Equality In Europe Research Articles

Gender Equity in Deanship of the Central and Eastern European Law Schools

The paper aims to analyze the scope of female leadership (deanship) at public and non-public law faculties in selected countries from the region of Central and Eastern Europe: Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Montenegro. The paper will explore the engagement of women in the administration of law schools operating within public (and non-public) schools (universities) across the region in the latest years. The paper aims to show the number of female deanships at law faculties in the analyzed states. This analysis will be based on statistical data obtained from the available public sources (including national databases as well as the European Union resources) providing the number of female deans and vice-deans appointed or elected by the academia at all higher education institutions within the country. The initial hypothesis states that gender inequality has been present in the deanship of analyzed law schools and reflects general trends in gender equality in Europe. Comprehensive analysis of the central and eastern European states will allow formulating the key conclusions and answering the following research questions concerning the differences in the numbers of women on the key positions within the law faculties in terms of public versus non-public institutions and in the light of the general gender equality trends in the continent. The research methods used for the analysis include a dogmatic method, statistical method as well as comparative method.

Leaping the Abyss: The Problematic Translation of Social Research Results into Policy Recommendations

This article argues that translating social research findings into policy recommendations may pose a significant methodological and practical challenge. Due to the current emphasis on the ‘third mission’ of universities and the ‘relevance’ of scientific knowledge, it has become more common for sociologists to engage in projects that include the development of social-research-based recommendations. This article analyses empirically an example of such a project – an extensive, European Commission–funded study about the role of men in gender equality in Europe – and shows that developing recommendations may receive lower priority than producing findings, be unguided by any specific method or approach, and operate within an ‘aura of evidence’ rather than a ‘hierarchy of evidence’. Discouraging an all-too-easy criticism, this article argues for more reflection, frameworks, and methods that could support sociologists in the development of research-based guidelines for policies.

Co-creating Inclusive Intersectional Democratic Spaces across Europe (CCINDLE): Counteracting Anti-gender through Feminist Knowledge

Abstract: The construction of feminist democratic societal projects relies on the production of feminist knowledge and ideas within social movements, as well as academic, professional, and institutional settings. In the context of a rising opposition against democracy and gender, race, and sexuality equality at a global level, the European Union has launched the call Feminisms for a New Age of Democracy with the purpose of supporting knowledge production about opposition to gender equality in Europe and feminist democratic responses. The CCINDLE (Co-creating Inclusive Intersectional Democratic Spaces across Europe) project is one of the funded research projects under this call. CCINDLE's objectives include analyzing not only anti-gender politics and the problems that they create for democracy in Europe but especially feminist movements' and institutional responses to anti-gender and anti-democratic forces. The project aims to co-create feminist knowledge with the actors that are already working to counter the antidemocratic project that anti-gender movements and far right parties are trying to construct, and to envision feminist futures building on theories and practices of intersectional justice, inclusion, and participation in European democracies.

EFEKTIVITAS UPAYA PENANGANAN KEKERASAN BERBASIS GENDER DI YUNANI: Analisis Istanbul Convention 2018-2022

Gender-based violence is a phenomenon that is widespread throughout the world and is a concern for human security. For this reason, the Council of Europe formed the Istanbul Convention to combat gender-based violence, especially in Europe. The main focus of this research is to analyze the effectiveness of the Istanbul Convention as an international regime in Greece, the country with the lowest level of gender equality in Europe, using the Regime Effectiveness theory. The research method uses an explanatory research type which aims to explain the position of the variables studied and the cause-and-effect relationships that exist between the variables. The results of this research prove that the Istanbul Convention can be categorized as an effective international regime in Greece, along with the implementation of policies that are in line with the values and objectives of the convention. Thus, this research shows that the Istanbul Convention was able to achieve its effectiveness as an international regime in Greece.

