Gender Inclusion Research Articles

Gender Inclusive Policy approaches in Agroforestry Management: Some Insights

Agroforestry primarily provides several benefits by growing sustainability, by providing food, wood energy, shelter, fodder and fibre; generating economic gains to allow communities and societies to flourish; and promoting ecosystems. Various literature has shown that in the agroforestry system in connection to gender, policies have been ignored. Discrepancies are addressed in this particular section with few case studies, such as on the lack of clear statistics on the women and men participants engaged in different livelihoods in the agroforestry sector; gender-responsive project activities and policy action plan for sustainable development; commercial agenda of policy-making bodies in agroforestry system; gender blindness of policymakers about women and energy transformation, the right of women to access land; women in the value chain and extension service and concerning forestry associations and forest users' groups; etc. The invisibility of women in the workforce, more particularly in agroforestry scenario is undeniable. Unfortunately, the department of each concerning state have no detailed database on women in agroforestry to increase the job participation of women in the forestry sector and it is also true in the case of agriculture database of women. It is simply not possible to get a true picture for some academic purpose or because of curiosity if anyone checks data from women who work in the agroforestry sector. In the case of the agriculture scenario, documents of agricultural statistics and planning in the state also do not provide any information on the number of farmers or families engaged in the sector.

The missing link in the sustainability chain: Gulf women

Purpose This paper offers a unique perspective on the urbanisation process in developing cities, with a particular focus on the region of the Gulf States. Beyond economic considerations, the analysis sheds light on the complex interplay of socio-cultural factors, gender dynamics and urban development. Based on the calls for human-centred approaches to rethinking urban design and management of cities require the integration of these cities’ inhabitants’ lived experiences, that impact residents’ daily lives. The focus is on the importance of women’s perspectives in the development process.Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a systematic literature review that builds on existing knowledge relating to urbanisation, modernisation, sustainable cities, gender and the Arabian Gulf. It uses Lefebvre’s 'right to the city' theory to understand the evolution of the Gulf Cities which is a novel approach. This adaptation offers a unique perspective on the transformations and challenges that these urban spaces face. Furthermore, it offers a firm foundation for developing advanced knowledge on the interdisciplinary nature of the topic discussed and assists in integrating empirical findings and perspectives from different resources.Findings The extreme levels of transformation in urbanisation in the Gulf States built cities that are no longer solely places for settlement, production and services but operate as significant influencers on the social, economic and political relations that produced design and cultural challenges. These cities became epicentres of power and politics that shaped the national visions and influenced policy. The process of inclusive and considerate urban development that the Arabian Gulf region is aiming to embark on is not a new exclusive strategy. But a process that has been implemented and tested in other urbanised areas globally.Research limitations/implications Very little historical urban research on the Arabian Gulf countries exists, hence, the difficulty in researching the Gulf urbanisation process or providing historical encounters of the change.Originality/value This paper delves into the gendered aspects of urban planning, an aspect that is frequently overlooked. It contributes to the discourse on gender inclusivity in urban spaces by focussing on Khaleeji women’s experiences, offering insights that go beyond economic considerations. The use of Lefebvre’s “right to the city” theory to understand the evolution of the Gulf Cities is a unique approach. It investigates the interaction of various factors such as economic, cultural and political influences on Gulf urban development. This adaptation offers a distinctive perspective on the transformations and challenges that these urban spaces face.

EXPLORING THE INTEGRATION OF GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT CONTENT AND PEDAGOGY IN LANGUAGE TEACHING THROUGH THE LENS OF ENGLISH TEACHERS: A PHENOMENOLOGY

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore into the experiences of teachers on the integration of gender and development content and pedagogy in language teaching. This study was participated by the 13 teachers who were involved in the integration of gender and development in language teaching from the Schools of the Division of Davao de Oro. From the results, it showed that teachers have different lived experiences, coping strategies, and insights on the integration of gender and development content and pedagogy in language teaching. As such, the following themes emerged: using androgynous styles in forming groups; fostering gender-inclusive education; promoting equality and self-discovery through GAD Integration; issues of educating students on gender and development; and problems on gender inclusivity during group activities; utilizing and practicing gender-fair language; integrating GAD activities to teaching; being flexible and adaptive; promoting inclusivity and equality through GAD integration in education; recommending the continuation of GAD integration; and provision of GAD related training and seminar. KEYWORDS: integration of gender and development, language teaching, inclusivity, phenomenology, Davao de Oro

Effect of the electoral system on women's representation: Evidence from national elections of Nepal

