Successful Women Research Articles

Does Ecological Harshness Influence Men’s Perceptions of Women’s Breast Size, Ptosis, and Intermammary Distance?

Breasts are sexually dimorphic physical characteristics, and they are enlarged post-puberty suggesting that they have been driven by sexual selection to signal fertility and residual reproductive value. Although different hypotheses have attempted to explain why men are attracted to women’s breasts, the role that ecology plays in men’s perceptions of women’s breasts has been limited. The current study used an ecologically harsh prime to investigate if ecological harshness influenced men’s perceptions of women’s breast size, ptosis (i.e., sagginess), and intermammary distance. Men were primed with an ecological harsh prime (i.e., economy uncertainty) and asked to rate women whose breast size, ptosis, and intermammary distance (i.e., cleavage) had been manipulated. Ecological harshness only influenced men’s perceptions of women’s breasts for reproductive success. Overall, men rated women with larger breasts as more attractive, fertile, healthier, reproductively successful, and likely to befriend. The study contributes to the overall literature on men’s perceptions of women’s breasts and suggests that ecological harshness may influence men's perceptions of women's reproductive success.

Entrepreneurial Success for Women through Microfinance and Effect of Education: Evidence from Sri Lankan

Entrepreneurial Success for Women through Microfinance and Effect of Education: Evidence from Sri Lankan

Expanding Research on Working Women More Globally: Identifying and Remediating Current Blindspots

AbstractDespite numerous calls for more culturally diverse research on women and work, research continues to predominantly study Western and developed countries. In this article, we summarize 10 critical blindspots in existing research. These 10 blind spots are (1) a narrow conceptualization of what work means, (2) limited access to educational and training opportunities, (3) underexamined barriers to employment, (4) pay inequities and unpaid work, (5) disparate views of sexual harassment and its acceptability in the workplace, (6) gender‐based discrimination in the work environment, (7) an absence in addressing menstrual‐related issues that impede women's success, (8) unaddressed issues with a work‐life interface, (9) a lack of support for working parents, and (10) a lack of legal protection for working women. We define what these issues are, what research exists, and why these blind spots are necessary to address in order to understand women at work across global contexts. We discuss how the research published in this issue of the Journal of Social Issues addresses some of these topics, and suggest how research can continue to advance our knowledge.

Shared interests or sexual conflict? Spousal age gap, women's wellbeing and fertility in rural Tanzania

The marriage of older men to younger women is common across cultures. On one hand, husband-older marriage may serve the interests of both sexes, a conclusion broadly consistent with reported gender differences in mate preferences. On the other hand, men alone may benefit from such marriages at a cost to women if seniority enables men to exert dominance in conflicts of interest. Indeed, in public health large spousal age gaps are generally deemed “pathological”, both as a cause and consequence of gender inequalities harmful to women. We investigate these alternative models of spousal age gap using data from a cross-sectional survey of women in Mwanza, northwestern Tanzania (n = 993). Consistent with the notion that spousal age gaps are a product of sexual conflict, women typically married with a larger age gap than stated ideals. However, adjusting for potential confounds, spousal age gap was not associated with fertility or the risk of divorce. Furthermore, women's mental health and autonomy in household decision-making was higher in husband-older marriages compared to rare cases of same-age or wife-older marriage. Beyond this comparison, the magnitude of spousal age gaps was unrelated to either measure of women's wellbeing among the overwhelming majority of marriages where the husband was older. Together these findings suggest husband-older marriage does not influence marital stability, relatively large spousal age gaps are neither especially costly nor beneficial to women, and that alternative sociodemographic factors are more important in driving variation in women's wellbeing and reproductive success in this context. Our results support neither a model of mutual benefits, nor a pathological conceptualization of spousal age gaps. We conclude by both encouraging evolutionary human scientists to engage more fully with models of sexual conflict in future studies of marriage and mating, and suggesting that public health scholars consider more neutral interpretations of spousal age differences.