8.C. Workshop: Female leadership in times of crisis – fostering a sustainable future for humanity

Abstract Women in Global Health (WGH) is a global movement with the largest network of women and allies working to challenge power and privilege for gender equity in health. It has grown to include over 50,000 supporters in 90 countries and has 41 official chapters. The WGH European network is an established hub of the global WGH movement focusing on gender equality in Europe Some of the WGH European Chapters have been engaged in the work with Ukrainian migrants.The workshop will start with a brief introduction to the WGH network and European hub. Following these opening remarks, the session will review the ongoing conflict in Ukraine through a gender equity lens, exploring what the crisis has taught us and how these experiences can help improve gender equity interventions in the future. The session will focus on two topics. 1) exploring the daily realities of women living in the conflict situation in Ukraine and 2) the situation of Ukrainian female refugees in European Member States. We will hear personal stories and accounts from Ukrainian women themselves and from professionals working with them both in-country and in European Member States. The inputs will be moderated in an interview style by one of the WGH European Chapter leads. The interviews will be followed by an interactive section where discussions will be facilitated with the audience in small groups. These discussions will centre on the accounts heard in the session and draw on any personal experience audience members may have of working with women in/from conflict situations, in Ukraine or elsewhere. In the plenary, we will then ask the small for feedback on their conversations. with the aim of discussing what the WGH movement can learn from these experiences with respect to applying them to interventions in gender equity in migrant health in the future. A final input from a female health leader will reflect on the session content and summarise its conclusions. Key messages • Gender equity can bring about transformative change in times of crisis. • Gender equity is not merely the ethical way to advance, but an operational necessity in time of crisis. Speakers/Panelists Sabine Ludwig Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany Halyna Skipalska Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health, Kyiv, Ukraine Paloma Cuchi WHO, Poland

Navigating the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a multifaceted crisis, impacting health, the economy, policy and society at large, and also resulting in a humanitarian crisis. These crises have impacted everyone, although the effects have been unevenly distributed, leading to further disadvantage and marginalisation for those who were already vulnerable and marginalised. The pandemic laid bare and intensified pre-existing gender inequalities in many aspects of life, from the labor market and educational opportunities to health and social protection systems. The unequal impacts on women and men have been observed in the economy and employment, in domestic work and care, in physical and mental health, and in violence. The collection of articles in this special issue critically interrogates these key issues relating to the impact of the pandemic on gender equality in Europe, highlighting exacerbated gender inequalities, policy responses and the potential for a gender-responsive recovery. This special issue brings together a collection of eight articles that investigate various aspects of gender inequality exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that explore potential pathways towards achieving greater gender equality in the post-pandemic world. They summarise the findings and contributions of several social scientists and also of two EU funded projects: RESISTIRÉ (GA 101015990) and GEARING Roles (GA 824536). The articles are structured around five main themes: labor market disparities, education and skill development, social and political responses, post-pandemic opportunities, and care. Each article contributes unique insights, empirical findings and policy recommendations from a feminist perspective to enrich the ongoing discourse on gender equality. Together, the articles show the necessity of feminist analysis of crisis, and reveal the structural roots of inequalities while simultaneously emphasising the necessity for transformative action to address inequalities.

Exploring the Gender Gap in Teleworking from Home. The Roles of Worker’s Characteristics, Occupational Positions and Gender Equality in Europe

Previous research suggests an under-representation of women among teleworkers before the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we know little about whether such a gender gap was substantial, and whether it could be explained by occupational gender segregation. We explore whether a gender gap in regularly teleworking existed in the EU-28 and analyse its possible constituents, drawing on data from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015. To form a group of potential teleworkers, the analytical sample was restricted to employees who made use of information and communication technology (N ≈ 16,000). Country fixed effects regression and multilevel models were applied. The results show that women were under-represented among teleworkers compared to men, also when occupational gender segregation is taken into account; the remaining gender gap in telework is estimated at 10%. For women, working part-time and working in the private sector was associated with lower incidences of telework, but not for men. Country characteristics explain a small but significant share of telework incidence. In countries that rank high on the Gender Equality Index and have a large public sector, telework was widespread, whereas it was less present in countries with higher shares of women in the fields of science and engineering. The findings support the view that the gender gap in teleworking from home is a matter of historically grown gender inequality.

