TVET) college. Drawing on the capabilities approach as the study’s theoretical framework, the author interprets what women go through as they navigate college and transition into the labour market. While there is a growing literature on post-school education, particularly on TVET, few studies focus on the experiences of women students in traditionally male-dominated programmes such as Engineering. Furthermore, South African education and training policies since 1994 make reference to a commitment to resolving the inequalities under the previous apartheid government, specifically with regard to gender inequality. Through a case study approach, the research reported on in this article sought to understand how the democratic government’s commitment to social justice was being implemented and experienced on the ground, and, more particularly, whether it is improving the position of women students. Qualitative data obtained through in-depth interviews were collected in two phases from 14 women in their final trimester of the National Accredited Technical Education Diploma (NATED) programme and about six months after that. The findings show that the students face various challenges while they persist with their education, and also in obtaining either internships or employment. By highlighting the experiences of women in TVET, it is hoped thatthis understanding will help to persuade the government to embrace social justice in the postschool sector so as to enhance the study and employment opportunities of women who enrol in Engineering.

A review of laws and regulations related to women’s employment in China

In the 70 years since the founding of People’s Republic of China, there has been steady improvement of the laws and regulations that protect women's employment rights and opportunities, that support women’s career development, that enhance labor protection of women staff and workers, and that ensure women’s access to retirement protections. Under the protection of these laws and policies, women’s employment quality, income and labor protection have been continuously improved over the past 70 years, and the overall economic status of women has improved significantly. At the same time, there are still large gaps in the treatment of men and women in both employment and retirement.

Gendered Perspectives on Services Trade and Investment

The service economy, and services trade and investment, are potentially important sources of inclusive growth by supplying considerable employment opportunities for female workers in light of the skills and work attributes often at play in services work. Services can play an important role in closing gender gaps, alleviating poverty and addressing the many forms of workplace discrimination weighing more heavily on female workers, managers and business owners. Economies around the world at all development levels are experiencing patterns of structural transformation resulting in a sustained rise in the share of services in key economic aggregates – output, employment, trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). Cross-border trade and investment can accelerate the pace at which economies specialize in tertiary output, employment and cross-border exchange. And trade and investment policies designed to induce an orderly process of structural change can help promote greater inclusiveness and address gender gaps in employment and work conditions. But trade policy alone cannot address a range of factors holding back the employment and economic opportunities of women and often confining them to a narrow range of service sectors and occupational categories. Trade-induced increases in employment opportunities for women often may not necessarily lead to reduced inequalities, such as gender segregation in types of occupations and activities, gender gaps in terms of wages and working conditions, and gender-specific constraints in access to productive resources, infrastructure, and services. Policies aimed at affording women higher levels of social protection, lessened time burdens flowing from household responsibilities, better access to education, vocational training, finance and information networks as well as strengthened entrepreneurial skills all form important complements for sustained improvements in female empowerment in services and beyond, as do steps taken to combat gender discrimination in all its forms. Trade in services, gender, structural change, female empowerment, international trade negotiations, World Trade Organization.

Factory labor and childcare in wartime Japan

ABSTRACT The Asia-Pacific War clearly had a great social and psychological impact on Japanese women. Two additional types of female factory laborers who are the focus of this article—those hired under the Jūgo Joshi Kinrō Yōin (homefront women workers recruitment system) and jokō (female factory workers)—have received much less scholarly attention until now. This article analyzes homefront women worker recruits and female factory workers and argues that, despite wartime labor shortages, there were differences in the ways these two categories of workers were treated, both in the conditions of their employment and in the kinds of childcare for which they were eligible. Although the socialization of women's domestic responsibilities—in particular childcare—allowed for the expansion of employment opportunities for women, in the end the homefront women workers recruitment system failed to achieve its goal of mobilizing married women and of providing high-quality childcare.

