K-Pop has developed into a key instrument of South Korean cultural diplomacy with global reach, including in Indonesia. Behind its success as a soft power tool, K-Pop harbors complex dynamics of gender representation, particularly regarding the position and role of women. This study aims to analyze women's representation and agency in South Korean cultural diplomacy through K-Pop in Indonesia during the 2022–2023 period. This study uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive-interpretive design, combining a poststructuralist feminist perspective and cultural diplomacy theory. Data were collected through a documentary study of K-Pop cultural products and in-depth interviews with K-Pop fans in Indonesia. The results show that women play a central role in K-Pop's global success, both as idols and as active fans. However, women's representation in K-Pop is still dominated by standardized beauty standards and images of femininity. On the other hand, women's agency emerges through fandom practices that allow female fans to actively interpret, critique, and negotiate the meaning of gender representation. This study also found that gender issues have not been explicitly integrated into South Korean cultural diplomacy policies. These findings confirm that cultural diplomacy through K-Pop is dynamic and involves active interaction between the country, industry, and the recipient society.

ABSTRACT This study advances political representation theory by distinguishing between General and Concrete Substantive Representation, extending Pitkin's framework to capture specificity levels in representational practices. We introduce ‘Everyday Feminism’ as the practical manifestation of feminist principles in municipal governance, examining how councilwomen navigate between abstract ideals and tangible community needs. Using mixed-methods content analysis, we analyzed complementary representation spheres: ‘overt’ Facebook posts and ‘covert’ council meeting protocols from 32 Israeli councilwomen across 27 municipalities (October 2021-May 2022). The study identified six categories of women's interests and five action strategies. Findings reveal a digital-institutional divide: council meetings generate higher proportional engagement with women's issues (20%) than Facebook (11%) but focus almost exclusively on concrete interests (99% relative to 1% general). Facebook balances concrete local concerns (65%) with general advocacy (35%). Platform affordances fundamentally shape representational practices—council meetings prioritize actionable policy proposals within institutional constraints, while Facebook enables community mobilization. The gap between spaces reflects their different functions: council meetings manage logistics, while Facebook enables enacting change. Online representation adds another layer to local representation through mass-personal community contact, facilitating concrete assistance to individuals, groups, and local women.

This essay will focus on the images of the female body that appear in two texts by Euripides: Medea and Bacchae. It aims to visualize and explain how the relationship between woman and body is articulated in Euripides’ tragic discourse. It is interesting to highlight that, within the logic of the Greek imaginary, the female body is a privileged space for the inscription of social representations and practices; that is, the female body is a symbolic and representational space where dominant cultural patterns appear and are performed (Citro 2010). Medea will be considered a representation of Feminine Emotionality; the Bacchae will be considered as representations of Woman and her relationship with the Divine, and in particular with Dionysian religiosity, which possesses many elements associated with corporality and the feminine.

Earnings management remains a relevant research issue due to the separation of ownership and control, which creates agency conflicts. Earnings management can be reduced by implementing effective corporate governance. One of its aspects is governance structure, which includes the board of commissioners, board of directors, and audit committee. This study aims to examine the effect of the proportion of women on the board of commissioners, board of directors, and audit committee on earnings management. The sample includes 363 non-financial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, with an observation period from 2016 to 2023; these were selected using purposive sampling and analyzed through panel data regression. This study shows that the proportion of women on the board of directors and audit committee has a negative effect on earnings management, while the proportion of women on the board of commissioners does not affect earnings management. The presence of women comprising at least 35% on the combined board of directors and audit committee negatively affects earnings management. However, this study does not find any significant effect of the presence of women comprising at least 35% in a single position or in combined positions on earnings management. These findings provide practical implications for company management to enhance women's representation, especially on the board of directors and audit committee, thereby reducing the likelihood of earnings management.

ABSTRACT In South African (and other) English classrooms, students are expected to study poetry. However, students often find this to be both challenging and of little relevance to their lives. To ameliorate this challenge, we used a qualitative, interpretive action research study, using popular music, to support the study of poetry. This paper considers students’ gendered responses in cycle five of the study where the song Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys was used to study the poem Women by Alice Walker. Findings generated from written work, class discussions, and a research journal indicate that, although the song was a suitable choice to support the teaching of the poem, male and female students reflected contrasting responses and emotions. Some males felt marginalised, whilst most females felt inspired and empowered. It became clear that studying poetry (or any literary genre) needs to be underpinned by inclusion and openness to diverse voices.

