Enhance Gender Equality Research Articles

Female genital mutilation and cutting in the Arab League and diaspora: A systematic review of preventive interventions.

Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C) is an act of gender-based violence (GBV) and a global public health issue with well-documented adverse outcomes. With the rise in global migration, there is an increasing prevalence of FGM/C among Arab diaspora living in the West and Global South. What remains unclear is how to reduce the practice. This study was designed to identify interventions exerting an effect on reducing the practice of FGM/C. A systematic review of peer-reviewed articles was conducted on interventions targeting individuals and/or the broader community to prevent FGM/C within the Arab League and its diaspora, up to December 2021. Databases searched included PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, BIOSIS, ASSIA and Scopus. Quality assessment used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) 2018. Twelve of 896 studies met the inclusion criteria. Eight interventions relied entirely on education with short-term gains but unchanged practices. Three interventions used social marketing and mixed media. Only one study took a multi-sectoral approach. At a macro level, opportunities to reduce or to end the practice of FGM/C exist through legislation, policy, a public health approach grounded in gender equality and human rights. Using multi-sectoral actions that consider the social context and challenge social norms at macro, meso and micro levels appears more effective than individual-level interventions. Promoting advocacy and developing supportive environments to reduce GBV, enhance gender equality and empower communities is crucial for interventions to succeed and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target of FGM/C abandonment by 2030.

Gender Perspectives in Tourism Studies: A Comparative Bibliometric Analysis in the MENA Region

ABSTRACT Recently tourism appears to be an effective economic tool to enhance gender equality and women's empowerment. This study analyzed the gendered-oriented articles concerning the tourism sector in the MENA region. This study focused on the articles that used structured methods such as interviews, questionnaires, surveys, and observations. 203 articles were extracted from the Scopus and Web of Science databases and analyzed through six bibliometric analysis units: scientific production evolution, documents, authors, sources, countries and institutions, and keywords. The main results of this study can be summarized in two pivotal points: (i) the scientific production of articles concerning gender in the tourism sector in the MENA region is still inadequate and does not correspond to the current international and regional interest in achieving gender equality; (ii) among all the MENA region countries, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and Oman were the most countries that have paid attention to gender in the the tourism articles.

Saudi Women’s Economic Empowerment in Light of Saudi Vision 2030: Perception, Challenges and Opportunities

This paper aims to examine women’s economic empowerment in Saudi Arabia by assessing the current status, the challenges and future recommendations in accordance with Saudi Vision 2030. The research employed a questionnaire survey method and the sample consisted of 903 women working in the public, private or freelance sectors in different regions of Saudi Arabia. SPSS software program was used to analyse the data. The findings of the research demonstrate that the participants provided positive feedback regarding women’s economic empowerment which is in accordance with the Saudi Vision 2030 initiatives dedicated to women. The paper recommends enhancing awareness of the importance of women’s economic empowerment, enhancing gender equality in wages, and implementing awareness programmes encouraging women to contribute to Saudi Arabia’s economic development. The paper has implications for policymakers, company owners and researchers who are seeking to empower Saudi women and enhance their participation in the development of the national economy. 
 
 Received: 2 September 2021 / Accepted: 30 October 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Are the Olympics up-to-date? Measures taken by the IOC to enhance gender equality in the games

Olympism emerges as an instrument of integration that, through the Olympic values, overcomes ethnic, religious, and cultural differences in favor of a world free of discrimination, ensuring the practice of sports as a right for all. Having equality as one of its principles is foreseen in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Agenda 2020+5, just as it is consistent with the global movement for gender equality, as proposed in Sustainable Development Goal 5 of the United Nations' Agenda 2030. This study aims to identify the actions taken by the IOC for gender equality related to all women, athletes or non-athletes, who are part of the Olympic Games scenario. This study is documentary research, using the official documents published on the IOC website related to gender equality as a primary source of data. Through Thematic Analysis as a method of data analysis, we achieved a qualitative understanding of the documents to measure the main actions adopted by the body in favor of gender equality in the Olympic Games. As a result of this study, we seek a greater understanding of this relevant theme in the discussion of gender equality in the sports context, with a specific look at one of the main events in the area, which involves a range of sports and has tremendous impact, reaching international visibility.

