Gender Equality Discourse Research Articles

Connecting gender equality with sustainability in early childhood: educators understandings in Victoria, Australia

Three decades of international recommendations have highlighted the importance of advancing gender equality in achieving the aims of Education for Sustainability (EfS) at all levels of education. However, there has been a persistent disconnect between considerations of gender and sustainability in early childhood education (ECE). This article presents findings from a small-scale, mixed methods research project that sought to address this gap. The project explored educators’ understandings of the relationship between gender equality and sustainability, using survey and interview methods, with early childhood educators in Victoria, Australia. Key findings indicate a disconnection between discourses of sustainability and gender equality obscures educators’ perceptions of the ways that gender influences EfS in ECE. Equally, while the majority of participants had not previously considered their connection, they believed gender equality is important to, and pedagogically aligned with, their sustainability teaching objectives. The findings are used to propose a Continuum of Gender Equitable Early Childhood Education for Sustainability.

Problematising the ‘Man Problem’ in the Domestic Abuse Act: Discursive Co-option and The (In)Visibility of Gender

This article offers a discourse analysis of domestic abuse's ‘Man Problem’ by combining and developing Naffine's, Foucault's and Bacchi's work in a new way. Taking the parliamentary debates around the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 in England and Wales as our focus, we critique how MPs problematise gender to justify a gender-neutral definition of domestic violence and abuse (DVA). We illustrate how MPs reframe DVA's ‘man problem’ not as the problem of men as perpetrators of violence against women. But rather, they represent the law and policy ‘problem’ as men's invisibility as victims of DVA. We develop a new theoretical innovation to advance our critique: discursive co-option, and we uncover two gender paradoxes. We argue that MPs co-opt gender equality discourses to advance masculinist politics and patriarchal logics in ways that have detrimental effects for the less powerful, and which elide the reality of women's experiences of DVA.

Navigating Sexism in the Workplace: A Comparative Study of Muslim and Buddhist Female Workers in Malaysia

This study explores the widespread issue of sexism in Malaysia, focusing on its impact on Muslim and Buddhist female workers. Employing a qualitative approach, the research involves observations, interviews, and documentation to examine how sexism affects women's job opportunities across various sectors. The findings reveal that despite legal progress, sexism remains deeply ingrained, manifesting through discriminatory practices that impede women’s professional advancement and reinforce gender stereotypes. Muslim women encounter additional challenges related to compliance with Islamic teachings in the workplace, while Buddhist women face cultural prejudices that impact their employment opportunities. This study contributes to the gender equality discourse by providing insights into the specific experiences of women in Malaysia, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to combat sexism and promote a more equitable society.

Positive inclusive experiences of a same-sex desiring male Foundation Phase teacher

Background: Much work has been done to realise the discourse of diversity and gender equality in the perceived feminised Foundation Phase (FP) of teaching and learning. Part of the work was done through the inclusion of males in FP teaching to provide learners and teachers alike with diverse learning experiences. In South Africa, most research focuses on why FP teaching remains a feminised space, the marginalisation of few male FP teachers. However, less is known about male FP teachers’ positive inclusive experiences.Objectives: To contribute to the discussion by presenting Camagu’s case study, a same-sex desiring male FP teacher, and his positive inclusive experiences in a conservative context in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.Methods: A qualitative single case study methodology employing photovoice to elicit Camagu’s positive inclusive experiences in FP teaching.Results: Findings revealed positive inclusive practices implemented by the school, discussed under two themes: Finding a sense of belonging through school structures and ‘It’s nice to have someone as different as you in the school …’ - Learners’ perspective.Conclusion: The study suggests a need for increased support for school leadership and teachers to promote inclusive policies and practices affirming diverse identities of all learners and teachers.Contribution: Camagu’s experiences offer new research dimension by sharing best practices for fostering inclusive school environments. The study challenges deeply rooted gender norms in South African education, particularly in FP teaching. It advocates for inclusion and acceptance of male teachers, regardless of their diverse gender and sexual orientations, promoting gender diversity.