The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of the electoral system on women's representation in Nepalese elections. The article utilizes a questionnaire-based approach to gather data on women's representation in Nepalese elections. The questionnaire is distributed to individuals from diverse backgrounds and aims to assess the influence of the electoral system on women's success in elections. The obtained data is analyzed to determine the correlation between the electoral system and women's representation. The study reveals that the use of the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system in the initial six elections resulted in limited success for women candidates. The proportional representation (PR) system, employed in the last three elections, led to a significant increase in women's representation. In the CA elections of 2008 and 2013, over 48 percent of women were elected through the PR system. Furthermore, in the 2017 House of Representatives (HoR) elections, more than 76 percent of female candidates emerged victorious. These findings emphasize the crucial role that the electoral system plays in promoting women's representation. This underscores the importance of selecting an electoral system that promotes gender equality and facilitates increased women's representation. The findings of this study have practical implications for electoral reforms in Nepal. Policymakers and electoral authorities should consider the impact of the electoral system on gender equality and design mechanisms to promote women's participation and success in politics. By implementing a more women-friendly electoral system, Nepal can strive towards achieving greater gender parity and inclusivity in its political landscape.

The Role of Gender Diversity in Horticulture: Strategies for Encouraging Women Participation in The Field

This study examines the critical dimensions of gender diversity within the horticulture sector, with a particular focus on addressing the pervasive issue of workplace harassment faced by women. Gender diversity is explored within the context of its broad spectrum, extending beyond traditional binary constructs to encompass a diverse range of gender identities. A demographic analysis of respondents reveals a diverse sample characterized by varying age groups, community backgrounds, marital statuses, and family types. This diversity highlights the necessity for tailored strategies to effectively address the multifaceted challenges and opportunities associated with promoting gender diversity and inclusivity within the horticulture sector.
 The study unveils concerning findings regarding women's experiences of workplace harassment, including instances of unwelcome conduct, sexually colored remarks, humiliating treatment, and gender-based discrimination. These findings emphasize the urgent need for implementing comprehensive policies and procedures aimed at combatting harassment and discrimination, thereby fostering a workplace culture rooted in respect, equality, and safety. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the imperative of prioritizing gender diversity initiatives and addressing workplace harassment within the horticulture sector.

Constructing A Climate-Smart readiness index for smallholder farmers: The case of prioritized bundles of climate information services and climate smart agriculture in Ghana

Issues around bundling of climate smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS) have been kept relatively distinct whereas in reality, they are more impactful when integrated. Using the case of the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Change Research in Africa (AICCRA) Project that emphasizes bundling as a critical component of research in development, six regions of Ghana were purposively selected based on the identified value chain crops for implementation. 120 respondents including practicing farmers and advisors as reference, rated contributions of 21 innovations to 25 climate smartness indicators. These include gender, youth and social inclusion (GSI), enabling environment (EE), ability to enhance soil, water, crop and animal health (One-Health Achievement) (OHA), end-user friendliness (EUF) and climate smart agriculture (CS) for prioritization, bundling and ultimately to construct a Climate Smart Readiness Index (CSRI). There was a high level of concordance between the ratings of farmers and advisors on the Climate Smartness; moderate concordance on OHA and a lower concordance on GSI. The CS and EUF had a significant and same agreement among farmers while EE had a substantial same agreement among advisors. These elements (CS, GSI, OHA, EUF, EE) formed an integral part of the CSRI construct confirmed by the Fornell-Larcker and the Heterotrait-Monotrait criteria. While OHA was the fundamental factor in determining CSRI for farmers, EE was considered more important by the advisors. CSRI informs policy makers and agricultural practitioners on appropriate bundling of CSA and CIS practices to generate evidence for farmer preparedness in the context of resilience, productivity, adaptation, and mitigation.

Are family businesses more gender inclusive in leadership succession today? A perspective article

PurposeThrough this exploration, this article seeks to contribute to facilitate a greater female participation in power and leadership positions in the context of succession by presenting perspectives in research and practical implications for both family firms and business families.Design/methodology/approachLiterature review of seminal work on women’s involvement in the leadership succession of family firms and systematic reviews related to the topic published in the last 15 years.FindingsPast research shows that the landscape of gender inclusion in the context of succession has evolved, offering women more access to leadership positions in family firms. Perceptions of women as invisible in business or playing emotional roles in the family, shifted to leaders, managing family business. However, access to leadership positions is not equitable to all regions and women leaders still face significant challenges to achieve legitimacy and recognition inside and outside the organisation. Future research should contribute to the enhancement of gender inclusion in leadership of family firms. Action research and interventions in both family firms and business families are ways to achieve this.Originality/valueThis paper elaborates on new research avenues and provides practical insights into how to enhance gender inclusion in the context of succession at both business family and family firm’s realms.