Role of Government Policies to Fintech Adoption and Financial Inclusion: A Study in Pakistan

Purpose- Pakistan is a lower-middle-income country and financial inclusion rate is comparatively lower than other South Asian countries. In this circumstance, Government of Pakistan has implemented various financial inclusion policies and strategies to enhance the rate of financial inclusion in the country. However, a cursory attention has been paid to Government policies by the previous studies. Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide an insight into the current government policies and strategies for fintech adoption and financial inclusion in Pakistan. Design/ methodology/ approach- This study collected and reviewed previous literature that focused on various fintech adoption and financial inclusion policies and strategies by the Government of Pakistan. Literature has been selected from various secondary sources such as journal articles, conference proceedings, annual reports of SBP (State Bank of Pakistan), Global findex report by World Bank and so on. Findings- The study found that Government of Pakistan has successfully implemented a number of financial inclusion policies and strategies during the last decade. A noteworthy innovation approach (i.e. fintech) was applied as a catalyst in order to extend the scope of financial services in Pakistan. The Government also implemented Financial Literacy Programs specifically for youth to create awareness about financial resource management in the country. Very recently, Government of Pakistan launched banking on equality program to enhance gender equality in financial inclusion. Originality/value- The findings of this study might be useful for the decision makers and practitioners to implement the policies and strategies more effectively and efficiently to enhance the rate of financial inclusion in country.

Care and careers: Gender (in)equality in unpaid care, housework and employment

This article examines whether reducing care and housework duties and redistributing them within different-sex couples could further enhance gender equality on the labor market in terms of labor market participation for different employment types and actual working hours. Women around the world perform the majority of unpaid care and housework, with a large and persistent gap to men. Most research explains the unequal gender division of domestic chores, but less frequently their consequences for employment outcomes and career outlooks. Based on the German Socio-Economic Panel (2001–2017 N = 40,419 for employment probabilities / N = 30,795 for working hours) matched with regional data on external child- and elderly care, the authors use an instrumental variables approach and eliminate time-constant individual effects in first-differenced regressions to address endogeneity issues and to disentangle the reciprocal relationship. Results show that both the overall amount as well as the unequal division of housework and care in couple households have detrimental effects on women’s labor market participation and actual working hours. Reducing the overall burden from housework and care duties and achieving a more symmetric within-couple distribution improves female integration into the labor market.

Managing the Gender Wage Gap—How Female Managers Influence the Gender Wage Gap among Workers

Abstract Previous research shows that female managers narrow the gender wage gap (GWG) among workers but does not disentangle two general underlying mechanisms. First, female managers might use their organizational power to change organizational practices and make organizations more gender-equal. Second, female workers might benefit from interacting with a female manager, e.g. through homophily and mentoring. To disentangle these two mechanisms, I distinguish between female managers at the first management level, which is responsible mainly for organizational practices, and at the second management level, which mainly interacts with workers. Additionally, I consider practices enhancing gender equality, such as work-life balance practices. Using German linked employer–employee panel data and a firm fixed-effects regression, I find that female first-level managers slightly narrow the GWG. This influence is not affected by the consideration of organizational practices. Hence, female first-level managers do not affect workers’ by changing organizational practices. In contrast, female second-level managers considerably narrow the GWG among workers. In summary, female managers substantially reduce the GWG among workers, and this effect works via the manager–worker interaction mechanism. Hence, increasing the share of female second-level managers might close the GWG.