Two Gender–Equal Nations? Anti-Gender Re-Configurations of National Belonging in Sweden and Spain

ABSTRACT Gender equality and the rights of LGBTQI* and people of colour are being contested across the globe due to the rise of anti-gender far-right politics and movements that threaten feminist socio-political gains. In a nostalgic defence for a traditional gender order, these exclusionary politics articulate nativist, gendered and racial ideas of the nation. This paper examines anti-gender discourses in relation to dominant discourses of gender equality in specific national contexts and nation-making. We develop the concept of nation-gender equality nexus to account for the different imaginaries of the nation in relation to gender equality that are (re)produced by anti-gender forces through a comparative study of Sweden and Spain. We argue that Swedish and Spanish anti-gender actors configure nationhood and belonging through the reinterpretation of dominant discourses on gender equality in their respective contexts, identifying two main axes that articulate this construction: religion-secularism and migration-race. As a result, anti-gender actors produce different nation-gender configurations that lead to specific boundaries of national belonging and exclusion across the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, and citizenship.

Exploring Gender Equality: A Comparative Study of Contemporary Feminism, Islamic Perspectives, and Feminism in Sufism

This comparative study delves into the concepts of contemporary feminism and Islamic perspectives on gender equality and women’s rights, aiming to identify similarities, differences, and areas of convergence between the two frameworks globally. Drawing on a diverse range of feminist theories and Islamic sources, the study analyses key concepts, principles, and practices related to gender equality, women’s rights, and empowerment. Additionally, the article explores the inclusion of feminist perspectives from Sufism, further enriching the discourse on gender dynamics. By examining the intersections and tensions between these frameworks, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding gender equality discourse and ongoing conversations on women’s rights within diverse cultural and religious contexts. Objectives of the Study: To do a comparative study and explore the contemporary concepts and Islamic perspectives on gender equality with incorporation of feminist ideals within Sufism.

Gender equality discourse in islamic online media in social and contemporary history, 2000-2021

The article examine gender discourse channelled through Suara Aisyiyah magazine, part of Aisiyah, woman organization, with a gender perspective discoursed through online media. However, representations of gender discourse vary in different spaces and times, as well as different agents and contexts. Likewise with ways to channel ideas about gender that are part of the organization’s vision. To capture the transformation of gender discourse with online media, this study uses a historical approach with discourse analysis. Discourse analysis method to describe text and context will be used in data analysis. The periodization which is the starting point of this research is 2000-2021 (contemporary period). The digital platform is used to more broadly discuss the progressive Islamic identity that is carried by Suara ‘Aisyiyah, in that period. As we understand, online media has carried many identities, thus allowing “crossing” and “collision”. The various discourses raised by the Suara ‘Aisyiyah print newspaper clearly show the vision of the ‘Aisyiyah and Muhammadiyah organizations, such as the position of women in politics and women’s access to health and nutrition. Through preaching on social media, the spirit of equality was built by ‘Aisyiyah in all walks of life, such as by promoting the Elimination of Domestic Violence.

Questioning Freedom: A Transnational Feminist Critique of the Representation of Muslim Women in I am Malala?

Do Muslim women need freedom? has remained a contentious question in gender equality discourses since 9/11. In this ongoing debate, the usage of personal narratives of Muslim women plays a critical role in popularising the perception that Muslim women are denied their right to freedom in Islamic societies. Approaching these narratives with the idea of freedom configured in secular liberal tradition impedes the critical responsiveness to the variants of freedom that govern the lives of Muslim women. As a corrective to this long-held critical bias, this research contends that any attempt to settle this controversy needs to be attentive to the questions that must precede the readings of such narratives: What is freedom? Is it an essentialist idea? What practices harm Muslim women? What type of freedom do Muslim women need? This paper responds to these questions by situating them in its reading of I Am Malala to destabilize the mainstream readings of the text, which view the oppression of Muslim women as rooted in religion. Informed by the transnational feminist understanding of freedom as postulated by Serene J. Kahder in Decolonizing Universalism: A Transnational Feminist Ethic(2019), an anti-essentialist reading of this narrative rejects the representation of traditional forms of selfhood of Muslim women as marginalized compared to the dominant construction of individualized selfhood of Malala. Khader’s idea of freedom negates the liberal feminist’s approach to the value of independence individualism as a necessary precondition for freedom supports this paper to argue against the representation of Muslim women as oppressed in I am Malala.

