Higher Levels Of Gender Equality Research Articles

Female undergraduate's perceptions of intrusive behavior in 12 countries.

The present study examines young women's (N = 1,734) perceptions of the unacceptability of 47 intrusive activities enacted by men. Female undergraduate psychology students from 12 countries (Armenia, Australia, England, Egypt, Finland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Scotland, Trinidad) indicated which of 47 intrusive activities they considered to be unacceptable. Responses were compared with parasite-stress values, a measure of global gender equality and Hofstede's dimensions of national cultures. There was no unanimous agreement on any of the items, even for those relating to forced sexual violence. Cluster analysis yielded four clusters: "Aggression and surveillance" (most agreement that the constituent items were unacceptable), "Unwanted attention," "Persistent courtship and impositions," and "Courtship and information seeking" (least agreement that the constituent items were unacceptable). There were no significant relationships between the "Aggression and surveillance" or "Courtship and information seeking" clusters and the measure of gender equality, Hofstede's dimensions of national cultures or the measure of parasite stress. For the "Unwanted attention" and "Persistent courtship and impositions" clusters, women residing in countries with higher gender inequality and higher parasite-stress were less accepting of behavior associated with uncommitted sexual relations, and women in more individualistic societies with higher levels of gender equality were less accepting of monitoring activities. Culture may take precedence over personal interpretations of the unacceptability of intrusive behavior that is not obviously harmful or benign in nature.

Countries with Higher Levels of Gender Equality Show Larger National Sex Differences in Mathematics Anxiety and Relatively Lower Parental Mathematics Valuation for Girls.

Despite international advancements in gender equality across a variety of societal domains, the underrepresentation of girls and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related fields persists. In this study, we explored the possibility that the sex difference in mathematics anxiety contributes to this disparity. More specifically, we tested a number of predictions from the prominent gender stratification model, which is the leading psychological theory of cross-national patterns of sex differences in mathematics anxiety and performance. To this end, we analyzed data from 761,655 15-year old students across 68 nations who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Most importantly and contra predictions, we showed that economically developed and more gender equal countries have a lower overall level of mathematics anxiety, and yet a larger national sex difference in mathematics anxiety relative to less developed countries. Further, although relatively more mothers work in STEM fields in more developed countries, these parents valued, on average, mathematical competence more in their sons than their daughters. The proportion of mothers working in STEM was unrelated to sex differences in mathematics anxiety or performance. We propose that the gender stratification model fails to account for these national patterns and that an alternative model is needed. In the discussion, we suggest how an interaction between socio-cultural values and sex-specific psychological traits can better explain these patterns. We also discuss implications for policies aiming to increase girls’ STEM participation.

Intimate partner violence against women and the Nordic paradox

Nordic countries are the most gender equal countries in the world, but at the same time they have disproportionally high prevalence rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. High prevalence of IPV against women, and high levels of gender equality would appear contradictory, but these apparently opposite statements appear to be true in Nordic countries, producing what could be called the ‘Nordic paradox’. Despite this paradox being one of the most puzzling issues in the field, this is a research question rarely asked, and one that remains unanswered. This paper explores a number of theoretical and methodological issues that may help to understand this paradox. Efforts to understand the Nordic paradox may provide an avenue to guide new research on IPV and to respond to this major public health problem in a more effective way.

Work–Family Conflict and Well-Being Across Europe: The Role of Gender Context

This study analysed whether gender context is important to differences in the relationship between work–family conflict (WFC) and well-being across Europe. We hypothesised that in countries that support equality in work life and where norms support women’s employment, the relationship between WFC and low well-being is weaker than in countries with less support for gender equality. Cohabiting men and women aged 18–65 years from 25 European countries were selected from the European Social Survey. A multilevel analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between well-being and WFC, and two measurements were used to represent gender context: gender equality in work life and norms regarding women’s employment. Contrary to the hypothesis, the results showed that the negative relationship was stronger in countries with high levels of gender equality in work life and support for women’s employment than in countries with a relatively low level of gender equality in work life and support for traditional gender relations. The context in which gender is constructed may be important when studying the relationship between WFC and well-being. In addition, emphasis should be placed on policies that equalise both the labour market and the work performed at home.

Contexto escolar y desigualdad de género en el rendimiento de comprensión lectora

El objetivo de este artículo es presentar nuevas evidencias sobre lasconsecuencias educativas de las características del entorno en la brechade género educativa. A partir de datos del Programa para la EvaluaciónInternacional de Alumnos (PISA), se evalúa en qué medida la brecha degénero existente en las puntuaciones de comprensión lectora estácondicionada por los diferentes contextos escolares y los niveles deigualdad de género de cada país. A partir del análisis multinivel observamosque la composición social de la escuela y el comportamiento de susintegrantes tienen una influencia significativa en la brecha de género, perode forma diferenciada. La brecha educativa de género aumenta cuandoempeora el clima escolar y cuando menor es la concentración de padrescon niveles educativos bajos. En sociedades con niveles superiores deigualdad de género las chicas incrementan los resultados de comprensiónlectora en mayor medida.