The progressive gendering of the European Union’s economic governance architecture

This study shows the correlation between the European integration process and the progress of gender equality objectives. In particular, it focuses on the effectiveness of economic governance tools to enhance coordination between national policies towards gender equality. The research question pertains to whether the new architecture of economic governance aims to consolidate the market model or correct gender imbalances. This aspect leads us to explore the diverse tools of national monitoring displayed in the recently reinforced governance, particularly the fiscal discipline policy as a conditioning framework, the European Semester as the current significant instrument for coordinating national policies, and the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and its Social Scoreboard annex. The analysis confirms that the potential of governance instruments to enhance gender equality is underused. Meanwhile, these tools set out a policy focused on consolidating the market model of competitiveness and fiscal discipline, rather than tackling gender inequalities

Game changer or accounting practice? Gender responsive budgeting in India

IMPACT Gender responsive budgeting is a process to achieve gender mainstreaming. Since India’s first gender budget statement was published in 2005/06, the country’s gender budget increased more than eight-fold in 2018/19. Using quantitative and qualitative data, this article highlights several procedural issues and ‘grey’ areas that require the attention of policy-makers. The over-arching message of the study is that GRB in India is an elementary exercise with limited strategic direction. The capacity of officials responsible for producing GBs is questionable and further training is needed. Sensitization to the needs and priorities of women would significantly contribute to gender mainstreaming and policy refinements. ABSTRACT Gender responsive budgeting (GRB) is a process to enhance gender equality through financial allocations in government budgets. The objective of the study was to understand trends in India’s government’s ministries and departments. The total gender budget (GB) exhibited strong growth between 2007/08 and 2018/19. However, the GB for ‘women-specific programmes’ had moderate growth. This article highlights a policy–practice gap and contributes to the scarce literature on GRB in India. The authors advocate the use of GBs for strategic outcomes that promote gender mainstreaming.

With a different name, the rose is not a rose anymore: legislative quality and gender equality in the AKP's Turkey

ABSTRACT The 1982 Turkish Constitution established a legal system aimed at ensuring state efficiency and stability more than the full respect of the rule of law. In the last decade, the latter is undergoing a democratic decay. The currently dominant Islamic Populism is reinterpreting fundamental concepts of constitutional democracy to entrench a paternalistic majoritarian vision of the law-making process and of the society. This perspective undermines the principle of gender equality, confirming the denial of LGBTQIA+ rights and increasingly favouring the principle's interpretation in line with the Islamic conception of gender complementarity. Such a limitation in women's enjoyment of equality is quite striking for a country that started the process of women's emancipation and empowerment at the beginning of the twentieth century, coevally with the establishment of the Turkish Republic. Furthermore, this drift raises doubts as to the activity of the parliamentary committee on ‘Equal opportunity for women and men’, established in 2009 with the duty of ensuring the respect for gender equality throughout the law-making process. Does it effectively enhance gender equality in the legislation or is it a mere reputational tool? To answer this question, after having introduced the illiberal features of the current Turkish regime, the activity of the Committee is assessed against the European and Turkish standards on the quality of legislation. Finally, concluding remarks compare the Turkish case with other illiberal authoritarianisms’ discourse on gender equality, underscoring to what extent the Turkish authoritarian drift entails an anti-gender evolution in line with the conservative ideological vision of several other populisms.

Socio-cultural determinants of female students’ participation in school sports in Kogi State, Nigeria

The decline in female participation in school sports is undesirable because of the fact that it is considered to be for boys only. It is in light of this, the study was carried out to examine socio-cultural determinants of female students’ participation in school sports in Kogi State, Nigeria. The population was 3,290 female students while 310 respondents were sampled for this study. Three hypotheses were postulated and tested using inferential statistics of Chi-square to analyze the data. Questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. The findings show that gender, cultural and religious belief served as a significant determinant of female participation in sports. Based on the finding, it was concluded that both male and female students should be encouraged to develop right attitude towards sports participation in schools so as to enhance gender equality in sports. There is need to sensitize the general public through various agents of socialization on how to change the negative cultural belief of people towards female participation in sports.