Gender mainstreaming and frame analysis: A qualitative study of childcare policies in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay during Latin America's left turn

AbstractThis article analyzes how and to what extent gender equality perspectives mobilized by feminist actors have (re)designed childcare policy frames to address the sexual division of labor during the left turn in Latin America. Using the Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Europe (MAGEEQ) framework as the foundation for our study, we conducted qualitative case study research in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay by examining official documents. We also reviewed feminist literature and documents to access the positions adopted by the actors involved in the reframing process. We identified quite different results for gender mainstreaming in childcare policy: (1) Argentina—non‐occurrence; (2) Brazil—occurrence (reasonably marginalized); and (3) Uruguay—occurrence (fairly well embedded). We expect to contribute to the development of the MAGEEQ framework, particularly in terms of care policy investigations, and for adapting this framework to the Latin American context.

Labour markets, families and public policies shaping gender relations and parenting: Introduction to the Special Issue

Objective: This article introduces the reader to the Special Issue "Labour markets, families and public policies shaping gender relations and parenting" and gives a theoretical and empirical overview of gender roles and gender equality in Europe. Background: This Special Issue analyses the connection between labour markets, families, social policy, and gender relations in several European countries. Method: The six included articles are based on qualitative and quantitative approaches and data that have been gathered in Finland, Norway, Poland, Spain, and across the entire EU. Results: Key findings are: (1) In less egalitarian countries, children of single parents suffer more nutritional, educational and social life deprivation. (2) The institutional design of parental leave can contribute to reproducing gender inequality in the use of leave. (3) The institutional design interacts with cultural norms in shaping fatherhood practices of migrant fathers. (4) Individualised, performance-based wage and career schemes can counteract the effects of gender-equalising family policies. (5) Fathers taking leave independently from the mother and for an extended period are more involved in childcare beyond the leave period, and (6) the use of longer unpaid parental leave by mothers leads to a more unequal distribution of childcare between the parents. Conclusion: This Special Issue highlights that even in the most egalitarian countries, there remain persistent challenges to achieving gender equality regarding labour market, institutions and family life.

The intellectual foundations of imperial concepts of inequality

ABSTRACT Political and economic discussions of inequality have boomed since the second half of the twentieth century, but concepts of equality and inequality are far older. Understanding the longer intellectual history of inequality helps deepen understandings of how the concept has changed over time, as well as across different societies, and how concepts of equality have been pre-figured to accommodate concepts of inequality. Concepts of equality have been informed by culturally relative theories of justice and beliefs about institutions that can help rationalise situations of inequality. This article examines how Scholastic examinations of equality in Europe during the Middle Ages came to focus both on the importance of property and proportionality, the need to differentiate between people of different status, and how this was developed by the so-called Second Scholastics during the emergence of the Spanish Empire in the sixteenth century and helped lay the foundations for the concepts of inequality that came to structure global imperialism.

CONSTRUCTIONS OF LEGAL POLICY IN THE SPHERE OF GENDER EQUALITY: EXPERIENCE OF WESTERN EUROPE

Within the framework of this publication, an attempt is made to show the strategies and structuresof the state policy of gender equality in the countries of Western Europe. The study is mainly based on ahermeneutic analysis of the normative acts of European states, which fix the main conceptual approachesto ensuring gender equality. It is the European experience of public policy, according to the authors, that isclearly visible through the system of constituent acts.The authors emphasize that the reasons for the effective development and implementation of genderequality policies in Europe lie in historical and economic conditions, and also depend on political, culturaland legal traditions. It has been established that success in the implementation of gender equality policiesin Western countries is due to the activity of the women’s socio-political movement itself and the growthof women’s representation in governments, parliaments and public organizations. To this should be addeda broad anti-discrimination legislative framework and a system of state bodies implementing strategies forgender equality in Europe.

The right to equality in Europe and Latin America

The right to equality in Europe and Latin America

The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality in Europe

The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality in Europe

Gender Equality in Europe: The Development of the Sustainable Development Goal No. 5 Illustrated by Exemplary Cases

Gender Equality in Europe: The Development of the Sustainable Development Goal No. 5 Illustrated by Exemplary Cases

Gender Equality in Europe; Developments with reference to Gender Pay Gap and Violence

The European Union has kept the agenda of gender equality at the front line of legislation and policy development. The research examined the policies and the efficacy of the European Union in endorsing gender equality and determines where the Union’s system has proved to be less effective. Despite the efforts by the European Union in addressing gender-related issues, a slow improvement has been indicated in achieving gender parity. Inequality persists in many domains of gender equality, including the gender pay gap and gender-based violence. Our research suggests that adequate attention in terms of relevance, effective implementation and funding must be given to all domains of gender equality.