Candidate Emergence and the Success of Women

At least partially in response to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election (Jordan and Balz 2018), 2018 witnessed a record number of women running for and winning legislative elections across the country. This candidacy surge affords a unique opportunity to evaluate why individuals choose to run for office. Extant literature identifies both individual- and institutional-level determinants of candidate entry, yet little attention has been given to a critical institutional feature that can encourage or discourage women to put their names forward: primary type. This article develops a model of candidate emergence positing that different primary systems—by virtue of including and excluding the participation of various subpopulations of a state’s electorate—will be more or less attractive to potential female candidates relative to potential male candidates. We uncover evidence consistent with our theory: women appear less interested in running in certain types of primaries (e.g., semi-closed) but find other systems more appealing (e.g., nonpartisan). The results also indicate that after considering primary type, women tend to outperform men in the subsequent general election across the board. This study provides encouraging evidence that closing the representation gap is an increasingly achievable goal but that the rules of the electoral game continue to determine who is playing.

The Success of Women's Participation In Resolving Conflicts In Liberia

The Civil War that occurred in Liberia has been going on for a long time, where there are two rebel groups, they are: Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). Both of these rebel groups have caused gender inequality in Liberia continuously, especially women who have been victims of this war. However, with the efforts and participation of women from Liberian society, the war was successfully reconciled without creating violence. This research is aimed at realizing that women are not only victims of gender inequality, but can also be 'agents of change' in creating peace and better change for the future of a country. This research will use qualitative research methods, that emphasize the observation and understanding of a social phenomenon, where data is collected through secondary data and literature review. This research will analyze the case using three concepts: Feminism, Gender Equality, and Peace. The research concluded that there have been several efforts that have been made by women to resolve conflicts in Liberia by creating and building peace sustainably so that peace can be stable for a long time. The efforts that have been made by Liberian women are by creating several organizations and affiliations, they are: Woman in the Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), Mano River Women's Peace Network (MARWOPNET), Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL). This long-term peace can improve gender equality in several sectors of Liberian society, such as the economy and political sectors that are getting better and more effective from year to year.

THE ROLE OF SUB-DISCIPLINE CHOICE IN WOMEN’S ENROLLMENT AND SUCCESS WITHIN CANADIAN UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING PROGRAMS.

In Canada, the proportion of female students in engineering is considerably lower than the proportion of female students in higher education. Using Tinto’s (1993) theories concerning social and academic integration, this study investigated the relationships between the proportion of female undergraduate engineering students, and the proportion of female faculty, and departmental lead faculty. Using descriptive statistics, the study established that distinct and persistent differences exist in the proportions of female enrolment among schools and among sub-disciplines. This paper addresses a gap in the literature concerning the impact of sub-discipline choice on women's engagement and success within undergraduate engineering programs in Canada. The proportion of female students was found to vary considerably across the sub-disciplines, from 48% in biosystems to 15% in software engineering [14]. The paper will present female sub-discipline enrolment trends over time and discuss the impact of sub-discipline choice and institutional factors on female students' successful academic and social integration within Canadian engineering schools.

PERILAKU ORIENTASI KESUKSESAN KARIER BERDASARKAN WOMEN’S CAREER DEVELOPMENT MODELS (Studi Pada Wanita Karier Kota Denpasar Bali)

The purpose of this study was to find out the behavior of women's career success orientation, based on Women's Career Development Models. Various organizations have recognized the ability to carry out their duties and responsibilities, so this support makes them able to decide on carreer success orientation (career goals). The research method is a qualitative method with an interpretative phenomenology approach. Data extraction techniques use in-depth interviews on 6 career women informants in Denpasar City. The conclusion; 1) idealistic achievement model who is willing to achieve by getting challenging that increase their career, 2) pragmatic endurance models are mid-career women who are at the point of choosing family or professional responsibilities, so that they are more careful and stay away from achievement but still work well. and 3) re-inventive contribution models for women in their final careers, they don't think about achievement anymore, but see their careers as opportunities to share and be useful to others. Therefore, it is recommended in determining to choose a career path, it should consider to career success orientation according to the different phases of career women life cycle.