ABSTRACT Periods of social and economic crisis offer critical opportunities for journalists to interrogate gender inequalities, specifically the gender stereotypes and norms informing and perpetuating them. The COVID-19 pandemic is an example of this when gender inequalities were aggravated due to health, socio-economic, cultural, factors and emergency regulations in place. This exploratory study adopts a qualitative approach to analyse representations of women in mainstream media in Ireland during this time. Harnessing theoretical and methodological tools from Frame Analysis [Goffman, E. (1974). Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. Vancouver: Harvard University Press] and Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis [Lazar, M. M. 2007. “Feminist critical discourse analysis: Articulating a feminist discourse praxis.” Critical Discourse Studies 4 (2): 141–164], discourses on key social actors and issues are examined along with the strategies and linguistic devices employed to construct them. Findings suggest that while a range of frames can be traced in the corpus which highlight women’s vulnerabilities, a frame focused on women’s health, specifically on experiences with maternity and related issues and services, was predominant, reinforcing the traditional association of women with the domestic sphere. However, the range of linguistic tools, sources and statistics employed demonstrates critical nuances among the newspapers studied, reflecting their different ideological positions. Overall, while inequalities faced by women during this period were acknowledged, gender stereotypes and norms were ultimately sustained rather than challenged.

The extent to which the cardiovascular benefits of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT-2is) and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) differ by sex remains unclear. This systematic meta-analysis aimed to investigate sex differences in trial representation and the cardiovascular and kidney efficacy of SGLT-2is and GLP-1RAs in patients with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D). Cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs) were identified through searches in MEDLINE, Embase, and CENTRAL, and manual search of ClinicalTrials.gov up to August 2025. Sex-specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Sex-differential treatment effects were assessed using the ratio of HRs and meta-regression. Across 47 articles from 25 unique CVOTs (n > 185 000) published between 2015 and 2025, women were less represented (approximately one-third of trial participants). SGLT-2is and GLP-1RAs significantly reduced cardio-kidney outcomes in both men and women. In individuals with T2D, SGLT-2is significantly reduced risks of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) 0.87 (0.80-0.95) and composite cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure 0.73 (0.64-0.83) in men, with broadly similar results for women and also for both sexes in individuals without T2D. In individuals with T2D, GLP-1RAs reduced MACE risk in men 0.89 (0.82-0.96) and women 0.83 (0.77-0.91). Pooled ratio of HRs showed no significant sex differences, though some cardiovascular benefits appeared slightly greater in women; formal interactions were not statistically significant. SGLT-2is and GLP-1RAs provide broadly comparable cardio-kidney benefits across sexes in patients with and without T2D. The lower representation of women in CVOTs warrants attention.

Although the number of women in psychiatry has increased substantially, gender disparities remain in leadership and visibility at scientific meetings. Country income level also affects academic participation, but its impact within the field of psychiatry remains underinvestigated. This study examined gender and income disparities at the country level, as well as gender and income disparities within countries, at two consecutive World Congresses of Psychiatry (WCPs), held in Austria (2023) and Mexico (2024). The scientific programs of WCP 2023 and WCP 2024 were systematically reviewed to identify all speakers and chairs. Data were extracted on gender, role, session type, and country income level, classified according to World Bank criteria. Gender was determined from congress profiles, photographs, pronouns, or the Gender API. Statistical analyses included chi-square tests with Bonferroni corrections, with significance set at p < 0.05. WCP 2023 featured 999 speakers/chairs, and WCP 2024 featured 574. Women's representation increased significantly from 37.4% in 2023 to 43.4% in 2024 (χ² = 5.382, df = 1, p = 0.020). Participation from low- and middle-income countries also rose in 2024, while men's representation from high-income countries declined. Several session types in 2024 reached or exceeded gender parity, including Distinguished Lectures (58.3%), Panel Discussions (50%), and Early Career Psychiatrist Sessions (60%). Women's representation at WCPs has shown encouraging improvement, although parity has not yet been achieved, and differences are evident by country income level. Hosting congresses in middle-income countries may support broader participation. Continued monitoring, mentorship initiatives, and inclusive conference policies can further strengthen gender equality and global representation in psychiatry.