Prosecuting Rape Victims While Rapists Run Free: The Consequences of Police Failure to Investigate Sex Crimes in Britain and the United States

Imagine that a close friend is raped, and you encourage her to report it to the police. At first, she thinks that the police are taking her report seriously, but the investigation does not seem to move forward. The next thing she knows, they accuse her of lying and ultimately file charges against her. You and your friend are in shock; this outcome never entered your minds. This nightmare may seem inconceivable, but it has in fact occurred repeatedly in both the United States and Britain—countries that are typically lauded for their high levels of gender equality. In Britain, where perverting the course of justice is a serious crime with a potential term of life in prison, many rape complainants have been sent to prison for two and three year terms. This five-part Article analyzes this problem and sets out recommendations for legal reform.

Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and It's Impacts: Is the Example of Norway a Way Forward?

Norway is one of the most egalitarian countries in the world, with a high level of gender equality and a high percentage of women at work. Nevertheless, mandatory rules appeared necessary to bring about changes in the composition of corporate boards. This article describes the coup that made Norway the first country in the world to mandate gender diversity on corporate boards and outlines Norway’s innovative legislative approach to this issue. The significance of gender diversity to corporate governance is discussed, drawing on empirical studies of the effect of diversity on the performance of companies. The article also discusses the potentially broader impact of gender diversity in the boardroom, including the pressing question of whether gender diversity in the boardroom can help companies create sustainable value within the planetary boundaries.

Suicidality, Economic Shocks, and Egalitarian Gender Norms.

Durkheim conceived of suicide as a product of social integration and regulation. Although the sociology of suicide has focused on the role of disintegration, to our knowledge, the interaction between integration and regulation has yet to be empirically evaluated. In this article we test whether more egalitarian gender norms, an important form of macro-regulation, protects men and women against suicidality during economic shocks. Using cross-national data covering 20 European Union countries from the years 1991 to 2011, including the recent economic crises in Europe, we first assessed the relation between unemployment and suicide. Then we evaluated potential effect modification using three measures of gender equality, the gender ratio in labour force participation, the gender pay gap, and women’s representation in parliament using multiple measures. We found no evidence of a significant, direct link between greater gender equality and suicide rates in either men or women. However, a greater degree of gender equality helped protect against suicidality associated with economic shocks. At relatively high levels of gender equality in Europe, such as those seen in Sweden and Austria, the relationship between rising unemployment rates and suicide in men disappeared altogether. Our findings suggest that more egalitarian forms of gender regulation may help buffer the suicidal consequences of economic shocks, especially in men.

Vox populi or vox masculini? Populism and gender in Northern Europe and South America

ABSTRACTConceptually, populism has no specific relationship to gender; in fact, gender differences, like all other differences within ‘the people’, are considered secondary, if not irrelevant, to populist politics. Yet populist actors do not operate in a cultural or ideological vacuum. So perhaps it is the national culture and broader ideology used by populists that determine their gender position. To explore this argument, we compare prototypical cases of contemporary populist forces in two regions: the Dutch Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV, Party for Freedom) and the Dansk Folkeparti (DF, Danish People's Party) in Northern Europe, and the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV, United Socialist Party of Venezuela) and the Bolivian Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS, Movement for Socialism) in South America. Populists in Northern Europe are predominantly right-wing, yet mobilize within highly emancipated societies, while populists in South America are mainly left-wing and mobilize in strongly patriarchal societies. Our analysis provides a somewhat muddled picture. Although populists do not necessarily have a clear view on gender issues, the latter are clearly influenced by ideology and region. While left-wing populists tend to be relatively progressive within their traditional South American context, right-wing populists mainly defend the status quo in their progressive Northern European context. However, in absolute terms, the relatively high level of gender equality already achieved in Northern Europe is at least as advanced as the one proposed by the populists in South America.

Gender Diversity in the Board Room & Its Impacts: Is the Example of Norway a Way Forward?