Hukum Keluarga Islam Di Indonesia Dalam Diskursus Ketidaksetaraan Gender

This study aims to explain the concept of the Islamic family which is linked to the discourse of gender equality. The type of research is normative juridical with a fiqh approach and statute approach which is analyzed by means of prescriptive analysis. The results of the research found that Islamic family law (both in Islamic fiqh and the Compilation of Islamic Law) has a concept of gender relations that is different from the paradigm built by gender equality activists. This can be seen from the relationship between husband and wife and their respective rights and obligations (including polygamy), the existence of a marriage guardian for female brides (but not vice versa), the requirement of witnesses who count one man to two women, the provision of iddah for a woman whose marriage has ended, to the unequal share of inheritance between men and women where men get a share of two to one compared to daughters.

Intersectional Grassroot Reception: The Use of the Bible in Discourses of Gender Equality

This article explores how religious Latvian women draw on the Bible to discuss gender equality, examining the construction of their theologically based arguments and the conceptualization of gender equality within these discussions. The study investigates factors such as age, denomination, and education level that may influence their opinions. The findings reveal a "biblical reception at the grassroots," diverging from official religious community settings. Women, despite general assumptions or stereotypes, independently navigate gender roles through both religious texts and personal interpretations. The analysis applies gender theory, intersectionality, and reception history, emphasizing the role of biblical sources in shaping gender equality discourses. In the unique Latvian context, marked by a recent reversal of women's ordination and cultural tensions with the Western world, these women's perspectives on the Bible and gender equality offer distinctive and compelling insights.

The practical realization of the feminist welfare state: Equal sharing and gender equality in institutional interaction about parental leave in Sweden

Talk about gender equality in relation to parental leave is pervasive in Sweden. The state encourages families to share parental leave and has recurrently tasked the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) to promote gender equality. As theories and applications of street-level bureaucracy have emphasized, how policy is practically realized in social interaction with clients is an important question, specifically whether gender equality discourse also permeates such encounters. We use conversation analysis to examine how equal sharing of parental leave is raised in interactions between parents and practitioners at the SSIA. The data consist of 300 telephone calls, 378 email exchanges, and 642 Facebook exchanges. Our analysis indicates that the talk of equal sharing is not as omnipresent as previous research might suggest. When parents orient to equal sharing, they tend to describe parental responsibilities, while practitioners connect equality to regulations that in themselves work to promote equal sharing. Equal sharing is also a resource for negotiating the citizen–state relationship, as parents complain about state interference while practitioners in response must balance provision of personalized support with the state imperative to promote sharing. The study highlights the complex work of practitioners in the “feminist welfare state” and sheds light on nuanced notions of equality promotion.

Punished and banished: Non‐citizen women's experiences in a Danish prison

AbstractThe Nordics have employed discourses of gender equality and women's rights and a welfare‐oriented approach to punishment as integral parts of inclusive welfare states and their ‘goodness’. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with non‐citizen women at Vestre Prison in Denmark, this article suggests that the will to punish and banish prevails over the state's commitment to women's rights and protection. Rather than being an inherent feature of incarceration, the pain experienced by non‐citizen women in prison is a ‘political statement’ (Bosworth, 2023). Employing precarisation, incarceration and deportation to govern unwanted non‐citizens and (re)produce the borders of membership, the Danish state also reproduces the conditions for gendered harm. Bordered penality, this article concludes, is gendered.

Gender equality discourse in classical music higher education: Women, individualisation, and change

This article takes its’ starting point in the ongoing debate about gender and gender equality in higher music education (HME) institutions where new policies, projects and initiatives have been developed during the first decades of the 21st century. This article’s analysis is framed by feminist scholarship on gender equality, and gender mainstreaming, as well as music education research about gender and gender equality. The aim is to investigate how gender and gender equality is talked about in classical music higher education, analyse how it is experienced and in what terms it is described. The main research question is, how is gender and gender equality constructed among leaders, teachers and students in three HME institutions in Nordic (Finland), Baltic (Estonia) and Central European (Hungary) countries. It is based on qualitative thematic semi-structured interviews with 45 participants, analysed with qualitative data-driven content analysis. In the discussion we argue that gender and gender equality are, in our material, constructed as being about women, that gender is rarely related to other types of discrimination or inequalities and that the cause of gender inequality is individualised. The conclusions suggest steps for further pursuing gender equality in HME.