Visual and Professional Representation of Women in Media

Differences Among Generations of Women Neurosurgeons in a Department Surpassing the Gender Tipping Point.

Promoting or hindering equality? State feminism and the representation of queer women in state-controlled newspapers and Weibo

In this feminist stylistic analysis of Jeanette Winterson's “Message in a Bottle,” we meticulously explore how the author uses narrative, language, and syntactical elements to depict the struggles of women in the postmodern era. Through a detailed examination of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, sentence structure, point of view, repetition, allusion, dialogue, and irony, the analysis reveals the nuanced representation of women's experiences. Special attention is directed towards the portrayal of female characters, emphasizing Winterson's capture of the multifaceted nature of women navigating societal complexities. The scrutiny of symbolic elements illustrates women grappling with and resisting unpredictable challenges, highlighting their agency and resilience against societal expectations. By bridging narrative, language, and syntactical stylistics, the study offers a holistic understanding of how Winterson's stylistic choices shape the interpretation of themes central to the female experience, including love, transformation, and the passage of time in “Message in a Bottle”.

This paper delves into Maya Chowdhry’s Monsoon through an interdisciplinary lens, examining its exploration of menstruation, ecological renewal, and feminine identity. The analysis situates Monsoon within feminist ecological literature and performative representations of women’s experiences, emphasizing its critical engagement with societal taboos and cultural renewal. By integrating concepts from psychoanalysis, ecological feminism, Indian aesthetics, and postcolonial hybridity, the study highlights the play’s innovative approach to reframing abjection and celebrating cycles of life and empowerment.

Introduction: This study explores the representation of women’s empowerment during the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, as portrayed in Tahmima Anam’s trilogy—A Golden Age (2007), The Good Muslim (2011), and The Bones of Grace (2016). It examines how women transcended traditional gender roles to actively engage in the national struggle, making significant contributions to both the war effort and the post-war nation-building process. Methods: A qualitative textual analysis of the selected novels was conducted, framed by theoretical perspectives on gender and nationalism by Nira Yuval-Davis and Floya Anthias. The study critically explores key themes related to women’s resistance, empowerment, and their evolving roles in societal transformation during and after the war. Results: The analysis reveals that the Liberation War created unique opportunities for women to challenge patriarchal norms and assert their agency. In Anam’s trilogy, female protagonists are depicted as pivotal figures in combat, resistance movements, and post-war social reform. However, despite these active contributions, post-war narratives often marginalize their roles, reflecting societal tendencies to overlook the achievements of women in national struggles. Conclusions: The study concludes that Anam’s trilogy redefines women’s roles during wartime, presenting them as empowered agents of change. It stresses the importance of recognizing and documenting women’s contributions to national struggles, underscoring their resilience in overcoming gendered barriers amidst historical and social upheavals.

Neurological diseases include a large variety of conditions ranging from inflammatory, vascular and neurodegenerative disorders to epilepsy and headache. The impact of sex and gender on various aspects of these conditions (epidemiology, risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical features, treatment, and management of pregnancy and breastfeeding) is still not entirely taken into consideration, despite a rapidly increasing body of evidence. This position paper covers six neurological conditions (Alzheimer’s Disease, Cerebrovascular disease, Parkinson’s disease, Epilepsy, Headache disorders, Multiple Sclerosis) providing an overview of available evidence on sex and gender differences, identifying knowledge gaps and providing recommendations for clinical practice and future studies. We recommend taking into consideration modifiable sex and gender specific risk factors, the role of hormones across women’s lifespan and a personalized treatment approach based on gender. We also recommend that future efforts should be devoted to increase the representation of women in clinical studies, to promote sex and gender-based guideline production and to better characterize the safety profile in pregnancy of newer drugs.