Regendering the Canadian Armed Forces

Although feminist scholars agree that there exists a systemic relationship between masculinity and militarism, the exact contours of that relationship are debatable. Most feminists argue that as a primary goal, the women’s movement ought to seek approaches for the abolition of militarism, rather than using women’s participation in the military as a means of enhancing gender equality. Despite admonitions about the dangers of pursuing gender equality through military service, feminists must also weigh these concerns against women’s advances within the military and the use of the military in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, both of which are essential to the Women, Peace and Security agenda. This article therefore turns a critical feminist lens on theories of military re-gendering. I explore whether military organizations that have traditionally valorized militarized masculinity can be transformed—both at an individual and systemic level—to embrace an egalitarian iteration of masculinity and contribute to a more peaceable international system. To examine the possibility of regendering in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), I review 17 interviews that I conducted with members of the CAF from 2017-2018 using theories of military regendering. My analysis indicates that servicemembers are engaging in critical examination of the military’s gender culture, and their position within that culture. By critically engaging with questions about the relationship between gender and militarism, military personnel may be participating in the incremental—and fragile—process of improving the gender culture of the CAF.

Are liberal men not abusive toward their wives? Evidence from rural Bangladesh.

Gender ideology has widely been discussed in the explanation of wife abuse. However, how men's gender ideology influences wife abuse is quite overlooked in Bangladeshi context. Thisstudy examined how various types of gender ideology among men are associated with wife abuse in Bangladesh. It included 342 married men randomly selected from 5 villages. Negative binomial regression was employed to predict the incidence-rate ratio of wife abuse. Of the sample, 55.0% maintained traditional, 31.3% transitional, and 13.7% liberal gender ideologies. On average, the men perpetrated 6.10 abusive acts in a year. Data showed that the rates of overall wife abuse among liberal men were 41% and 48% lower than the traditional and transitional men, respectively. Liberal men also perpetrated less emotional, physical, and sexual abuses than both traditional and transitional men. The study shows that the promotion of liberal gender ideology among men is important for preventing wife abuse. Men should be targeted by diverse violence prevention interventions for enhancing gender equality attitudes. Though the study has provided novel findings in a Bangladeshi context, it was entirely based on male data. Future studies should examine both men's and women's views on the issues.

Gender Mainstreaming in Drought Disaster Risk Reduction

Climate change has affected the whole world and caused disasters, include drought. Since Tana Mbanas village in Central Sumba District is the driest remote area in eastern region of Indonesia, gender inequality has affected in daily life of people in the village instead of other social and environmental problems. This research aimed to evaluate how gender mainstreaming implemented in drought disaster risk reduction in Tana Mbanas village in Central Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province. The result of the research is expected to become a mirror that reflects Sumba island gender and development issues. The research took place in Tana Mbanas village in Central Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, and conducted by qualitative method with purposive data sampling. The steps taken in the research were observation, data collecting by questionnaire and in-depth interview to respondents, and literature review. It was reported that Tana Mbanas village people has given water management assistance by village fund, conducting water management counselling, saving water, and harvesting rain systems in every household. This research meets conclusions that: (1) Several programs and planned actions in water supply system and infrastructure development have become initiatives of government agencies of village authorities, BPBD and Public Work Agency of Central Sumba Regency; (2) People demonstrated vulnerability to drought as well as lack of water supply and also water resources; (3) Strong efforts should be conducted to educate people and increase women capacity in coping issues of poverty, drought, and lack of water supply; and (4) Government agencies and other private institutions have to build women capacity as their participation in enhancing gender equality and mainstreaming gender.