Institutional quality, information and communication technologies and gender inclusion nexus: global comparative evidence

PurposeDespite the longstanding male dominance in the socio-politico-economic spheres, recent decades have witnessed remarkable improvements in gender inclusion. Although the issue of gender inclusion has been widely documented, answers to the question of whether institutional arrangements and information technology shape gender inclusion remain contentious. This study, therefore, empirically examines the effects of institutional quality and information and communication technology (ICT) penetration on gender inclusion on a global scale.Design/methodology/approachTo control for the endogeneity of modeled variables and cross-sectional dependence inherent with large panel datasets, the study employs the Driscoll-Kraay fixed effects (DKFE) and the system generalised method of moments (GMM) estimators for a panel of 142 countries from 1996 to 2020.FindingsThe empirical findings from the DKFE and system GMM estimators reveal that strong institutions significantly enhance gender inclusion. Moreover, by disaggregating institutional quality into various governance indicators, we show that besides corruption control, which has a positive but insignificant effect on women’s empowerment, other governance indicators significantly enhance gender inclusion. Furthermore, there is evidence that various ICT measures promote gender inclusion.Practical implicationsThe study results suggest that policymakers in developing countries should implement stringent measures to curb corruption. Moreover, policymakers in low-income countries should create avenues to facilitate women’s access to ICTs. Hence, policymakers in low-income countries should create and equip ICT training centers and render them accessible to all categories of women. Furthermore, developed countries with high-tech knowledge could help developing countries by organizing free training workshops and sensitization campaigns concerning the use of ICTs vis-à-vis women empowerment in various fields of life.Originality/valueThe present study fills a significant research gap by comprehensively exploring the nexuses between governance, ICT penetration and the socio-politico-economic dimensions of gender inclusion from a global perspective. Besides the paucity of studies in this regard, the few existing studies have been focused on either region and country-specific case studies in developed or developing economies. Moreover, this study is timely, given the importance placed on gender inclusion (SDG5), quality of institutions (SDG16) and ICT penetration (SDG9) in the 2015–2030 global development agenda.

Advancing gender inclusivity for Two-Spirit, trans, nonbinary and other gender-diverse blood and plasma donors.

Two-Spirit, trans, nonbinary and other gender-diverse (2STGD) donors face challenges in donation. While many blood operators aim to address these challenges, to date, no empirical study with these donors has been conducted to guide their efforts. This paper reports 2STGD donors' views on a two-step approach asking donors their gender and sex assigned at birth (SAAB), and expanding gender options in donor registration. A qualitative community-based study was conducted with 2STGD donors (n = 85) in Canada. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted from July to October2022, audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using a thematic analytic framework. Participants were divided on their views of a two-step approach asking gender and SAAB. Themes underlying views in favour of this approach included the following: demonstrating validation and visibility, and treating 2STGD donors and cisgender donors alike. Themes underlying views not in favour or uncertain included potential for harm, compromising physical safety, and invalidation. All participants were in favour of expanding gender options if blood operators must know donors' gender. Results indicate that a two-step approach for all donors is not recommended unless the blood operator must know both a donor's gender and SAAB to ensure donor and/or recipient safety. Gender options should be expanded beyond binary options. Ongoing research and evidence synthesis are needed to determine how best to apply donor safety measures to nonbinary donors.

Gender and Development Integration in the Curriculum towards Inclusive Education

This study investigates how students' attitudes regarding gender roles, academic success in STEM disciplines, and involvement in gender-related activism are affected by the inclusion of gender in development courses. In order to provide a thorough understanding of the consequences of gender integration, the study uses a mixed-methods research design that draws on feminist theory, social learning theory, and critical pedagogy. While qualitative analysis focuses on students' participation in gender-related activity, quantitative analysis looks at changes in students' perceptions toward gender roles and academic success in STEM disciplines. The results demonstrate the beneficial effects of gender integration on students' perceptions of gender roles, with inclusive curricula challenging prevailing prejudices and enabling learners to adopt more equitable viewpoints. Students are shown to be motivated to participate in gender-related activities by gender integration. An inclusive curriculum encourages active engagement and helps to bring about social change through bringing attention to issues, advancing social justice, and giving students the tools they need to confront gender inequality. Overall, this study emphasizes how important it is to integrate gender perspectives into the classroom in order to establish welcoming and equal learning environments. The findings underscore the necessity to include gender-related concerns in educational policies and practices and add to the body of research on gender integration. Society may work toward gender equality and enable people to be change agents by adopting inclusive education.