Examining the Baby Café Model and Mothers' Breastfeeding Duration, Meeting of Goals, and Exclusivity.

Objective: Accessible community lactation support impacts a woman's breastfeeding success by offering timely intervention and solutions, thereby allowing mothers to achieve breastfeeding goals and improve overall breastfeeding rates. Although the impact of breastfeeding support has been well established, there is a lack of consistency in the development and evaluation of support models. This report examines two differing populations of Baby Café attendees. The study evaluated the mother's achievement of personal and nationally recommended breastfeeding goals, the frequency of attending a Baby Café, and their ratings of the program as helpful in solving breastfeeding problems.Methods: A total of 559 mothers attending two Baby Cafés, one in Massachusetts and the other in southern Texas, were surveyed when their babies were 6 months old and again over age 12 months. Actual breastfeeding duration was compared with the mothers' initially stated goals and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended goals, and then evaluated against the number of Café attendances. The mother's rating of the Café for helpfulness was measured using a 1–5 effectiveness scale.Results: Results show that mothers attending either of the surveyed Baby Cafés that served distinctly different populations reported higher breastfeeding exclusivity rates and higher rates of 12-month breastfeeding duration than national rates reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 70% of all mothers surveyed rated the Café as most effective.Conclusions: The Baby Café model was shown to be effective at helping mothers reach breastfeeding goals regardless of the Café's different geographical settings and the socioeconomic characteristics of the populations served.

Gender differences in STEM expectations across countries: how perceived labor market structures shape adolescents’ preferences

ABSTRACT Despite the reversal of gender differences in educational attainment, women continue to be underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) occupations. Yet comparative studies indicate that the male advantage in STEM fields varies across countries. To understand how these country variations come about, this study analyzes the gender gap in adolescents’ STEM expectations. While previous research mainly focused on the role of the cultural environment and the education system, this study contributes to the literature by investigating the opportunity structures of the labor market. We study how employment opportunities in science and technology, the post-industrial restructuring of labor markets in both low- and high-status occupations, and women's success in graduating from STEM fields might explain the gender gap in STEM expectations. Empirically, we analyze 15-year-old pupils’ occupational expectations from the OECD's PISA 2015 study linked with macro-level indicators in 35 EU and OECD countries by means of two-step multilevel models. Results indicate that the gender gap in STEM expectations is larger in countries with a more pronounced post-industrial restructuring of the labor market. However, rather than steering girls away from the STEM sector, post-industrial restructuring increases boys’ STEM expectations and thus seems to strengthen their gender-typical tasks preferences.

Equality of Men and Women in Succession: An Assessment of Islamic Rules

Generally it goes that a Muslim man receives greater portion than that of a woman of the same grade and degree under classical or modern Hanafi Muslim rules of succession; e.g., where a son and a daughter survive the propositus the son receives two-thirds and the daughter one-third. So it is generally claimed that a Muslim man inherits greater share than that of a woman. But such allegation may not be the fact always. An assessment of the arrangements of succession in Hanafi School shows, in this regard, that under the School a woman receives larger amount than a man. Both primary and secondary sources are used in the study. The primary source includes the Quran or Hadith, and secondary source different books, journals, etc. Only Hanafi Islamic school rules of succession are addressed, rules of no other schools like Shafii, Hanbali, Maliki, etc. are included. Practically, the study shows that Muslim women inherit more than Muslim men. Socially, the study removes the notion of the thinking that Muslim men receive more than Muslim women in inheritance. The study is an original piece of work.