Multidimensional poverty analysis and its determinants in Rwanda

This paper analyses multidimensional poverty and its determinant in Rwanda by using Rwanda's demographic health survey and integrated household living conditions survey. Analytical techniques used include the current multidimensional poverty index, descriptive statistics and ordered probit regression. The results revealed that multiple deprivations are found mostly in the rural settings compared to urban areas. The standard of living dimension is largest contributor to multidimensional poverty in both rural and urban areas of Rwanda. In order to improve from multidimensional poverty and its determinants, policies towards supporting the promotion of women especially by reinforcing female's education and intensifying women's employment opportunities, strengthening family planning program and reducing poverty in regions with special focus on poverty reduction in rural areas, mainly in the western and northern provinces will be effective. In addition, supporting farmers who do not possess farmland and increasing vocation program may be also helpful for poverty reduction in Rwanda.

Multidimensional poverty analysis and its determinants in Rwanda

This paper analyses multidimensional poverty and its determinant in Rwanda by using Rwanda's demographic health survey and integrated household living conditions survey. Analytical techniques used include the current multidimensional poverty index, descriptive statistics and ordered probit regression. The results revealed that multiple deprivations are found mostly in the rural settings compared to urban areas. The standard of living dimension is largest contributor to multidimensional poverty in both rural and urban areas of Rwanda. In order to improve from multidimensional poverty and its determinants, policies towards supporting the promotion of women especially by reinforcing female's education and intensifying women's employment opportunities, strengthening family planning program and reducing poverty in regions with special focus on poverty reduction in rural areas, mainly in the western and northern provinces will be effective. In addition, supporting farmers who do not possess farmland and increasing vocation program may be also helpful for poverty reduction in Rwanda.

Adolescence and Gender Equality in Health

Adolescence and Gender Equality in Health

TELAS DE UM DISCURSO: A CONSTRUÇÃO DAS MULHERES NO CAMPO DO TRABALHO POR INTERMÉDIO DO FILME BOI NEON * SCREENS OF A SPEECH: THE CONSTRUCTION OF WOMEN IN THE FIELD OF WORK THROUGH THE FILM BOI NEON

A segregação ocupacional construída entorno da divisão sexual do trabalho, na França, no século XVIII, interfere nas oportunidades de emprego para a mulheres no mercado de trabalho até hoje, no caso do Brasil não é diferente. Apesar do discurso estabelecido sobre a divisão sexual do trabalho nos espaços públicos ser predominantemente masculino e nos espaços privados, feminino, destacamos que as mulheres sempre se fizeram presente nos espaços públicos, ao executar as mais diversas funções. Dessa forma, o presente artigo, tem por objetivo perceber como as tecnologias de gênero, tem visibilizado e influenciado as mulheres a transgredir e a ocupar profissões outrora outorgadas, historicamente e socialmente, aos homens, como é o caso do filme Boi Neon.*The occupational segregation built around the sexual division of labor, in France, in the 18th century, interferes with employment opportunities for women in the labor market until today and, in Brazil, it isn’t different. Although the discourse established about the sexual division of labor in public spaces is predominantly male and in private spaces, female, we highlight that women have always been present in public spaces, performing the most diverse functions. So, this article aims to understand how gender technologies have made visible and influenced women to transgress and occupy professions once historically and socially granted to men, as it is the case of the movie Boi Neon.

Intimate Partner Violence: The Influence of Job Opportunities for Men and Women

AbstractThis study examines the association of unemployment variation with intimate partner violence using representative data from thirty-one developing countries, from 2005 to 2016. It finds that a 1 percent increase in the male unemployment rate is associated with an increase in the incidence of physical violence against women by 0.50 percentage points, or 2.75 percent. This is consistent with financial and psychological stress generated by unemployment. Female unemployment rates have the opposite effect, a 1 percent decrease being associated with an increase in the probability of victimization of 0.52 percentage points, or 2.87 percent. That an improvement in women's employment opportunities is associated with increased violence is consistent with male backlash. The study finds that this pattern of behaviors emerges entirely from countries in which women have more limited access to divorce than men.

