Improve Gender Equality Research Articles

Millennium development goals in Papua New Guinea: towards universal education

Globally, about 175 million children have no access to universal education in 2017. Nearly, 16 million young children in East Asia and Pacific Region are not enrolled into school, accounting for 19% of children in pre- and primary school age. This paper analyses surveillance data, extracted from the integrated Health and Demographic Surveillance System (iHDSS) database, developed by Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research in the period 2011–2017 to assess the implementation of Millennium Development Goals associated with universal education in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Net enrolment rate in primary education was 58%. Only 28% of children aged 7 were enrolled in Grade 1, and only 7% of children aged 15 years reached Grade 8 in the school year 2015. Late enrolment into Grade 1 among children aged 7 years was identified as the main cause of low net enrolment rate, leading to low completion rate of primary education in the following years and affecting the overall quality of universal education. Despite the improvement in gender equality, males had better access to education services than females as reflected in high male-to-female student ratios among the schooling age population, 5–24 years, which increased from 108 at primary to 132 at secondary and 181 at tertiary education. Educational policy-makers and practitioners should take immediate actions to improve net enrolment in Grade 1 and completion rate at primary education, as well as gender equality in education in PNG.

Women Underrepresentation in R&I: A Sector Program Assessment of the Contribution of Gender Equality Policies in Research and Innovation

Despite decades of efforts to achieve gender equality in research and innovation (R&I), all EU member states still face remarkable difficulties in driving forward the development of their innovation system while at the same time improving gender equality by using all the available research potential. In this paper we focus on the development of the share of women researchers in four national innovation systems, i.e. in Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Spain in the time period 2005-2015. The four selected cases represent countries with significant differences in their innovation capacity, gender regimes and progress of gender equality in R&I. A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is carried out to conduct a sector program evaluation based on statistical data and qualitative studies to understand the dynamic development of the proportion of women researchers. The study aims to provide insights into the aggregated gender equality interventions and policies implemented in the four countries studied and their contributions to the development of the proportion of women scientists at the structural level. The analysis reveals that the development of the share of women researchers during the studied period has been particularly influenced by contextual factors, namely the relative size of the business enterprise sector and the share of women among holders of tertiary education. While this is the case, it is found that gender equality interventions need to be more widespread and more effectively designed to be a strong contributing factor to an increasing representation of women in R&I.

Yes We Can, But How? Women’s Representation in Global Business

Prior research has shown that improving gender equality in the workplace would provide multiple benefits for organizations across sectors and borders. However, despite much work on this goal, women remain woefully underrepresented in the upper echelons of organizations around the world. The problem is that organizations want the benefits that greater gender diversity brings; many are actively trying to achieve those benefits; but they are falling short. This paper investigates this issue and provides several policy suggestions to help organizations better harness the benefits that women can bring across the globe.

Labor market and management of gender based decision making

Improving gender equality in decision-making is a very important issue in a country's economic development. The main purpose of the research is to analyze the level of central level decision making and the alignment of the labor market at Kosovo level on gender basis. Also, this paper presents a theoretical focus on the role of decision making for a better service and the possible management of gender equality counseling programs in the economic, political and social spheres. Kosovo continues to face challenges as well as a marked disparity in women's disadvantage in regards to managing the gender-based decision-making process at both the central and the local level. Although there are laws that stimulate gender equality, the position of women in decision-making in public life in terms of contributing to economic, political and social development endeavors are lacking their increase in participation and decision-making at both central and local levels.

Trends in Women\u2019s Employment and Poverty Rates in OECD Countries: A Kitagawa\u2013Blinder\u2013Oaxaca Decomposition

Although employment growth is propagated as being crucial to reduce poverty across EU and OECD countries, the actual impact of employment growth on poverty rates is still unclear. This study presents novel estimates of the association between macro-level trends in women’s employment and trends in poverty, across 15 OECD countries from 1971 to 2013. It does so based on over 2 million household-level observations from the LIS Database, using Kitagawa–Blinder–Oaxaca (KBO) decompositions. The results indicate that an increase of 10% points in women’s employment rate was associated with a reduction of about 1% point of poverty across these countries. In part, this reduction compensated for developments in men’s employment that were associated with higher poverty. However, in the Nordic countries no such poverty association was found, as in these countries women’s employment rates were very high and stable throughout the observation period. In countries that initially showed marked increases in women’s employment, such as the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Canada, and the United States, the initial increases in women’s employment rates were typically followed by a period in which these trends levelled off. Hence, our findings first and foremost suggest that improving gender equality in employment is associated with lower poverty risks. Yet, the results also suggest that the potential of following an employment strategy to (further) reduce poverty in OECD countries has, to a large extent, been depleted.