Medical abortion ratios and gender equality in Europe: an ecological correlation study

Medical abortion (MA) is recommended by the WHO as a safe and effective pregnancy termination method in the first trimester. From a feminist perspective, it is a non-medicalised, self-managed, emancipating procedure allowing persons seeking abortion to be more in control of their abortion, as opposed to surgical procedures. In European countries where MA is legal, the proportion of MA (relative to surgical abortions) varies greatly. We hypothesised that this ratio may be partly explained by country-level dimensions of gender equality. We assessed the association between MA ratios and gender equality in Europe in correlation and regression analyses, using several country-level gender equality indices. The relevance of other factors, i.e. date of introduction of MA and pregnancy week until which MA is permitted, was also investigated. MA ratios ranged from 24.4% (Italy) to 97.7% (Finland). MA was more frequent relative to surgical abortion in countries with higher levels of gender equality. All gender equality indices were associated with MA ratios (e.g. Global Gender Gap Index corr. coeff: 0.761, p < 0.0001). Specifically, markers of economic and political gender equality seemed to drive the correlations. The pregnancy week until which MA is permitted was associated with both gender equality and MA ratios. Our study suggests that women’s participation in the economic and political sphere may have repercussions on the methods offered and used through abortion services. It highlights the link between feminist perspectives, reproductive health policies and practices, and gender equality, especially in terms of access to economic resources and political representation.

From neglect to threat: feminist responses to right wing populism in the European Union

ABSTRACT This article explores the response of a European Union (EU) feminist civil society organization (CSO) the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) to right wing populist opposition (RWP) to gender equality in Europe. RWP forces rely on gender politics to advance their projects co-opting ideas used by feminists at the same time vilifying feminist idea and actors. Feminist oppositions to RWP are as such complicated by how RWP forces co-opt constructions of gender justice and the proximity between RWP and feminist critiques of economic governance, austerity and EU integration. The EWL work to counter RWP frameworks but are tied to EU imperatives, weakened by austerity and a neglect of gender equality at EU level. Social movement concepts of framing theory are applied to the EWL response to reveal counter framing directed to EU elites, underlining how illiberal threats to gender equality are emblematic of a deeper crisis facing European democracies and as such deserving of a robust and well-resourced defence. Frame saving aims to re-politicise gender equality as an EU ideal and feminism as a project for the common good. RWP opposition to gender equality creates a discursive opportunity for the EWL to claim relevance as a vanguard of progressive anti-populist values in Europe.

Varieties of Opposition to Gender Equality in Europe Edited by Mieke Verloo. New York and London: Routledge, 2018. 237p. Hardback £120.00, paperback £34.99

Varieties of Opposition to Gender Equality in Europe Edited by Mieke Verloo. New York and London: Routledge, 2018. 237p. Hardback £120.00, paperback £34.99

Comparing two complementary accounts of the surging opposition to gender and equality in Europe

Comparing two complementary accounts of the surging opposition to gender and equality in Europe

Induced abortion and gender (in)equality in Europe: A panel analysis

Induced abortion is a worldwide practice and its legalisation is a persistent demand of the women’s movement. Although in the academic literature there are numerous studies that address the study of fertility, nowhere near as much attention has been given to the analysis of induced abortion and its determining factors, and even less to the consideration of gender equality as a variable through which to understand it. This article focuses on the influence of gender equality on the rate of induced abortion in different European countries. To that end the authors have constructed an econometric panel data model with information from 26 European countries for the period 2006–2011. They have analysed comparative indicators of the gender gap in terms of education, employment and wages. In addition, they have taken into account sociodemographic covariables such as the average age of motherhood, the migration rate and the percentage of births to unmarried mothers in each country. Also, as contextual factors the authors used the Human Development Index and an indicator of the legislation on abortion in the countries studied, as well as the percentage of the population who identify as having religious beliefs. The results show that the induced abortion rate is conditioned not only by national legislation on abortion, but also by gender (in)equalities, specifically that as gender inequality decreases, so too does the frequency of induced abortions. These findings have clear political implications, showing as they do how improvements in the status of women, particularly with respect to their social and economic rights, impact on women’s reproductive decisions.