Terms Of Equality Research Articles

Domestic divisions of work and couple dissolution in the UK

This paper analyses the effect of the domestic division of work on the risk of dissolution of married and cohabiting couples in the UK. The division of work is usually categorised in terms of equality or traditionalism, depending on whether housework is done mostly by women or not. Equity has received less attention in the literature. We propose an exploratory measure to include both equity and equality/traditionalism in our operationalisation of divisions of work, estimating the total number of hours that each partner spends doing any type of work (paid and unpaid). We hypothesise that the risk of dissolution will increase for cohabitors if they depart from an equitable and egalitarian model, whereas marriages will be protected by more traditional arrangements. We use an event-history approach to analyse data from 16 waves of the British Household Panel, from 1992 to 2008. Our results support the hypotheses only partially and suggest that for cohabitors both equality and equity are important for stability.

Equality in the Making? Roma and Traveller Minority Policies and Basic Education in Three Nordic Countries

ABSTRACTThe article examines policies intended to promote the basic education of Roma and Traveller minorities in Finland, Sweden, and Norway by analysing key national Roma and Traveller policy (n = 5) and education policy documents (n = 3). Analysis shows how the Finnish, Swedish, and Norwegian Roma policies translate the general policy aims of improving the social positioning of people identifying as Roma consistently into policy measures responding to the special needs of Roma pupils. These policy measures are validated by problem representations regarding Roma parents and families. All the policies also problematise the relationship between Roma and Traveller cultures and schools. It is argued that the focuses of the current policy measures constrain opportunities for a change in terms of equality.

Muslim Women Leaders as Agency Executives in Mindanao: Their Capabilities and Challenges

In recent years, women’s participation in political, economic and social fields has been practiced and promoted in both developed and developing countries. Today, women have become active participants in global pressing issues and perform bigger role in development. As to gender equality and women empowerment as mentioned by Ballescas (2015), the Philippines is the only country in Asia among the top 10 countries in the world that ranked high in terms of gender equality. This study venture to examine the capabilities and achievements of Muslim women leaders in Mindanao by delving into the leadership capabilities of these Muslim leaders as well as the problems encountered in government leadership. As a descriptive quantitative study, the paper identified the capabilities of Muslim women under eightfold functions of management. There were two sets of respondents. Census and purposive methods are the sampling techniques. Results of the study revealed that women Muslim leaders perceived themselves as evidently exhibiting to a large extent all the eight functions of effective leadership. The subordinates as respondents perceived their Muslim women leaders quite good as evidently performing to some extent all the eight functions of leadership. Muslim women leaders believed highly of their leadership capabilities and the subordinates have a favorable perception of their Muslim women leaders. Perennial problems include habitual tardiness and absences and subordinates' lack of initiatives. On the other hand, building good human relations with subordinates results in the achievement of the goals of the organization.

Corporate Board Gender Diversity in the Shadow of the Controlling Shareholder – An Indian Perspective

Corporate board gender diversity has been canvassed for two reasons – business benefits and gender equality. The most convincing reason for board gender diversity to yield better results seems to be that diverse boards are more effective monitors of management. In other words, the corporate governance case is the most convincing aspect of the business case. Drawing from the analogy of independent directors who are meant to improve corporate governance, this article focuses on the effectiveness of board gender diversity as a corporate governance measure in India. The article also examines, to a limited extent, the equality case for board gender diversity and its articulation and effectiveness in the Indian context. Finally, the article makes recommendations to ensure that the gender diversity measures are effective both in terms of corporate governance and equality, in India. Thus, the article addresses a gap in legal scholarship on the effectiveness of the board gender diversity measures in India.

Addressing gender inequality: Stumbling blocks and roads ahead

Despite many positive changes in terms of gender equality in recent decades, women remain underrepresented in positions of power and prestige, and continue to shoulder disproportionate amounts of unpaid domestic labor. This special issue brings together an examination of the different ways in which gender inequality can be addressed, the efficacy of such approaches, and the consequences these approaches can have. In this introduction to the special issue, we discuss the focus of past and present gender research and outline issues which have received less attention. We further give an overview of the papers in this special issue, which focus on a diverse range of ways in which gender inequality can be addressed, such as collective action, workplace diversity initiatives and parental leave policies, gender-fair language, and government policies. Taken together, these papers illustrate (a) the importance of ensuring that initiatives are evidence-based, (b) the ways in which we can maximize the effectiveness of interventions, and (c) the need to understand when these initiatives may inadvertently backfire.