Challenges and opportunities for improving access to adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health services and information in the coastal counties of Kenya: a qualitative study

BackgroundGlobally, adolescents and youth experience high unmet need for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and services. In Kenya, evidence shows that more than half of teenage pregnancies are unintended and that half of all new HIV infections occur in people ages 15-24-year-olds, with the majority of those being female. The coastal counties in Kenya record a relatively high adolescent pregnancy rate and higher rates of unmet need for contraception for all women of reproductive age compared to the national average. This study focused on gaining a deeper understanding of the existing challenges to and opportunities for accessing SRH information and services among adolescents and youth (AY) at the Kenyan coast.MethodsUsing qualitative methods, this study conducted thirty-six focus group discussions with adolescents, youth, and community health volunteers across all the six coastal counties in Kenya. The sample included adolescents aged 10–14 years in school (male and female), adolescents aged 15–19 years not in education (male and female), youths aged 20–24 years (mix of both male and female), and community health volunteers who were conveniently sampled. Thematic analysis was used to examine the data and report the study results.ResultsThe barriers to accessing AYSRH identified in the study are individual factors (feelings of shame, lack of information, and fear of being judged) parental factors, healthcare worker and health institution factors, teacher/educators factors, and broader contextual factors such as culture, religion, poverty, and illiteracy. Factors that facilitate access to AYSRH information and services included, supportive parenting and culture, AYSRH sessions in schools, peer support, supportive health institutions, gender inclusivity, and digital technology.ConclusionsAYSRH information and services at the Kenyan coast is strongly influenced by a range of individual, social, cultural, and economic factors. Improving access to AYSHR necessitates meaningful AY engagement, provision of youth-friendly services, use of digital technology as alternative pathways for sharing SRH information, strengthening parent-AY relationships, embracing peer-to-peer support, and the adoption of gender-inclusive approaches in AYSRH programming.

WOMEN IN ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING: A REVIEW OF PROGRESS, CHALLENGES, AND THE PATH FORWARD

This comprehensive review explores the evolving landscape of women in accounting and auditing, shedding light on the progress made, persistent challenges faced, and the promising path forward. Over the past few decades, the accounting profession has witnessed a notable increase in the representation of women, reflecting a broader societal shift towards gender inclusivity. While significant strides have been made in terms of entry into the profession and academic achievements, gender disparities persist, particularly in reaching leadership positions within accounting firms and corporate boardrooms. The review delves into the factors contributing to the progress of women in accounting and auditing, examining initiatives such as mentorship programs, diversity and inclusion policies, and educational outreach. It also highlights the pivotal role of professional organizations in fostering an environment that encourages and supports the career advancement of women in the field. Despite these positive developments, the review identifies persistent challenges, including gender stereotypes, work-life balance issues, and unconscious bias, which continue to impede the full realization of gender equality in accounting. Moreover, the paper explores the implications of the gender gap on the profession's overall effectiveness, emphasizing the importance of diverse perspectives in ensuring robust financial reporting and auditing processes. The review concludes with a forward-looking perspective, proposing strategies and recommendations for overcoming existing challenges and advancing the role of women in accounting and auditing. This includes targeted mentorship and sponsorship programs, continued advocacy for workplace flexibility, and a commitment to challenging and dismantling systemic barriers. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the status of women in accounting and auditing, offering insights into both the achievements and hurdles they face. By understanding the current state of affairs, stakeholders can collaboratively work towards creating a more equitable and inclusive future for women in the accounting profession.
 Keywords: Accounting, Women, Auditing, finance, Review.

Towards a more equitable ELT practice: Practicing queer inquiry in Thailand's university language classrooms

AbstractDespite the sustained focus towards inclusive language teaching and queer pedagogy in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and language education in recent years, employing an inclusive pedagogical practice and having language teaching resources that respect the gender identity among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) students remain a challenge in many English language teaching (ELT) classrooms throughout the world. Employing an auto‐ethnomethodological approach, in this article the authors present their teaching practice experience in an attempt to queer their ELT classroom and provide a safe space for all gender identities in learning the language through a queer‐informed language teaching framework in an ELT classroom at a university in Thailand. It is the goal of this inquiry to add to the empirical evidence for gender inclusivity in an ELT classroom. Additionally, this study offers language practitioners consideration for having a queer‐informed classroom where there is diversity, inclusion, and engagement and where students are free to discuss their sexual identities, adding to the growing influence of gender perspective and inclusivity in heteronormative language education.