Impact of automation technology on gender parity in maritime industry

Autonomous technological advancement is projected to be a major step change in the world of shipping, creating new opportunities and challenges for maritime authorities and all stakeholders in the maritime sector. In this paper, we aim to explore the influence of automation technology implementation on employment opportunities for women seafarers/operators in the merchant shipping industry. A group of subject matter experts, which composed of shipowners, maritime education and training providers, and shipboard officers, were invited to elaborate on the perceived barriers and the prospects of female employment in the era of autonomous shipping, through a qualitative exploration. The collected data was analysed using thematic analysis to identify the potential challenges, barriers and opportunities for women employment in the maritime industry. The findings from this study reveal measures to improve gender parity in the maritime industry and help address the strategic directions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) on women empowerment and the Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) of the United Nations.

Kadınların Denizcilik Eğitiminde Karşılaştıkları Sorunlara İlişkin Bir Araştırma

Bugün, kadınlar daha önceleri tamamen erkeklerin istihdam edildiği alanlarda da görünmeye başlamıştır. Denizcilik bu iş alanlarından biridir. Günümüzde gemilerde çalışan kadınların sayısı giderek artmaktadır. Gemilerde çalışan kadınlar; yaptıkları işlerin, içinde bulundukları ortamın ve işten beklenen çıktıların özellikle erkekler için düzenlenmiş olması nedeniyle sorunlar yaşamaktadırlar. Günümüzde, Türkiye'de kadınlar gemide çalışmak üzere yükseköğretim kurumlarında Yüksek Lisans, Lisans ve Önlisans programlarında eğitilmektedirler. Lisans programları genel olarak Deniz Ulaştırma ve İşletme Mühendisliği programı ile Gemi Makineleri İşletme Mühendisliği programıdır. Önlisans programları ise Deniz Ulaştırma İşletme, Gemi Makineleri İşletme, Deniz ve Liman İşletmeciliği, Yat İşletme ve Yönetimi, Mekatronik (Elektro Teknik) ile Deniz Aşçılığı programları olarak yürütülmektedir. Bu programlar kadın, erkek ayrımı gözetmeksizin gemide çalışacak personel yetiştirmektedir. Kadınların gemilerde karşılaştıkları sorunlar eğitim kurumlarına da yansımaktadır. Kadın öğrenciler yükseköğretim kurumlarında, mesleki güçlüklerin yanı sıra, toplumsal değerlerden ve önyargılardan kaynaklanan sorunlar da yaşamaktadırlar. Bu çalışmada; gemilerde çalışmak üzere personel yetiştiren yükseköğretim kurumlarındaki denizcilik programlarının kadınlar tarafından tercih edilebilirliği ve kadın öğrencilerin yükseköğretim kurumlarında karşılaştıkları sorunlar bir yükseköğretim kurumunda yapılan alan çalışmasına dayalı olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Çalışma, temel kavramları açıklayacak, kadının denizcilik sektöründeki çalışma olanaklarına, çalışma şartlarına ve eğitim sırasında karşılaşılan sorunlara ilişkin olarak yazında kapsanmış olan bilgileri içerecek, İnceleme bölümünde kadınların eğitim sırasında karşılaştıkları sorunlara ilişkin olarak yapılan bir alan çalışmasından faydalanılacaktır. Çalışma sonunda, ulaşılan alt sonuçlar, çıkarsamalar ve değerlendirmeler ile geleceğe ilişkin öneriler yapılacaktır. Bu çalışma, denizcilik sektöründeki cinsiyet eşitliği konularını iyileştirmek için farkındalık yaratmak amacıyla yürütülecektir.