How is the Illusio of Gender Equality in Entrepreneurship Sustained? A Bourdieusian Perspective

AbstractStudies of gender and entrepreneurship highlight the problematic emphasis of the gender equality discourse in entrepreneurship that ignores wider structural inequalities but provide a limited explanation of how the allure of this discourse is sustained. To address this lacuna, we draw on Bourdieu's theoretical ideas to theorize and demonstrate how certain women trade‐off their capital endowments to compensate for gender inequality in entrepreneurship. Through an analysis of forty‐nine biographical interviews with women entrepreneurs in London (UK), we show two forms that the ‘illusio’ of gender equality manifests: ‘illusio of work‐life balance’, and ‘illusio of meritocracy’, and reveal how this doxic experience that escapes questioning and allows certain women to continue to play the game, entrenches the illusio of an entrepreneurial field free from gender bias. We thus illustrate the conditions of possibility and the various trade‐off mechanisms through which gender inequality in entrepreneurship is reproduced or contested.

Promoting Gender Equality and Empowerment: A Quranic and Hadith Perspective on Women's Roles in Islam

The Quran and the Hadith or prophetic traditions have defined the goal of Syariah as the manifestation of fairness and goodness. The Quran is a legal resource containing universal values guiding human life. Both women and men are essential beings. However, cultural, political, and interpretive power often make Islam seem unfriendly and discriminatory towards women. This study examines and analyses women's existence from an Islamic perspective. Specifically, this study will discuss women's existence in the discourse of gender equality, women's role in the domestic sphere, women's role in the public sphere, and the discourse on the future of women involving Islamic perspectives. The research method used is a literature review, specifically a study of Quranic and Hadith perspectives on gender roles and equality in Islam. The author systematically reviewed relevant literature, including Quranic verses, Hadith texts, and scholarly interpretations of these sources. The study's findings show that numerous verses in the Qur'an and Hadiths emphasize the equal status of men and women in the eyes of God and the need for justice and fairness in all aspects of life, including gender relations, women's role in the domestic sphere, and women's role in the public sphere. Women's participation in domestic and public life is essential for the country's development and progress towards a better future, particularly in Indonesia. Therefore, it is crucial to continue exploring and analyzing the different perspectives on women's roles in Islam, including in the domestic and public spheres, to promote gender equality and empowerment. This can be achieved through the development of more progressive fiqh that considers the evolving needs and roles of women in society.

Countering Social Stigma as the Basis of Interfaith Movement: A Case Study of Cadar Garis Lucu

One of the weaknesses of interfaith dialogue in Indonesia is the lack of participation and space for women’s voices. Almost all spaces for interfaith dialogue are dominated by men, even though women have an important role in interfaith dialogue. Therefore, we should involve more women than men, not only because women are the most affected when religious conflicts occur but previous studies have also shown that women are most effective in peacebuilding negotiation based on non-violent strategies. This study investigates an interfaith movement, Cadar Garis Lucu, which veiled/niqab women initiated to counter the stigma that veiled/niqab women are radical-extremist and anti-other religions. Besides being active in promoting peace and interfaith dialogue, Cadar Garis Lucu also promotes the discourse of gender equality. By employing qualitative research and in-depth interview method as the primary data collection technique, this study found that Cadar Garis Lucu is an interfaith movement that aims to counter society’s negative stigma towards women – both veiled/niqab women and women in general – and seeks to bring women to participate in interfaith dialogue. Furthermore, this study argues that there is no better way to peacebuilding than to give space for women in interfaith dialogue.