It seems logical and obvious that limiting oneself to only men or only women in any corporate setting may diminish the potential for constructive and open-minded discussions that bring a company forward. Detrimental group-think is a risk in any very homogenous context. Conversely, the positive effects of diversity – gender, cultural and age – are well-known. Experienced business people will tell us that having a heterogeneous board is fruitful. So in the words of one of the male contributors at the gender diversity conference at Deakin University October 2014 where this paper was presented: “why don’t they get it”? Why the resistance, or formulated positively: the very slow progress, which underpins the discussion of whether to legislate to achieve change? The example of Norway is striking here. Norway is one of the most egalitarian countries with a high level of gender equality and a high percentage of women at work. Nevertheless, as this article outlines, mandatory rules appeared necessary to bring about the desired change in the composition of the boards – business did not do this on its own, in spite of a long grace period. The explanation to why they don’t get it seems to be a combination of be path-dependency, power and money.This article goes on in Section 2 to present the coup that got us this rule as the first country in the world and its innovative legislative approach. In Section 3, the Norwegian rule is elaborated on including its background as a corporate governance initiative rather than a gender equality one and the compliance by Norwegian companies. In Section 4, the article discusses the effect of the rule after first elaborating on the challenges and uncertainties connected with such an investigation. With these caveats, the corporate governance significance of gender diversity is discussed, drawing on empirical studies of the effect on the performance of the companies. This may be especially relevant for the discussion that the Norwegian rule has inspired in many jurisdictions around the world. The article also discusses the potentially broader impact of gender diversity in the board room, including the pressing question of whether gender diversity in the board room can help companies create sustainable value within the planetary boundaries. Section 5 concludes with some reflections as to whether Norway indeed here is an example to follow.

Win–win: Female and male athletes from more gender equal nations perform better in international sports competitions

The present study provides the first evidence that increased gender equality in a society releases the human potential not only of women, but also of men. Our research setting is the Olympic Games, the world's foremost sports competition and one of the few contexts in which men's and women's performance is fully segregated by gender and objectively measured at the highest levels. We find that even after controlling for potential third variables (i.e., national gross domestic product, population size, geographic latitude, and income inequality), higher levels of gender equality in a country predict significantly greater success at winning Olympic medals for both its female and male athletes. These findings contradict the common belief that access to opportunities is a zero-sum game in which gains for women inevitably result in losses for men. Rather, gender equality is a “win–win” that allows members of both genders to realize their true potential.

Double Standards: Differences in Norms on Voluntary Childlessness for Men and Women

We examined double standards in norms concerning voluntary childlessness. Whether the choice to remain childless is more accepted for men or women is not a priori clear; we formulated hypotheses in both directions. Parenthood might be considered as more central to women’s identity than to men’s, resulting in higher disapproval of childlessness for women. Yet, as the costs of parenthood are higher for women, people might also be more accepting of their choice to remain childless and disapprove more of childless men. Multilevel analyses were conducted, including individual and societal-level variables. Our sample consisted of N = 44,055 individuals nested in 25 European countries, obtained from the third round of the European Social Survey (2006). Subjective norms regarding voluntary childlessness were measured with a split-ballot design: half of the respondents were randomly assigned items regarding women choosing childlessness, and the other half was assigned items regarding men. Findings indicated that men were more disapproved of when choosing not to have children than women. Generally, this double standard was endorsed by women, not by men. Clear cross-national variation in the double standard existed, which was partly explained by the level of gender equality. We found that higher levels of gender equality were associated with larger double standards favouring women.

When they’re practically crying out for men – An ethnographic study of male health and social care students’ minority position

Sweden has a reputation as a country with a relatively high level of gender equality. Nevertheless, both the labour market and vocational training programmes in upper secondary school are highly segregated along gender lines. The present ethnographic study concerns the minority position and professional socialisation of male students taking part in a health and social care programme in upper secondary school in Sweden. In addition to observations, students, health and social care teachers and internship supervisors were interviewed. The study revealed that it was taken for granted that men were considered particularly valuable. The male students universally and frankly described how they expected to receive preferential treatment in future employment situations. They showed no sign of finding this as being unjust to their female colleagues. Furthermore, the emphasis on male students’ gender entails the risk that they will be treated more as men than as the nursing assistants they are training to be, which may hamper their professional socialisation.

Engendering social suffering: a Chinese diasporic community in northern Thailand

This paper examines how reproducing Chineseness has become a source of social suffering through the case study of a group of Yunnan Chinese who escaped Chinese communist rules in the Mainland in 1949 or shortly after and settled in northern Thailand in the 1960s. As self-proclaimed carriers of traditional Chinese culture, they worked arduously to replicate whatever they considered ‘authentic’ Chinese through a narrow interpretation of the Confucian moral tenets in daily life. The (re)establishment of a patriarchal social order in Thailand – a society with a relatively high level of gender-equality, has inflicted tremendous pain and suffering among women and youth in this reified society. Ethnographic fieldwork, upon which this paper was based, was conducted in Maehong Village, Chiang Mai Province, between 2002 and 2007.