Unconventional relationships, positive marginalities and citizenship

Long distance relationships and caring at a distance may be connected with emotional and psychological exhaustion but also gratification, reward and empowerment; above all, they possess important implications in terms of social justice, equality and citizenship. The expression ‘world families’ (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 2014) includes a heterogeneous and tension-filled set of social actors who have in common the potential to bridge traditional distinctions between public and private, centre and periphery, national and international, able-bodied and physically/cognitively impaired, heterosexual and homosexual, bypassing dichotomous ideas of inclusion/exclusion which typically characterise the concept of citizenship. These families represent a group of very different social actors, including couples of mixed cultures and ethnicities, low-paid migrant workers, skilled migrant workers, asylum seekers, refugees, distant families, etc. who challenge our culturally homogenous understanding of family and society and are defined therefore as ‘pioneers of cosmopolitanism’ and cultural diversity. Drawing on recent work on families, relationships, intimacies and caring for distant others and contextualising it within the specific and still unexplored context of Living Apart Together (LAT) same-sex couples, this article examines the moral, sociological and institutional geographies of these less visible chains of care and affection and their unequally entitled rights and visibility. The literature review is combined with auto-ethnographic work analysing and discussing the case of a married, same-sex, transnational, Living Apart Together (LAT) couple. This article suggests that by looking at what happens at the level of emotion-based, micro-situated interactions we can get some crucial insights into the changing nature of families, intimacies and relationships and their multiple implications in terms of social inclusion, entitlement to rights/citizenship and social change. It is a form of relational, emotion-based and micro-situated social inclusion and entitlement to rights/citizenship which is occurring, on a daily basis, in the interstices of people’s interactions even when such change still meets several obstacles at the structural, political and institutional level.

De los derechos de autor y los pueblos originarios

El objetivo del presente artículo es evidenciar la importancia del legado cultural de las “etnias” y su capacidad para ejercer derechos patrimoniales; como sustento metodo- lógico está el estudio de los antecedentes legales de las minorías en términos de equidad e igualdad. Las culturas populares se encuentran vulneradas en sus derechos sobre las obras literarias, artísticas, artesanales, etc. de quienes son titulares como custodios y portadores del patrimonio cultural, ellos constituyen un tipo de ciudadano en condiciones de vulnerabilidad, tanto en términos de sus bienes patrimoniales tangibles como aquellos de orden intangible como usos y costumbres. La Ley Federal de Derechos de Autor no aplica un tipo de cobertura patrimonial que otorgue facultades reales en la defensa, protección y desarrollo de tales bienes culturales.

Muslim Feminists` Reading of the Quran: A Juristic Analysis on Family Law Issues

Muslim feminist movement represents an indigenous voice among the contemporary literature on women and family. Its main contention is that women in Muslim society are accorded less favourable treatment especially in terms of legal rights. To remedy the situation, feminist scholarship`s main argument is that there is a need for feminist-reading of the sacred texts so as to purge the juristic legacy of male-biased views and achieve justice and equality for Muslim women in contemporary families. One principal methodological framework for this idea to materialise is to embark on the re-reading of the Qur`an from the women`s perspective. In this context, this paper presents issue-based analysis of Amina Wadud`s reading of the relevant Qur`anic passages on family law matters and finds that in spite of its merits, its main handicap lies on its methodological flaws, both in terms of approach and outcome. Methodologically, it is regarded as selective and ultra-vires of Islamic methodology of legal reform. It terms of impact, it is suspected as being tainted with Western inspired assumptions of rights in terms of justice and equality between the genders. To overcome this impasse, the paper argues for a mediated holistic approach to harmonise relations between men and women in the family. Keywords: Family law, gender equality, justice, Muslim feminist.