Innovation and the Success of Women's Small Scale Enterprises in Ghana

Innovation is fast becoming a crucial factor in enterprise performance, growth and survival. In recent years, a growing number of studies have demonstrated how innovation leads to success in larger enterprises. Literature addressing innovation in small enterprises in developing countries is limited; most studies in this field are from developed countries. This study therefore aimed at filling the gap by firstly, exploring the innovations introduced in the Ghanaian women-owned small enterprises, and secondly finding out the relationship between these innovations and the women's business success. The innovative practices explored were the introduction of new products and processes, identification of new sources of raw materials and new markets. Quantitative and qualitative approaches are combined in data collection and analysis. Data has been obtained from a survey of 421 Ghanaian women entrepreneurs and interviews conducted with 50 of those women. The results in the study indicated that the small enterprises engaged in various types of innovative practices such as the adoption of fuel efficient processing methods, diversification of product line, improved packaging and opening of new market outlets. These innovative practices have contributed to the success of the enterprises. Their success factors include self-fulfillment, wealth creation and positive impact on the Ghanaian economy. These findings have policy implications for improved technology and funds allocation to enhance women's role in economic development.
 Keywords: Innovation; Business growth; Women-owned small enterprises; Schumpeter's entrepreneurship perspective.

WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP SUCCESS FACTORS IN THE BALTIC STATES

Women make up almost 50% of all workforce in the European Union, but their average hourly rate is 16.3% lower than men's. In 2016, only in 21 companies out of 500 women held executive positions. In entrepreneurship statistics based on the founder's gender, women make up only 34.4% of independently working employees and 30% of business founders. More women than men possess higher education, but only a small part of women hold executive positions or make a decision to establish own business. This study seeks complexly to evaluate crucial factors of women's leadership success in e-business in the Baltic states. To achieve the purpose of this study, analysis of scientific literature, expert evaluation and multiple criteria assessment were applied. During the study, it was determined that passion for work, professional knowledge, ability to motivate team, communication, and support have most impact on successful women's leadership.

Model Dependency in the Analysis of Women's Electoral Success

AbstractMaciej Górecki provides a detailed and interesting discussion of our analysis regarding women's electoral success in the Polish open-list proportional representation (PR) system and the impact of a gender quota implemented in 2011. In essence, he claims that it remains an open question whether the gender quota had a ‘paradoxical’ effect (i.e., whether the introduction of the gender quota had a negative impact on female candidates) due to ‘debatable’ methodological choices in our analysis. In this article, we respond to Górecki's critique. First, we demonstrate that we do not necessarily disagree on the paradoxical impact of the gender quota but rather on the strength of the paradoxical effect. Second, we discuss some drawbacks of using the raw number of votes cast for a candidate as the dependent variable. Finally, we respond to the critique of including the ballot position in the regression model. We emphasize that even if one agrees with Górecki's critique that the ballot position is endogenous, excluding this variable leads to a severely misspecified model that does not allow one to reliably identify the effect of gender.

The Acquisition of Gender Stereotypes about Intellectual Ability: Intersections with Race

AbstractThe common stereotype that brilliance is a male trait is an obstacle to women's success in many prestigious careers. This gender‐brilliance stereotype is powerful in part because it seems to be acquired early in life and might thus shape girls’ career aspirations. To date, however, research on this stereotype has not considered how its acquisition might intersect with (1) the other social identities that men and women are perceived to hold, and (2) the social identities that children themselves hold. The present study examined these open questions. First, we compared 5‐ and 6‐year‐old children's (N = 203) assumptions about the intellectual abilities of White men and women with their assumptions about the intellectual abilities of Black men and women. Second, we compared White children's assumptions about the intellectual abilities of men and women with those of children of color (primarily Latinx, Black, and Asian). The results suggested two main conclusions: First, children learn to associate White men (vs. women), but not Black men (vs. women), with brilliance. In fact, children generally see Black men as less brilliant than Black women. Second, the results suggested that the stereotype associating White men with brilliance is shared by children regardless of their own race. These results add considerable nuance to the literature on the development of gender stereotypes about intellectual ability and have implications for policies that might be implemented to prevent the negative effects of these stereotypes.

Predictors of Lifestyle Intervention Attrition or Weight Loss Success in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Who Are Overweight or Obese.