This study examines the multimodal construction of Muslim women's image in Buttonscarves ads, drawing on both verbal and visual components. Four official Buttonscarves campaign videos comprise the study data. The verbal mode was examined using Halliday's (2014) Systemic Functional Linguistics theory, while the visual mode was investigated using Machin &amp; Mayr's (2012) Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis method. While the verbal analysis addressed mood, modality, polarity, temporal deixis, and speech function, the visual analysis concentrated on salience, color, attributes, background, size, and tone. The findings demonstrate how the hijab and the figures of women are visually portrayed through aspirational metropolitan settings, warm, vibrant colors, upscale, high salience, and semi-formal apparel attributes. Modern Muslim women are portrayed as elegant, independent, professional, and of high social standing. In verbal communication, the prevalence of declarative mood, positive polarity, and the absence of imperative and interrogative forms suggest an affirmative communication style that does not allow for compromise. This multimodal result demonstrates the existence of a consumerist ideology of femininity grounded in contemporary religion, which frames the hijab as a sign of social class, lifestyle, and contemporary goals in addition to being a symbol of piety. Aspirational capitalism, spiritual capitalism, and religious postfeminism are all reflected in this portrayal, where empowerment is determined by style, consumerism, and visual performativity in accordance with market principles. According to this study, Buttonscarves' commercials not only offer goods but also create an ideology that balances consumerism, modernity, and spirituality in the representation of modern Muslim women. This article contributes to multimodal critical discourse analysis by integrating MCDA and systemic functional linguistics to demonstrate how verbal and visual modes interact to construct ideological meanings in premium hijab advertising. This domain remains largely underexamined in contemporary discourse studies.

Analysing the Literary Representation of Women's Influence in Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

This research aims to analyze gender relations and the stereotype of women as housewives in the Soklin Liquid 2024 advertisement. This research uses Roland Barthes' semiotic method to explore the representation of women through denotation, connotation, and myth. The theoretical framework of this research is based on the concepts of gender relations, stereotypes, and advertising to understand how social norms shape perceptions of women's roles. The research results show that this advertisement reinforces the traditional stereotype of women as housewives responsible for domestic tasks, such as doing laundry. Women are depicted wearing neat clothing, staying indoors, while men and children are shown enjoying leisure time outside the house. This representation maintains the view that women's primary role is limited to household tasks, reflecting existing cultural norms.

The purpose of this study is to critically review the global beauty culture towards women in the digital era from the perspective of Qur'anic ethics, representing several female figures in the Qur'an as role models who demonstrate that the value of humanity and the virtue of women are determined by moral integrity, social roles, and steadfast faith, not solely by standards of physical beautyAlthough research on the representation of women's bodies in digital media is growing, there is still a lack of research that connects with ethical principles in the Qur'an, especially in the context of internalized beauty standards. This study uses a qualitative method with a comparative analysis approach. The study focuses on comparing the phenomenon of beauty construction that has developed on social media with the Qur'an's perspective on the position of humans. The results of this study show that the Qur'an gives an overview of beauty is not about the shape of the face or body, but the balance between inner and outer, ethics in appearance, and self-awareness before God. This is in stark contrast to digital culture that standardizes beauty narrowly, often reducing women to visual objects.

The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Women (Oxford University Press, 2023), edited by Asma Afsaruddin, offers a rigorous, multidisciplinary inquiry into the politicized discourses surrounding Muslim women. Bringing together leading scholars across fields, the volume interrogates the lived experiences, historical roles, textual interpretations, and global representations of Muslim women (Afsaruddin, 2023). The volume stands as a timely corrective to ideological framings that obscure the complexity, heterogeneity, and historical depth of Muslim women’s realities. This review critically evaluates the work’s contributions to Islamic studies, gender theory, and epistemologies of power, foregrounding its significance in contemporary debates on agency, reform, and religious authority. In recent decades, the figure of the Muslim woman has become both a symbol and a battleground in global ideological discourses—variously framed as a victim of religious patriarchy, a threat to liberal secularism, or a marker of authenticity in postcolonial nation-building. The Oxford Handbook of Islam and Women resists such reductive tropes. It presents instead a nuanced, rigorous, and richly layered account of Muslim women’s roles, voices, and representations across time and space. Comprising 32 chapters, the volume offers an impressive breadth of academic inquiry, encompassing historical, theological, legal, sociopolitical, and literary analyses.