Gender Equality and Market Location of Sex-Appeal Businesses: A Cross-Country Analysis

Drawing from social dominance theory and the theory of sexualization in advertising, we hypothesized an inverted-U- shaped association between gender equality and the market location of sex-appeal businesses. We tested this hypothesis by regressing market entry location on gender equality for two different American franchise restaurant chains—one operating under a sex-appeal business model and one operating under a traditional model. As expected, results indicated an inverted-U- shaped curvilinear relationship between gender equality and market entry of sex-appeal businesses, such that sex-appeal businesses are not likely to locate in countries either with very low or very high levels of gender equality, but are more likely to locate in those countries with moderate levels of gender equality. We did not find an inverted-U-shaped relationship for the traditional business model. Implications for theory and practice related to the elimination of sexism in work settings across countries are discussed.

The Retirement Provisions in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan: Perspectives on Policy Inputs and Social Outputs

This paper aims to develop an integrated policy index system using a Surface Measure of Overall Performance (SMOP) approach to comprehensively evaluate and compare the policy input and social output of the retirement payment system in urban and rural China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. With this, a tool may be developed to help insightfully examine the old‐age income policies and appropriately, and perhaps theoretically in the future, categorize the types of retirement provisions or social security policies as a whole in the East and West. The results indicate that, particularly in urban China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, a low level of de‐familization and medium and high levels of gender equality are the common features of these five pensions in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Furthermore, it is found that the retirement provisions in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan can well be divided into two groups based on the level of pension right protection and illustrate different characteristics between them accordingly. In addition, policy implications and suggestions for further reforms of these retirement payment schemes are elaborated in the light of the findings of this policy index system.

Macro-level gender equality and alcohol consumption: A multi-level analysis across U.S. States

Higher levels of women's alcohol consumption have long been attributed to increases in gender equality. However, only limited research examines the relationship between gender equality and alcohol consumption. This study examined associations between five measures of state-level gender equality and five alcohol consumption measures in the United States. Survey data regarding men's and women's alcohol consumption from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were linked to state-level indicators of gender equality. Gender equality indicators included state-level women's socioeconomic status, gender equality in socioeconomic status, reproductive rights, policies relating to violence against women, and women's political participation. Alcohol consumption measures included past 30-day drinker status, drinking frequency, binge drinking, volume, and risky drinking. Other than drinker status, consumption is measured for drinkers only. Multi-level linear and logistic regression models adjusted for individual demographics as well as state-level income inequality, median income, and % Evangelical Protestant/Mormon. All gender equality indicators were positively associated with both women's and men's drinker status in models adjusting only for individual-level covariates; associations were not significant in models adjusting for other state-level characteristics. All other associations between gender equality and alcohol consumption were either negative or non-significant for both women and men in models adjusting for other state-level factors. Findings do not support the hypothesis that higher levels of gender equality are associated with higher levels of alcohol consumption by women or by men. In fact, most significant findings suggest that higher levels of equality are associated with less alcohol consumption overall.

The Relationship Between Gender Equality and Rates of Inter- and Intra-Sexual Lethal Violence: An Exploration of Functional Form

Considerable attention has been given to the relationship between gender equality (GE) and levels of violence perpetrated by men against women in recent decades. Yet, the current state of the literature is equivocal. High levels of GE have been hypothesized to both decrease and increase men’s violence. This study proposes a theoretical account that integrates the ameliorative and backlash theses and offers a possible explanation for some of the inconsistent findings. Specifically, we argue that both ameliorative and backlash processes operate but that their relative strength and salience vary at different levels of GE. As a result of the interplay between these counter-balancing forces, the relationship between GE and levels of men’s violence men against women (and other men) is hypothesized to be curvilinear rather than linear. The results of multivariate analyses of male and female inter- and intra-sexual homicide offending offer robust support for this hypothesis.

The Measurement of Multidimensional Gender Inequality: Continuing the Debate

The measurement of multidimensional gender inequality is an increasingly important topic that has very relevant policy applications and implications but which has not received much attention from the academic literature. In this paper I make a comprehensive and critical review of the indices proposed in recent years in order to systematise the different underlying ideas. I also present new gender inequality indices that overcome some limitations of the preceding ones. Using United Nations data, empirical results for the new indicators are provided, suggesting that the choice of one indicator or another can make an important difference for the ranking of those countries that have achieved high levels of gender equality.

Long-Term Illness as an Occupational-Career Interruption: Gender Differences in the Determinants and Outcomes in Sweden

Abstract This paper examines one particular type of occupational-career interruption; long-term illness. Event history analysis is used to uncover gender differences in the factors that influence illness work absenteeism and regression for the consequences of this type of interruption in Sweden, a country with a generous welfare state and high level of gender equality. Analysis of a panel survey (HUS) attests to gender differences in both the determinants and the effects of illness interruptions. For example, having a child in the household and the absence of a spouse or cohabiting partner significantly raise men's likelihood of experiencing an illness interruption, but is non-significant for women. With regards to the consequences of an illness interruption, women suffer significant losses in wages, while men experience no significant effect. For women, working full-time and working in a blue-collar job influence wages at a significant level. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of s...