Background/objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition in reproductive-aged women. Weight management is a first-line treatment for PCOS according to international evidence-based guidelines. However, the factors associated with attrition or success in weight loss interventions are not known for women with PCOS. The objective of this study was to identify characteristics associated with attrition and weight loss success in women with PCOS and overweight or obesity undergoing weight loss interventions. Methods: Four randomised controlled clinical weight loss trials comprising energy restricted diets and/or exercise interventions of 2–8 months duration. The interventions were conducted over 2001–2007 in outpatient clinical research centres with n = 221 premenopausal women with PCOS and overweight/obesity recruited through community advertisement. The main outcome measures were attrition and ≥5% weight loss at 2 months and study completion. Results: Weight loss was 5.7 ± 2.9 kg at 2 months and 7.4 ± 5.3 kg after study completion (p < 0.001). Attrition was 47.1% and ≥5% weight loss occurred in 62.5% and 62.7% of women at 2 months and study completion respectively. Baseline depressive symptoms (OR 1.07 95% CI 0.88, 0.96, p = 0.032) and lower appointment attendance by 2 months (OR 0.92 95% CI 0.88, 0.96, p < 0.001) were independently associated with attrition. Lower appointment attendance over the whole study was independently associated with not achieving ≥5% weight loss at study completion (OR 0.95 95% CI 0.92, 0.99, p = 0.020). Conclusions: Despite high attrition, successful weight loss was achieved by 63% of women with PCOS in a clinical research setting. Higher baseline depressive symptoms were associated with greater attrition and higher appointment attendance was associated with lower attrition and greater weight loss success. These finding have implications for development of successful weight management programs in PCOS.

From #MeToo to #TimesUp in health care: can a culture of accountability end inequity and harassment?

From #MeToo to #TimesUp in health care: can a culture of accountability end inequity and harassment?

Selecting Talent: Gender Differences in Participation and Success in Competitive Selection Processes

We investigate whether competitive selection processes generate gender inequality in the context of a prestigious graduate fellowship program. All applications are scored remotely by expert reviewers and the highest ranked are invited to an in-person interview. The data show a very large gender gap in success rates: women's success rate is 36% lower than men's. About one third of this gap is due to the lower grades of female candidates, which is surprising given women's higher GPA in the population of college graduates. Adjusting for GPA and a rich set of fixed-effects, women's success rate remains 16% lower than for comparable male candidates. We show that this gap is explained by reviewers engaging in gender balancing. Namely, reviewers favor the minority gender in each field of study but, except for STEM, all fields are female-dominated. Our simulations show that the interview plays an important role, but the quantitative scoring has a more profound effect on the award allocation. Merging administrative records on the population of graduates from a large university, we document an important gender gap in participation. We find that high-GPA female graduates are much less likely to apply to the fellowship program. The combination of the gender gaps in participation and success in the program imply that high-GPA female graduates are almost 50% less likely to obtain a fellowship than their male counterparts.

The effects of leadership development on women's career success

This study extends our knowledge of leadership development, specifically Master's in Business Administration (MBA) programs, from a gender perspective. It presents a comprehensive case, women-only development program and conducts an empirical, longitudinal, qualitative study of the effect of one of the program modules, namely, the women-only MBA, on the women's career success. The empirical study focused on self-efficacy mechanisms for explaining the women's appraisals of their changes in abilities affecting their career success during the MBA program. The participants were interviewed twice: once at the beginning of the MBA and then after completing it. A trusting atmosphere, social support, new business competencies, and the participants' ability to re-frame their mindsets concerning women's career potential were detected as significant sources of self-efficacy gained from the MBA. Encouragement from significant others, typically respected males, was also found to be a promoting factor.

The determinants of women's entrepreneurship development: an empirical study in Tunisia

This study has set itself the main specific objective to identify the obstacles and determinants of female entrepreneurship in Tunisia. Despite the obstacles encountered by women entrepreneurs (family, social, etc.), the ambition of women entrepreneurs in Tunisia is successful at the professional level while maintaining a certain flexibility to be able to fulfil their other responsibilities. So the main rules of women's success are self-fulfilment, a sense of risk and a willingness to be independent, and today women entrepreneurs are optimistic, confident in the future, comfortable with administrative formalities and the relationships.