AVAILABILITY OF PRE-SCHOOLING AS AN EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL INDICATOR

The research paper presents the results of a large-scale longitudinal study which aims to highlight pre-schooling social problems with the help of social indicators. For over a decade, the authors of the research paper have been developing a survey inventory aiming to determine the population’s satisfaction with the public service index. The tool includes 190 original survey indicators that represent all public services. 20 indicators are devoted to education; two of them represent pre-school education. These are: 1) assessment of the quality of pre-school services; and 2) the availability of a child's place in a kindergarten in a residential area (availability). The existing statistical norming base (not older than 2 years) includes 12 municipalities in Lithuania and 88 subdistricts. The total number of respondents is 16202 (n=16202). It has been cleared out that the residents consider the quality of the service "high", but its "availability" is considered to be poor. The statistical regularity found is common to all surveyed municipalities. There is a significant dispersion of measured indicators in separate municipalities and in the subdistricts. Facing the negative evaluation tendency of the “availability“ service some municipalities are more able to handle the problem. For this reason their experience is worth to analyze and to disseminate in a broader way. It is also worth to mention that the results of this study have much in common with EUROSTAT data. In Lithuania, the inclusion of 2-3 years old children in the education system is extremely poor, whereas the inclusion of preschoolers is largely universal. It is possible to state that poor situation of 2-3 years old children inclusion in the Lithuanian education system is related to the problems of Lithuanian social policy. In Lithuania, mother (or father) receives financial benefits for two years after the birth of a child. It is also possible to save one‘s job without receiving a payment for one year more. From the point of view of women's employment and equal opportunities policies, our discovered regularity testifies social policy dysfunctions at the macro national level which, on their turn, indicate a deep-seated demographic crisis in an EU country.

Low Cost Private Schools: ‘Helping’ to Reach Education for All Through Exploiting Women

The rapid growth of Low Cost Private Schools (LCPS) in developing countries has led to increasing interest in the model’s ‘sustainability’. Nearly all the literature is based on the proponents’ claims that the model is more cost-effective than government schools rather than of the implications of the model depending to a large extent on very low paid young women teachers.The article is written against the backdrop of the model of an autonomous, respected, well-prepared teacher and framed in terms of human rights and gender (dis-)empowerment. Drawing on material on literature mainly from India and Pakistan, it documents the educational levels and employment opportunities for women; reviews the arguments for and against the model pointing out the lack of attention to the high rates of profit and the plight of teachers; and demonstrates that the (mostly young women) teachers are not only very low paid but are also poorly qualified with very precarious conditions of employment. Simply put, paying women teachers less than the minimum wage denies their human rights, further disempowering those who are already socially marginalized and excluded. This is not sustainable for gender equality in the long term and, finally, detrimental to education in developing societies as a whole.

Three generations of changing gender patterns of schooling in China

The rapid economic growth and rise in living standards in China and throughout much of Asia, is well documented. The changing economic conditions, including increases in the returns to schooling and employment opportunities for women, and increases in one-child families, have likely changed the incentives for parental investments in the education of children, and potentially differentially so for sons and daughters, and for families in rural and urban areas. In this paper, we use data spanning three generations of Chinese families to examine the evolution of educational attainment for boys and girls and the relative levels of schooling by gender. We also examine differences in trends across rural and urban areas. We find a substantial narrowing of the gender gap in schooling, so much so that girls now have more education on average than boys. In addition, policy initiatives had a larger effect in rural than urban areas.

Gender Matters in Hospitality (invited paper for ‘luminaries’ special issue of International Journal of Hospitality Management)

This article is a review paper, which examines the place of gender in hospitality research and education and discusses the significance of hospitality for women's employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. The paper’s main purpose, however, is to speculate on the future of hospitality gender research and women’s employment prospects in the industry. It suggests that, despite the emergence of gender perspectives in hospitality research and the recent rise of popular feminism in response to high-profile sexual harassment cases and a well-publicised gender pay gap, gender still does not occupy mainstream territory in the field. The paper stresses the continued missed opportunities of neglecting female talent and calls on female and male leaders to shape a gender-just future in hospitality study and practice by mentoring and holding hierarchies to account. The paper identifies AI and robotics and sexual exploitation and harassment as two areas in which hospitality gender scholars could lead scholarship and policy debates on gendered human experiences.