Gender Mainstreaming in Women SHGs through Seafood Kitchens in Kerala: An Appraisal

An appraisal on the impact of SHGs in gender mainstreaming was undertaken on the seafood kitchen units operating at Pooyya of Thrissur District and Pookode of Wayanadu District in Kerala. Performance assessment of the SHGs, gender analysis, empowerment analysis and economic feasibility analysis were carried out based on socio-economic surveys and personal interviews using pre-tested and structured data collecting protocols with standardized scales and indices involving the members of the SHGs. The quantification of empowerment Index was done based on 8 relevant dimensions constituting it. The male and female counterparts of the families were separately interviewed to assess the gender mainstreaming aspects in terms of equity and equality to resource access, participation profile, decision making aspects, gender need analysis etc. The scales standardized for Empowerment Index’ and ‘Performance Assessment’ for this study have ample potential for future use in other key areas on a sustainable basis. The lacunae identified in computation of Empowerment Index give distinct feedback to authorities to proceed in the right direction. The gender dimension analysis on mainstreaming aspect gives sensitization on crucial issues like women fisher folk’s rights and marketing channels for policies and other interventions on gender. Inter relationships between the variables measured in the study can act as catalytic points for group empowerment on a sustainable basis. The indicative economics worked out for the economic feasibility analysis of the SHGs suggests that, the unit takes three years to break even. A success story was elucidated and documented as a video documentary which can be used as a practical manual and case model for promoting group action for mobilizing SHGs on a sustainable basis.

Professional equality between men and women in France: progress and hesitation

The purpose of this article is to present and analyze both the progress achieved and the difficulties for professional-equality policies in France. After presenting the development of the legislative framework, both in terms of equality between men and women and in terms of collective bargaining for professional-equality agreements, the article focuses on the ambiguities and difficulties that remain in implementing professional-equality policy. These concern the diversity of strategies for implementing professional equality, debates about the various justifications for these approaches, the effects of recent evolutions in collective-bargaining laws in France and, finally, the low level of judicial activism in fighting discrimination. The last section of the article focuses on key concerns for the future of these policies.

A Refamilialized System? An Analysis of Recent Developments of Personal Assistance in Sweden

The Swedish system of disability support is often praised for its comparably well-developed Personal Assistance (PA) scheme. PA is formally prescribed as a social right for disabled people with comprehensive support needs in the <em>Act Concerning Support and Services to Persons with Certain Functional Impairments</em> (LSS). In the decade following the introduction of LSS in 1994, the PA-scheme expanded steadily to accommodate the support needs of more and more disabled people. It is commonly believed that the expansion of PA has substantially boosted the agency of both disabled people and their relatives. This article critically discusses in what direction the Swedish system of disability support has moved in the past decade. Is the common image of a system moving towards an ever increasing <em>defamilialization</em> of disability support still accurate? Or are there signs of stagnation, or even reversal towards refamilialization? What are the possible consequences of the more recent developments for disabled people and their relatives in terms of agency and equality? These questions will be discussed with the help of an analysis of the regulatory framework of disability support, statistical data and findings from public reports.

Framing of same-sex marriage over 17 years in two newspapers is linked to ideology especially in election years

Over 17 years, the New York Post and New York Times framed same-sex marriage primarily in terms of equality or morality. In 1998-2003, morality framing was more prevalent, especially in the Post. In 2004-2009, morality framing declined in the Post and increased in the Times. In 2010-2014, equality framing increased in both papers. Morality framing increased in election years. Generally, the Post morality framed more than the Times, especially on its opinion pages, and especially during elections.

Open Access Order and Interconnected Institutions in Brazil: A Challenge

AbstractThis article examines the evolution of democratic practice in Brazil. The article begins with a discussion on the country’s performance in terms of social equality, violence, and weak economy after the consolidation of democracy in 1985. Based on historical evidence, the article offers explanations concerning the weak performance in Brazil. The case of Brazil provides a challenge to the theory of open access order of North and his colleagues in the sense that open access to political organizations and activities does not necessarily lead to either better political representation or better economic performance. The case of Brazil also shows that open access to economic organizations and activities in the absence of the necessary institutions in the areas of property rights protection and contract enforcement, the financial market, the rule of law, and human resources accumulation does not lead to long-term economic growth.

‘I’m a proud Israeli’: Homonationalism, belonging and the insecurity of the Jewish-Israeli body national

The section ‘gay rights in Israel’, part of the gaytlvguide.com website promoting gay life and culture in Israel, narrates Israel as ‘… one of the world’s most progressive countries in terms of equality for sexual minorities… by far the most tolerant Middle Eastern country towards homosexuals’. The ways in which Israel has been positioning its spatio-cultural exceptionality and the rise in LGBT discourses of national inclusion in Israel and beyond has already been identified by Jasbir Puar as ‘homonationalism’. This article, however, asks how. Namely, how do homonational discourses come to produce and hail queer populations as national loyal subjects? I suggest that, to better understand the hailing power of homonational discourses in Israel and beyond, theories of national-civilisational belonging, affect and interpellation must be reassessed and the insecurity at the heart of the national-civilisational edifice interrogated. To do so, the article draws on Lacanian psychoanalytical tools as I look into the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF’s) approach towards LGBT recruits as well as the rise in LGBT campaigning on the political right.