Gender-inclusive consumer studies improve cassava breeding in Nigeria.

Including gender research in cassava breeding makes it easier for farmers to adopt new varieties that meet the specific needs and preferences of both male and female farmers, leading to increased adoption of new varieties, improved productivity, and better economic outcomes for the entire farming community. Gender was included in 2013 in variety development at the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, Nigeria in response to the dis-adoption of some varieties by farmers who had not been part of varietal development from the start, and in light of social roles which influence the responsibilities, resources and livelihood outcomes of men, women and youths. Gender inclusion has given plant breeders accurate information about the cassava traits preferred by all end-users, not just male farmers. At NRCRI, gender studies intensified in the last 5 years, contributing to the development and release of improved varieties. Quantitative and qualitative research by the gender cross-cutting team modeled trait profiling and consumer preferences, to aid demand-led breeding. Some of the methods were acquired at several trainings on how to quantify qualitative responses for prioritization. Gender research techniques include participatory varietal selection (PVS), participatory plant breeding (PPB), mother-baby trials, focus group discussions (FGD), surveys, value chain mapping, G+ tools, experiments in farmer field schools (FFS), demonstration farms, and tricot. These gave the cross-cutting team a better understanding of gender relations, power, decision-making, ownership and control of resources, and have mitigated operational and field challenges during the surveys. These methods also elicited feedback from end-users that led to better naming of newly released varieties, reflecting perceptions of agronomic performance, and food qualities, which made the varieties easier to identify and remember.

Achieving Humanist Cities: Learning From Urban Feminism and Feminist Planning

As planners and urbanists continue to debate urban reforms needed to achieve humanist ideals – including just forms of sustainability – several different schools of thought are vying for influence, including cultural urbanism (celebrating the everyday, temporal, occasional, and timeless), pluralist urbanism (aiming for a co-produced city that is more democratic, participatory, and open-ended), and inclusive urbanism (focusing on the right to the city and its accommodations for all populations). Here, we examine feminist urbanism – the specific challenge of gender-equal spaces, particularly public spaces – as a model framework that suggests how the other schools of thought can be combined and translated into practical action. We focus on the nature and importance of public space and the role of gender inclusiveness in assuring public spaces that are more broadly open, participatory, pluralist, and supportive of temporal and everyday activities. We thus find that the emerging concept of feminist urbanism reveals essential issues for a wider humanist urbanism – in particular, who the city is meant to serve and whether the public realm is equitably ‘public’ to all its users. We note major remaining questions and research lacuna to be investigated, and we conclude with several policy and design recommendations.

Gender and diversity competence in sport studies programs in higher education

Introduction Inclusion and diversity have become increasingly important in the context of sport in recent years. Numerous sports organizations and sports policymakers are committed to enable more inclusive sport. Led by the idea of a sport for all, everyone should be able to participate in sport regardless of gender, sexuality, dis_ability, race, or class. Inclusive sport does not only require specific structural conditions. It also demands social actors who have the skills to deal with the challenges of social diversity in an open, appreciative, and innovative way. Coaches, officials, teachers, journalists, and economists working in the field of sport need to be familiar with the topics of gender equity, diversity, and inclusion. This is where the project “Understanding and Experiencing Diversity” (funded by the Swiss Federal Office for Sport) comes in. It aims to develop and test a concept for promoting gender and diversity competence in sport-related higher education, thus enabling social actors to shape sport in a diversity-conscious and inclusive way. Methods The project is being carried out over a period of three years and consists of four project phases. After a phase of conceptual clarification regarding the theoretical framework and terminology, current approaches to gender and diversity competence (in the sport studies context) are being critically analysed. Against this background, phases three and four of the project will focus on the development of a sport-related teaching concept for gender and diversity competence and its testing at three different universities. Results/Discussion The understanding of gender and diversity competence developed in this project is theoretically based on the “trilemma of Inclusion” by Boger (2019). It thus refers to inclusion and non-discrimination as a complex structure of normalization, deconstruction, and empowerment. This is also linked to an intersectional perspective on social differentiation and discrimination (Degele & Winker, 2011). Regarding the promotion of gender and diversity competence in higher education, the attitude of social actors towards diversity and inclusion proves to be particularly important. This aspect has not yet been systematically considered in the context of sport-related higher education in German-speaking countries. The teaching concept developed in this project therefore emphasizes the aspect of attitude (Rischke et al., 2017).