Compulsory Science Policy: Enhancing Gender Equality In Education? A Case Study Of Academic Achievement In Uganda

This paper communicates the results of a diagnostic evaluation of the performance of boys and girls in physical sciences at Ordinary level in Uganda after the adoption of the compulsory science policy. The objectives of the study were twofold: to examine the academic performance of boys and girls in the Uganda National Examinations from 2007 to 2010, and to highlight key factors that continue to influence the achievement of students, especially girls in sciences. Data was obtained from five co-educational secondary schools using documentary reviews, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The results revealed that the performance of both boys and girls have further declined after the implementation of the compulsory science policy. However, in comparison to the boys, girls in co-educational schools were still more likely to be among the poorest performers in sciences. This was attributed to a number of factors, key among them being girls' self-concept in sciences, and teachers' perception of girls' abilities in sciences. These findings reiterate the need to mainstream gender into both policy design and implementation.

The Role of Capacity Building Program on Women Socioeconomic Empowerment: The Case of Women Entrepreneurs in Selected Zones in Southern Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Building the capacity of women is an indispensable strategy for enhancing gender equality, and improving the lives of poor women. The main objective of this study was to assess the socio-economic benefit of capacity-building program (CBP) for women entrepreneurs. Employing a two-stage sampling technique, a total of 258 women entrepreneurs were selected from six randomly selected zones in southern region. Quantitative data were collected from women entrepreneurs through Paper Assisted Personal Interview (PAPI) technique. Interview and FGD were conducted with government officials and the selected women. The data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics like proportion test, pairwise proportion tests, Cramer’s V, and Somer’s d, while thematic approach was used to analyze and interpret qualitative data. The study revealed that CBP improved the general livelihood of women by bringing about socio-economic improvement.

GENDER AND SUSTAINABILITY: EVOLUTION OF DISCOURSE AND FEMINIST CRITIQUE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of this article is to analyze the stages of evolution of the UN social, environmental and gender policies and the peculiarities of their convergence into an integral concept of sustainable development, to assess the influence of feminist organizations on the direction and content of the concept of sustainable development, as well as criticism of «sustainability» and alternative development models proposed by feminist organizations and social movements, including the «Fridays for the Future» movement. The UN is the main international structure for shaping global social, environmental and gender policy. Over 75 years of the organization's activity, hundreds of documents have been adopted, dozens of conferences have been held in the field of eliminating social, gender and environmental inequalities. In 1992, the UN member states approved the «Agenda for the 21st century», in which social, gender and environmental aspects of development were combined into a holistic concept of sustainable development. Since that time, these political fields are considered in integrity and interconnection. International women's organizations have played a decisive role in integrating gender issues into the concept of sustainable development. Thanks to their activities, the legal aspects of enhancing gender equality are enshrined in the key UN documents on sustainable development - «Agenda 21» (1992), «Millennium Goals» (2000), «Implementation Plan» (2002), «The future we are want «(2012),» Sustainable Development Goals 2030 «(2015). At the same time, there are processes of the formation of an alternative gender discourse and feminist criticism of the official concept of sustainable development. International feminist movements and organizations have played a huge role in this. Currently, there are several feminist approaches to the study of the relationship between women and the environment: ecological-feminist, economic-ecological and post-structuralist. The most important area of activity for feminist organizations is the fight against global climate change. With the onset of the fourth wave of feminism in environmental protection, new trends and vivid leadership figures have emerged, and there has been a direct increase in women's presence in global climate policy. The most striking example of this trend is the climate movement «Fridays for the Future» (PRB), created by eco-activist G. Thunberg.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Intimate Partner Violence Among Married Women During COVID-19 Pandemic Restrictions: A Community-Based Study.