Cyberstalking practices: asymmetrical power relationships at the University of Dar es Salaam

ABSTRACT Cyberstalking, especially among university students, has become a critical social concern. While a growing body of research associates cyberstalking with abuse of technology, psychological instability and the perceived porosity of the legal systems, power inequality has not been foregrounded as a major driver. With a focus on establishing power relationships between victims and perpetrators, the study explored structural and social environments surrounding female students at the University of Dar es Salaam. The quantitative and qualitative data were collected with an online survey questionnaire distributed to 424 female students. Together with the questionnaire, deeper insights for the qualitative information were obtained from online interviews held with 30 female students and 15 key informants as well as from online Focused Group Discussion held with another cluster of 30 female students who had experiences of cybertalking. Interpreted from a feminist theoretical perspective and ‘gender digital divide’ stances, the results indicate multiple forms of unequal power relations surrounding third-world women internet users in universities. The study recommends strategies against gender inequality to be extended to cyberspace, while women’s empowerment in online spaces should be spearheaded in gender equality discourse.

Designing the Finnish basic education core curriculum: the issue of gender binarism

ABSTRACT This paper presents a novel process perspective on educational equality policies by examining the relationship between gender equality discourses and gender binary inequalities in the deliberative design process of the Finnish Basic Education Core Curriculum 2014. The analysis applies Nancy Fraser’s theory of three-dimensional justice to feedback comments (n = 73) and the equality statements included in the draft and final core curricula. The study demonstrates how gender equality discourses affirm or transform gender binary inequalities and how they changed statements between curriculum versions. The findings show that transforming gender binarism was possibly a challenge to promoting equality in the curriculum design process: No discourse alone was able to transform binarism, and only discourses affirming binarism changed the final curriculum. This paper argues that a combination of redistributive and recognitive equality discourses can contribute to the transformation of gender binarism to make it a core element of educational equality discourses.

Running up Against a Brick Wall: U.S. Metajournalistic Discourse of Gender Equality in Newsrooms

ABSTRACT Drawing on institutional theory, feminist critiques of three popular stances on gendered workplaces, and previous research about women in newsrooms, this study considers the metajournalistic discourse about gender equality in newsrooms through a discourse analysis of more than 500 online articles and blog posts in American journalism industry publications from January 2002 until September 2019. The findings confirm that the status of women journalists remains problematic. Journalists recognize that women remain underrepresented in terms of numbers and face a pay gap, a glass ceiling, and various forms of harassment. Solutions are sometimes presented in terms of women’s individual empowerment. Arguments in support of gender equality in newsrooms include improving journalism, reflecting greater diversity in society, widening audiences, increasing revenue, and audiences benefitting from women’s unique contributions. Journalists used discourse about gender inequality to reposition some institutional norms.

The Women’s Rights in Divorce and Gender Equality Discourse in The Dynamics of Divorce in Madura

This study investigates the dynamics of divorce in Madura and women's rights in divorce from a gender perspective. There are three main issues addressed in this study, those are the dynamics of divorce in Madura, women's rights in divorce, and gender equalities. This study is field research with a qualitative approach. The data used comes from primary data and secondary data. By conducting an in-depth analysis based on the sociological theory of gender, particularly Talcott Parson's theory of structural feminism, this study found some findings; firstly, the number of divorces, either from talaq divorce or judicial divorce, in Madura in the last five years has increased. This is because of the decline in ethics such as polygamy without the permission of the first wife, the low-income factor, the presence of a third party either due to parental interference or infidelity with other people, and disharmony due to disputes and differences of opinion; secondly, the number of divorce cases in Madura in the last five years has been dominated by judicial divorce rather than talaq divorce. In 2021, the percentage of judicial divorce compared to talaq divorce is around 73.04% to 26.96%, meanwhile, in 2020, this ratio was only 25.49% to 74.51%. Besides, in 2019, this was about 67.63% to 32.39%, in 2018 it reached 64.23% to 35.77%, and in 2017 it was about 67.18% to 2.82%; thirdly, the phenomenon of increasing divorce by law in Madura indicates that there has been a shift in perception among women about the meaning of divorce, as a response to the presence of legislation that provides room for legitimacy for women to file for divorce. In the perspective of contemporary feminism, the space for legitimacy contains the meaning of gender equality, and the patriarchal culture begins to collapse which has long been attached to the social system of the Madurese community.