QATARI FEMALE MANAGERS IN A WORLD OF PATRIARCHY

Purpose: The State of Qatar has widely sought to include women in public life and has implemented several policies in order to improve gender equality in the workforce and fair distribution of development benefits. This study establishes how far the State of Qatar has achieved the equality of women in the workplace, since the initiation of new reform policies and agendas of modernisation in 1995. Qatari women in leadership positions still face major challenges in relation to cultural limitations and organisational constraints; these areas need to be further developed to improve the degree of gender equality and close the wide gap between the two genders in terms of economic rights and equal opportunities in the labour force.
 Methodology: This paper uses semi-structured interviews which were conducted with twenty-five women aged all of whom held senior management positions in a range of civil society and public sector organisations in Qatar at the time of the interview. The twenty-five participants who participated in the study ranged in age from 34 to 61 years.
 Main Findings: The findings suggest that Qatari women are helped by two forces: the support they are getting from the ruling family and the impact of reforms and social change in surrounding regions. Indeed, the slow pace of social reform is one of the common complaints of progressives.
 Implications/Applications: Therefore, focused, procedural steps should be taken to enforce adherence to frameworks by governmental institutions and to amend existing legislation to tackle the challenges faced by women. These steps include implementing some social policy recommendations in terms of establishing and funding women’s civil society organisations, integrating an evaluation and monitoring system in governmental organisations, promoting work/family policies, and initiating a feminisation policy in government organisations.

Pragmatic ex-ante evaluation using an innovative conceptual framework: The case of a high-tech entrepreneurship program for women

Program designers at local project level usually design interventions under conditions of scarce resources and bounded rationality lacking sufficient information about the process and impact mechanisms of the complex social programs they design and implement. This paper proposes a model for pragmatic ex ante evaluation using an innovative conceptual framework for practitioners working in the field to improve gender equality in research and innovation.The presented and applied model is pertinent to the theory-oriented evaluation tradition using a logic frame and a theory of change approach adapted to the special requirements of ex-ante evaluation. The model is illustrated by the case study of a program for the promotion of women entrepreneurship in the STEM fields.It is concluded that in a setting with limited resources and information, ex-ante evaluations should aim at defining clear conditions of proportionality and need to take into account the extent to which contextual factors hinder or facilitate the implementation of a program, and the specific institutional and system mechanisms at play, in order to enable proactive risk management from the beginning.

Public recognition of gender equality in the workplace and its influence on firms' performance

The strong presence of gender inequality in companies has been given great attention at an institutional and research level. In order to acknowledge organizations committed to eliminating this gender gap, a seal of distinction for equality in the workplace was created at an institutional level in Spain. Although this type of public recognition can improve gender equality in the workplace, the aim of this research is to study whether it also has a favorable impact on the financial performance of Spanish companies. To do so, the variation in financial performance has been analyzed before and after the concession of this distinction, taking into consideration its relationship with a series of economic and gender variables. The implementation of a panel data regression has shown that sales, worker efficiency, and how efficiently directors manage the company have a positive influence on financial performance in the period subsequent to institutional recognition for adopting equality measures in the workplace. In addition, if the person presiding the company is a woman, this implies a positive influence on financial performance.

STRATEGI DINAS PEMBERDAYAAN PEREMPUAN DAN PERLINDUNGAN ANAK (DPPPA) KABUPATEN KARAWANG DALAM PROGRAM PERAN SERTA DAN KESETARAAN GENDER DALAM PEMBANGUNAN

The results of this study indicated that the Strategy carried out by the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Office of Karawang Regency, as a goal to accelerate the role of women and gender equality in various fields of development. At the Goal, the objective increased the role of women in politics. It improved gender equality in development planning documents. The implementation environment of the strategy and the threatening externalenvironment came from the influence of the Patriarchal culture. Theunpreparedness of women in various fields of development and incomplete understanding of gender. Theopportunity got great support from the Karawang Regent. The internal environment was supported by good organizational capacity. Determining Direction carried out with each SKPD in Karawang who has a gender analysis workflow method namely (Gender Analysis Pathway) GAP and (Gender Budget Statment) GBS by targeting a minimum of 10 SKPD and maximizing the quota of 30% women to be legislated until the target of Karawang DPRD Chair is female. The action was carried out by providing socialization to the SKPD to include the work method of gender analysis in each development planning document and providing training needed by female legislative candidates. Learning was carried out by conducting direct socialization to the Head of the SKPD who has the power in the process of making planning documents and pressing political parties to increase the presence of female party cadres in each training made.