Unveiling the Power of Liberal Feminism in Namita Gokhale's Selected Works: A Journey Towards Gender Inclusivity

Liberal feminism serves as a crucial theory that ignites equality between men and women. The aim of this study is to introduce liberal feminist concepts into Namita Gokhale's selected works. The author of these works delves into women's lives and the reinforcement of men, reflecting the principles of liberal feminism. What sets liberal feminism apart from other theories is its support for men while advocating against male discrimination. Notably, Roman Payne, among numerous liberal feminist thinkers, emphasizes the significance of liberal feminism in his book Hope and Despair. Payne's work conveys the idea that "A woman must prioritize her liberty over a man in order to attain happiness" (Payne, 2008). This notion underscores women's pursuit of freedom and equality. Consequently, this study concentrates on women's lives depicted in Namita Gokhale's works, drawing comparisons to the ideals of liberal feminism.

Women's and men's experiences with participative decision-making at workplace and organizational levels.

The concept of participative decision-making (PDM) has been well established as a positive organizational factor, and has recently gained attention as a measure of gender inclusivity in the workplace. However, findings regarding gender differences in the experiences of PDM are inconclusive. This study hypothesized that women perceive themselves as less influential than men at the organizational level rather than at the workplace level. Furthermore, the study explored whether these assumed gender differences depend on the gender typicality of occupational positions and professions. We expected gender differences to be more pronounced for male-typed positions and professions (e.g., leadership, engineer) compared to non-male-typed occupational positions and professions (e.g., non-leadership, nurse). Data on experiences with participative decision-making at the workplace and organizational levels were drawn from a large representative Swedish survey (N = 10,500; 60% women). Results showed that women experienced being less influential than men at the organizational level, whereas the experiences of women and men did not differ at the workplace level. The gender difference at the organizational level was not related to the gender typicality of position and profession. The findings highlight the importance of the inclusion of both women and men in strategic, large-scale decisions for achieving gender equality at work.

Gender and Culture Inclusivity in the Story of Hope Fashion Collection.

Discrimination against minority groups often still occurs and becomes a global problem. The problem of discrimination, such as minority gender and cultural minorities, is a social issue that needs to be exposed to get awareness. Inclusivity is one of the methods used to increase awareness of issues of gender and cultural discrimination. Inclusivity is one of the discourses to answer the challenges of sustainable development goals related to the topic of gender equality and reducing inequality. Fashion is a branch of design that often presents the context of inclusivity through works. The discourse of glocalization in the fashion industry also provides an opportunity to raise local content related to minority culture and gender as inspiration and communication through fashion works. The Story of Hope collection is an example of a fashion creation with the theme of gender and minority culture. The problem discussed in this paper is how gender and cultural inclusivity communicated through fashion stories of hope. The study applied qualitative methods with primary data collection techniques through observation and interviews. The secondary data obtained through literature studies. The theory used in analyzing the data uses a Barthes semiotic approach and postmodern aesthetic of bricolage. The Story of Hope collection is a fashion creation that adapts gender-fluid trends and applies traditional fabrics to represent culture in contemporary clothing. Story of Hope collection can be used as a communication tool in conveying inclusive discourse through its constituent visual elements.

The intersection of tradition and modernity: governance in Somaliland

This study critically examines Somaliland's unconventional journey to statehood post-Siad Barre's regime, challenging thenotion that the absence of centralized governance leads to chaos. Employing a mixed-methods approach that combinesprimary data from interviews with a comprehensive literature review, the analysis highlights Somaliland's effective use ofindigenous institutions in state-building since 1991. Central to this process is the 'Beel' system, facilitated by the Guurti(Council of Elders) and the Borama Conference, merging traditional and modern governance mechanisms. Despite facingcriticisms over clan representation, administrative efficiency, gender inclusivity, transparency, and democratic values, thissystem has been pivotal in maintaining peace and fostering state development. The study underscores Somaliland's resilienceand stability, illustrating the innovative governance model's role in its unrecognized statehood status. How to cite this article using ASWDNet style Biruk, S. D. & Getachew, K. N. (2024). The intersection of tradition and modernity: governance in Somaliland. People centred – The Journal of Development Administration (JDA), 9(1), 17-24. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jda.v9i1.3 Visit journal website: https://jda.africasocialwork.net