Ethiopia has taken unprecedented preventive measures, such as confinement to home and closure of schools and offices to halt the spread of Corona virus pandemic in the country. Unfortunately, such orders may have been associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) against women but there is no study conducted to assess the magnitude of IPV during the lock-downs in the country. Thus, this study intended to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of IPV against women during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on sample of 617 married or cohabited women. A systematic random sampling technique was employed to identify and enroll women who are married. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors of IPV among women and all statistical analyses were carried out using STATA 14.2. In this study, amongst the 589 married women who were included in the analysis, 22.4% [95% CI: 19.1%, 25.9%] were experienced at least one form of IPV. Additionally, 11.0%, 20.0%, and 13.8% of women also experienced physical, psychological, and sexual IPVs respectively. After adjusting for covariate; being illiterate [AOR=2.37: 95% CI 1.29, 4.35], having illiterate husband [AOR=2.67: 95% CI 1.36, 5.21], having substance user husband (alcohol, chat or cigarettes) [AOR=2.75: 95% CI 1.42, 5.34], and community tolerant attitude to violence [AOR=2.97: 95% CI 1.17, 7.61] were the independent predictors of IPV amongst married women. In conclusion, the prevalence of IPV among married women was comparable to the national pre-COVID figure of IPV. Therefore, national and regional governments should work toward enhancing gender equality, coupled with addressing risk factors at multiple levels, using community- and institution-based approaches to prevent IPV and to specifically achieve SDG5 of eliminating violence against women by 2030.

Gender Inequality and Symbolic Violence in Women’s Access to Family Land in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania

We set out to unveil gender inequality with respect to women’s access to family land following the surge in tree-planting in selected villages in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. Specifically, the study describes land-transaction procedures at the household level and shows how the lack of women’s involvement in such land transactions affect their access to and control over family lands. Gender inequality is portrayed in a variety of social and economic activities, with women being deprived of access to, control over, and ownership of land. Although the current land laws address gender inequalities pertaining to women’s access to, ownership of, and control over land, the impact of such reforms has been minimal. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic violence, we reveal how women suffer symbolic violence through traditional practices of land management and administration. Societies in the studied villages are strongly patriarchal, with men being dominant and women subordinate. In such a patriarchal system, women’s empowerment is urgent. Women require knowledge and awareness of the laws and regulations that affirm their rights not only to family lands, but also to participation in decision-making processes regarding family assets. We recommend non-oppressive approaches to natural-resource management. As such, we call for existing authorities at the village and district levels, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and legal bodies to promote gender equality in land-management practices. We also advocate dialectical communication between women and men in order to reveal and heal practices of symbolic violence, and enhance gender equality in respect of access to land and its control and ownership in villages in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. Effective implementation of existing land laws and regulations that address gender inequality and associated violence is unavoidable.

Gaining Insight into Violence from Gender Stereotypes and Sexist Attitudes in the Context of Tourism

It is difficult to identify, but there is a type of harassment grounded in gender stereotyping in the context of tourism. It would be useful to discover the hidden relationships between gender harassment and certain beliefs about women as travellers, tourism professionals and sex objects in the field of hospitality. Methodologically, a survey was carried out reaching a sample of ±684 units by means of a convenience sampling procedure. The measuring instruments consisted of a structured questionnaire divided into two kinds of Likert beliefs scales comprising general statements and statements related to tourism. The survey respondent data were also gathered as regards sociodemographic characteristics. This paper presents empirical evidence to identify the causal factors of gender violence by considering general and particular stereotyping in tourism. Firstly, by performing three exploratory factor analyses, three female stereotyping dimensions were labelled in the field of tourism (occupational sexism, ambivalent sexist discrimination, and sex as a commodity), as well as three general prejudices about women (dysfunctional romantic relationships, ethically challenged presumptions, and aesthetical manners conventions) and the gender harassment factor. Secondly, a linear regression analysis was carried out to demonstrate that both general stereotyping related to a broader “life” framework and sectorial prejudices in tourism cause gender harassment. Finally, this research proves that general stereotyping determines sectorial prejudices in the field of tourism. The practical implications could be to enhance gender equality and combat gender harassment by revealing unintentional and unobserved prejudices that occur in a general life setting and in the tourism sphere against women as neglected professionals, under the subtle and ambivalent condition of travellers, and even as objects of consumption.