Women’s Empowerment in Village Governance Transformation in Indonesia: Between Hope and Criticism

Since the launch of Law No. 6/2014 regarding villages, scholarly concerns on village studies are growing. However, studies focusing on gender equality in Village Law implementation are still few. This article discusses the responses of the village government to gender problems in their respective areas. Based on field research in two villages in Java, namely Panggungharjo and Lerep, this article recognizes that there is greater attention on gender issues since the implementation of the law. However, village heads still dominate village policymaking. Further, although gaining some supports, gender issues are still placed as the secondary among the village development priorities. They also lack of empowerment programs that will have a direct impact on the improvement of gender equality. Considering these criticisms, there is a crucial need for the national government to issue regulations that will encourage a stronger assertion of gender equality in Village Law implementation.

Impacto de la Perspectiva de Género en la Resiliencia de la Cadena de Suministro

Para mejorar la igualdad de género, reducir daños de reputación en las organizaciones y mejorar su resiliencia, es necesario analizar su situación real y participar en un diálogo constructivo. Sin embargo, a menudo éstas carecen de la formación necesaria para implementar políticas exitosas con ese fin. Este artículo trata de cubrir dicho vacío proponiendo una herramienta para evaluar la inclusión de género actual en las CS. Se evalúan tres objetivos: 1) garantizar negocios con organizaciones que respeten la igualdad de género, 2) promover el emprendimiento femenino y 3) divulgar políticas de igualdad de género a lo largo de la CS.

A case study of a community center project based on appropriate technology as a community capacity building of underdeveloped country

ABSTRACT This study is a case study on community center planning in Gondrapa Village of Mymensingh City, Bangladesh, where the urban poor are densely populated. The goals of the plan are to build the capacity of the community, improve the local sanitation level, improve gender equality, and create a more sustainable urban environment. Particularly, this project was judged that the process of project planning and construction through participatory design and implementation with local residents contributed to enhance the local residents’ pride and the consciousness of the residents themselves.

Where’s dad? Exploring the low take-up of inclusive parenting policies in the UK

ABSTRACTThis research explores approaches to promoting gender equality in the workplace by highlighting barriers to take-up of statutory policies designed to increase fathers’ involvement in childcare. Specifically, the paper examines why take-up of Shared Parental Leave (SPL), designed to improve gender equality in the workplace and home, has been low in the UK. There is a dearth of academic literature in this area. Extant grey literature suggests financial barriers, maternal gatekeeping and the perceived effects of extended leave on fathers’ careers are key, but fails to explore other barriers, or the variations in take-up. We interviewed 70 men and women entitled to SPL to address these limitations. We identify new barriers, notably poor policy communication at an organizational level, perceived policy complexity and societal expectations around maternal identities, while also showing how these barriers affect different groups of parents. We find professional couples are most likely to take SPL, particularly where the mother earns more or the father’s company enhances Shared Parental Pay. The complex, multiple barriers parents face also differ, according to the couple’s educational background and the workplace culture. Finally, we offer recommendations for increasing SPL take-up and driving workplace gender equality in the UK and internationally.

Do parliamentary gender quotas decrease gender inequality? The case of African countries

Many countries in Africa score very low on gender equality measures; yet, they have some of the highest percentages of women in parliament. They have managed to achieve significant representation of women in government through fast track measures such as the implementation of gender quotas. In the context of fast track reform, this paper evaluates the effectiveness of such parliamentary gender quotas in general, and in particular of different types of quotas, for improving gender equality in African countries. Our empirical results suggest that although all mandated quota systems lead to an increase in the number of women in policy-making, the type of quota affects the de facto ability of women in parliament to influence legislative agendas and ultimately to improve the lives of women. Our findings have implications for the design of affirmative action measures targeting women’s participation in the political process.

Social and Demographic Predictors of Gender Inequality Among Heterosexual Couples Expecting a Child in Central Kenya

Imbalance of power and equality in sexual relationships is linked to health in various ways, including (1) reduced ability to get information or take action, (2) increased violence between partners, and (3) influence on the reduced use of health services. While there has been research assessing multiple social and economic variables related to gender inequality, studies have used many different definitions of gender inequality, and there is a lack of this research within a pregnancy context. Here, we attempt to identify social and economic predictors of gender inequality (measured by decision-making power and acceptance of intimate partner violence) within heterosexual couples expecting a child in central Kenya. We ran a secondary data analysis using data from a three-arm individually randomized controlled HIV self-testing intervention trial conducted in 14 antenatal clinics in central and eastern Kenya among 1410 women and their male partners. The analysis included Cochran Mantel-Haenszel, logistic regression, proportional odds models, and generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) framework to account for site-level clustering. Overall, we show that there are significant social and economic variables associated with acceptance of intimate partner violence including higher age, being married, “other” religion, lower partner education, higher wealth status, and variables associated with decision-making power including lower partner education and lack of equality in earnings. This study contributes to the literature on the influence of social and economic factors on gender inequality, especially in Kenya which has a high burden of HIV/AIDS. Our results show some areas to improve these specific factors (including education and employment opportunities) or create interventions for targeted populations to potentially improve gender equality in heterosexual pregnant couples in Kenya.