¡Los modelos preventivos más necesarios hoy!

Gran parte de los Sistemas de Salud en el ámbito mundial se han constituido en fenómenos sociopolíticos que se mueven en la incertidumbre cuando intentan responder a múltiples intereses y necesidades, con respecto a la eficiencia y sostenibilidad financiera de la atención sanitaria o frente a la equidad e igualdad en los resultados de mejores estados de salud. En nuestras sociedades asistimos pasivamente a la confrontación entre un robusto modelo médico industrial y un tímido modelo preventivo, que pretende avanzar hacia una salud universal. En las últimas décadas países de América Latina y el Caribe ha adoptado compromisos de reforma estructural y sectorial de sus sistemas sanitarios, con pocas iniciativas para aumentar su capacidad de respuesta institucional y social frente a necesidades sociales en salud de sus países; han generado un débil escenario para la adopción e implementación de la Atención Primaria en Salud (APS), la cual nos permitiría un fortalecimiento de los niveles de atención haciéndolos más resolutivos, accesibles e insertos en los contextos particulares de nuestras sociedades. Este año, el mundo se reunirá en la Conferencia Mundial sobre APS con el compromiso de posicionar la atención primaria en salud en todas las políticas y alcanzar la cobertura sanitaria universal en el siglo XXI. La Conferencia, se celebrará en Kazajstán los días 25 y 26 de octubre con ocasión del 40º aniversario de la declaración de Alma-Ata. La APS se ha considerado desde los años 20 del siglo pasado un recurso y herramienta de operación que permitiría responder con una atención sanitaria integral a necesidades sociales en salud de la población pobre y vulnerable de países en vía de desarrollo. Los discursos de la OMS, organismos internacionales y gobiernos que ven a la APS como una tecnología de eficiencia de los sistemas de salud, son insuficientes frente a la actual concepción de salud y bienestar de nuestra sociedad, la cual aspira a tener otra lectura más allá del fortalecimiento de la atención curativa y privilegiar otras dimensiones en relación a la APS que ponemos a discusión. Proponemos responder tanto a una necesidad de formación en los programas de pregrado y postgrado, como construir respuestas a las actuales necesidades sociales en salud de toda la sociedad colombiana. También nos interesa explorar otras formas de operar el modelo de atención que el país tiene actualmente. En este mirada amplia, no debemos centrarnos en generar talento humano que responda a una concepción de APS como estrategia de operación del SGSSS, sino que debemos profundizar en la pregunta fundamental, ¿Cuál es el tipo de talento humano que deben formar nuestras Facultades de Salud frente a la situación sanitaria de la sociedad y de nuestro sistema de salud? Aquí la discusión parte de considerar no solamente que la APS es una estrategia de operación de la atención sanitaria, o que la “APS es otro elemento de la Salud Pública”, o considerar que la APS es una forma especial del ejercicio de lo médico, tesis que nos colocan en una postura particular frente a la tendencia actual de un contexto de fortalecimiento de la APS como filosofía, con equipos de salud más allá del saber de las ciencias de la vida. Se requiere un dialogo de saberes y competencias frente al actual escenario sanitario del país. En este ejercicio requerimos conocer una serie de visiones y experiencias frente a la APS, para llegar a consensos, y posibilidades de proponer ajustes en los diferentes programas de ciencias de la salud y ciencias sociales que ofertan nuestras universidades con contenidos relacionados con la APS. Debemos visibilizar diferentes niveles del problema además de reformar el modelo pedagógico para la praxis de la APS: reconocer desde la interculturalidad los cambios en las prácticas sanitarias sustentables, o mejorar las prácticas preventivas insuficientes, para alterar el ejercicio biomédico en relación con la atención primaria. Consideramos que debemos trabajar no solo en fortalecer la capacidad de respuesta social proponiendo modelos de atención más preventivos que incorporen a nuestros ciudadanos en las decisiones de asistencia sanitaria. El fenómeno de la salud debe estar visibilizado en todas las políticas para alcanzar un verdadero fortalecimiento de la APS en el país.