Doing research and ‘doing gender’ in Ethiopia’s agricultural research system

This article presents data from an experimental gender audit that was completed of the national agricultural research system in Ethiopia. The results show how agriculture researchers understand and practice gender in Ethiopia and what the research outputs say about Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture Research (EIAR)'s ability to incorporate gender across the research process. The article applies gender mainstreaming theory and feminist research methods and methodologies to frame the analysis. This body of scholarship highlights crucial questions that go beyond the counting of male and female participants in research surveys and the recruitment of female informants, a problem at EIAR. The article argues that focusing on gender mainstreaming ignores the power relations that currently maintain the status quo and prevent a substantial approach to ‘doing gender’ from evolving. In order to improve gender equality in Ethiopia’s agriculture sector, EIAR needs to expand the methodologies currently used and include and raise awareness for feminist methods. This study adds to the emerging literature on Ethiopian women studies, gender mainstreaming, institutional reform, and gender research methods.

The Gender Gap in Education Investment and the Demographic Transition in Developing Countries: Theory and Evidence

We propose a unified growth model linking technology, education investment across genders, and fertility to explain, for 20th century developing countries: (i) the demographic transition, (ii) the improvement in gender equality in education, and (iii) the transition to sustained growth. The mechanism comprises three components. First, technological progress reduces housework time --- through the creation and diffusion of labor-saving home appliances --- freeing women's time for childrearing and labor-force participation. Second, as housework time decreases, households invest relatively more in their daughters' education given its higher return --- due to the initial imbalance --- thus improving gender equality in education and increasing the opportunity cost of childrearing. Third, the narrowing of the education gender gap increases average human capital, accelerating technological progress. This reinforcing loop results in the transition to a new fertility regime and accelerated economic growth. We provide the empirical confirmation of the model's predictions using data from developing countries in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Inequality of Opportunity in China's Labor Earnings: The Gender Dimension

AbstractThis paper investigates the inequality of opportunity in China's labor earnings, defined as the component of inequality determined by personal circumstances that lie beyond the control of an individual, of which gender is one, as opposed to the component determined by personal efforts. Using the Survey of Women's Social Status in China (2010), we measure the share of inequality of opportunity in the total inequality of individual labor earnings for people aged 26–55 years, and separately for six birth cohorts and for female and male subsamples. Gender is revealed as the single most important circumstance determining nationwide individual labor earnings, with one's region of residence, father's occupation, father's education, birth cohort and holding rural or urban hukou also playing significant roles. A further investigation into the roles of circumstances and personal efforts (including education level, occupation, Communist Party membership, migration and marital status) confirms that circumstances play an alarmingly high role in shaping labor earnings distribution in China, and reveals notable gender differences that cannot be attributed to personal effort alone. These results provide the basis for recommending ways to improve gender equality of opportunity in the future.

Do Female CEOs Make a Difference? Evidence From Vietnam

This paper examines the effect of gender in corporate leadership on the performance and risk of Vietnamese listed firms. We find that firms with female CEOs generate higher profitability than those with male CEOs. In addition, firms led by female CEOs experience less systematic and idiosyncratic risks as well as lower volatility in their returns on assets. These results are robust under different regression specifications. Our results support the hypothesis that women offer unique perspectives, experiences, and work styles that benefit firms and that provide evidence for continuing government efforts to improve gender equality in Vietnam.

And … action? Gender, knowledge and inequalities in the UK screen industries

This article explores how a knowledge ecology framework can help us better understand the production of gender knowledge, especially in relation to improving gender equality. Drawing on Law, Ruppert, and Savage, it analyses what knowledge of gender inequality is made visible and actionable in the case of the UK screen sector. We show: (i) that the gender knowledge production for the UK screen sector operated with reductionist understandings of gender and gender inequality, and presented gender inequality as something that needed evidencing rather than changing; and (ii) that gender knowledge was circulated in two relatively distinct circuits, a policy‐ and practice‐facing one focused on workforce statistics and a more heterogeneous and critical academic one. We then discuss which aspects of gender inequality in the UK screen industry remained invisible and thus less actionable. The article concludes with a critical appreciation of how the knowledge ecology framework might help better understand gender knowledge production, in relation to social change in the UK screen sector and beyond.