Ten years of the UK’s Equality Standard for Sport

In 2004, the four UK Sports Councils introduced the Equality Standard for Sport. The purpose of The Standard was an approach of policy development through consultation and partnership with National Governing Bodies and built on the lessons learnt through the Racial Equality Standard for Sport (2000). Furthermore, The Standard aimed to recognize the multiple nature of inequality, beyond racial grounds and embrace a wider set of protected characteristics. Whilst this widening scope to The Standard is a positive move, its methodology and focus is still largely founded on an outcome based approach grounded in an audit culture. Previous research on The Standard was critical of this over reliance on the formalized audit approach, its failure to encourage organizations to be reflective on their history and culture and to promote organizational involvement in creating equality policies. This paper provides a comparative analysis to the previous review of The Standard and aims to examine what difference it is making in terms of equality, diversity and inclusion within sports organizations. Results indicate that there is proactive work carried out by sports organizations to widen the appeal of their sports with previously underrepresented groups but it is not clear how much of this work is from a direct result of The Standard. Furthermore, although many organizations had an aspiration to achieve Intermediate Level, very few have progressed beyond the Preliminary Level.

Democracy and etceteras: a reply to Dupuis-Déri

This short reply to Dupuis-Déri engages with the Rancierian idea of “intrinsic equality” as a way to challenge problematic republican conceptions of the demos as narrowly defined as consent. As Dupuis-Déri argues, republicanism hinges upon an understanding of “the people” as irrational, susceptible to demagoguery, factious or unable to support the common good. It classifies and orders. Radical democracy has no place for such categorizations. It is fundamentally a process of declassification and becoming, never a total, always “more or less than what it is.” The recognition of intrinsic equality means that the only basis of democracy is its very lack of a foundation. The radical Left, therefore, needs to confront systematic trivializations and marginalizations of etceteras by conceptualizing democracy in terms of the intrinsic equality of all people. Failing to do so empties democracy of its radical purchase.

English

A research study for assessing the impact of fisher folk Self Help Groups in gender mainstreaming was undertaken on social entrepreneurship venture on fish aggregating devices at Mannancheri gramapanchayath, located at Alappuzha district of Kerala. The analysis included specific aspects such as performance assessment of the SHGs, gender analysis and empowerment analysis which were carried out based on socio-economic surveys and personal interviews using pre-tested and structured data gathering protocols with standardized scales and indices involving the members of the SHGs. The male and female counterparts of the families were separately interviewed to assess the gender mainstreaming aspects in terms of equity and equality to access to resources, participation profile, decision making aspects, gender need analysis etc. Though majority of activities are male dominated, the female counterparts of the households also have definite role in decision making, purchase of accessories etc. A success case study was elucidated and documented as a documentary which can be used as a case model for promoting group action for mobilizing SHGs on a sustainable basis.

Black Lives Matter, Obama, and the Future of Black Mobilization

Melina Abdullah is a scholar-activist. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Southern California and chairs the Department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, in Los Angeles. A womanist1, she has written numerous articles about black feminism, race relations, and political coalition building. She is also an original member and one of the main organizers of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter, the famous network created in 2013 to organize black people and non-black allies in the fight against state-sanctioned violence overwhelmingly targeting black individuals. We reached out to her in order to know more about her perspective on the Obama administration’s record in terms of racial equality and racial justice, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement both nationally and more specifically in Los Angeles, and the future of black mobilizations in the Trump era.

Gender Discrimination – Prevailing State In Pakistan

Gender inequality is defined as unequal or unjust treatment because of someone’s gender. Generally, females are the victims of such discrimination.. Inequality in terms of gender represents a significant social problem in Pakistan as well as throughout the world. The fact that women receive fewer privileges in terms of economic benefits and education has become a worldwide issue. Even in Pakistan there is a huge gender gap in terms of allocation of economic benefits and education. Not only that, females encounter discrimination in all other areas of life and face violence which has been mentioned in the study. The case study of different women has been used for this study. A sample size of 15 respondents was taken. A structured questionnaire of 23 questions was prepared. It was found that in Pakistan, the violence against women takes place in many forms such as honour killings, acid attacks, early marriages, human trafficking, rapes, sexual harassment at workplace etc. In addition to that, the Islamic concept of gender equality has been explained in order to examine the Islamic practices that take place in Pakistan in terms of gender equality. The data has been collected through secondary sources as well as primary including the interviews of the victims of gender violence, various research journals, scholarly articles, research papers etc