Women In England Research Articles

The locality challenges facing the ‘levelling up’ of sport participation and health inequality in England

ABSTRACT In the context of the UK Government’s levelling up agenda, current sport policy seeks to reduce inequalities in sport participation, supported by investment in facilities. Drawing on a socio-ecological theoretical framework, this paper analyses a large-scale dataset measuring individual sport and fitness participation, local authority facility availability and level of multiple deprivation to examine the individual/compositional and locality/contextual influences on participation in sport and fitness activities for men and women in England. Multi-level regressions highlight the challenges faced for policy, arguing that scaled-up local action is needed to account for the interaction between individual factors, facility availability and area deprivation.

Зарубежная историография о положении женщины в англосаксонском обществе VII–XI веков

The article focuses on foreign historiography devoted to the place and role of women in Anglo-Saxonsociety of the 7th – 11thcenturies. Based on a review of the main academic publications, three successive periods are identified: the end of the 19th – 1st half of the 20th cc. – the beginning of the study of early medieval English women as subjects of history; 1950–1980s – the beginning of systematic research in this area; the turn of the 1980–1990s to our days – a significant increase in the number of publications due to the wide use of gender methodology. While in the second period medievalists demonstrated the importance of women in Anglo-Saxon society, historians of subsequent generations sought to emphasize their suppression. It is shown that despite the extensive number of special works, in modern medieval studies there is no holistic understanding of the position of women in early medieval England.

Between a rock and a hard place: domestic abuse and being a migrant woman in England and Wales

Legal responses to domestic abuse have been a political priority of the UK Government since at least 2010, eventually leading to the passing of the seminal legislation in this area for England and Wales, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. However, the exclusion of protection for migrant victim-survivors with precarious immigration statuses under the Act demonstrates a failure in understanding that the experience and risk of domestic abuse differ for these individuals from that of the mainstream, due to their intersectional identities as (predominantly) migrant women. Many migrant victim-survivors still find themselves trapped in abusive situations, as the law fails to safeguard their rights to reside legally should they choose to present themselves to authorities by reporting their abuse. A distinct lack of acknowledgment as to inequalities faced by those at the intersection of migrant status and gender (Crenshaw, 1989; 1991) has led to increased insecurity for some of the most vulnerable. This article shines a light on this discrimination under the law in England and Wales. It adopts an intersectionality framework to examine such inequality, analysing Appendix Violence Domestic Abuse and the Migrant Victim Domestic Abuse Concession in UK immigration law, as well as the Support for Migrant Victims Pilot and its relevant Evaluation Report, against the international standards of the Istanbul Convention. It argues that the UK Government is failing to tackle the problem of migrant victim-survivors’ protection concerning domestic abuse, and in some situations, has made it worse.This article aims to state the law as of 1 May 2024.

Employment discrimination against transgender women in England

PurposeThe study aimed to assess whether transgender women, who were students at a university in London, England, faced hiring discrimination when seeking employment.Design/methodology/approachThree comparable university classmates—a cisgender woman, a cisgender man and a transgender woman—studying Engineering applied to the same job openings. Similarly, another set of three university classmates—a cisgender woman, a cisgender man and a transgender woman—studying Social Work applied to the same job openings. The degree of discrimination was quantified by calculating the difference in the number of interview invitations received by each group.FindingsWhen three comparable university classmates apply for the same job openings, the rate of interview invitations differs based on gender identity. For cisgender women, the invitation rate is 31.3%, while for cisgender men, it stands at 35.1%. However, for transgender women, the rate drops significantly to 10.4%. Additionally, transgender women face further challenges in male-dominated sectors (STEM), where their chance of being invited for a job interview is even lower compared to those in female-dominated sectors, with a reduction of 8.7 percentage points. The study also reveals that firms with written equality policies on gender identity diversity show a 25.7 percentage point increase in invitation rates for transgender women compared to firms without such policies. Furthermore, the research highlights that negative beliefs among job recruiters regarding various aspects of transgender women, including their gender identity status, disclosure, job performance, vocational relationships and turnover, contribute to their exclusion from job interviews. Moreover, for transgender women who do receive interview invitations, these tend to be for lower-paid jobs compared to those received by cisgender women (by 20%) and cisgender men (by 21.3%). This wage sorting into lower-paid vacancies suggests a penalty in terms of lower returns on education, which could drive wage and income differences.Practical implicationsTransgender women received a higher number of job interview invitations when firms had written equality policies on gender identity diversity. This outcome can help policymakers identify actions to reduce the exclusion of transgender people from the labour market.Originality/valueThe study gathers information from job recruiters to quantify the roots of hiring discrimination against transgender women. It also enables an examination of whether workplaces' written equality policies on gender identity diversity are related to transgender women’s invitations to job interviews.

Acceptability of de-intensified screening for women at low risk of breast cancer: a randomised online experimental survey

BackgroundRisk-stratified approaches to breast screening show promise for increasing benefits and reducing harms. But the successful implementation of such an approach will rely on public acceptability. To date, research suggests that while increased screening for women at high risk will be acceptable, any de-intensification of screening for low-risk groups may be met with less enthusiasm. We report findings from a population-based survey of women in England, approaching the age of eligibility for breast screening, to compare the acceptability of current age-based screening with two hypothetical risk-adapted approaches for women at low risk of breast cancer.MethodsAn online survey of 1,579 women aged 40–49 with no personal experience of breast cancer or mammography. Participants were recruited via a market research panel, using target quotas for educational attainment and ethnic group, and were randomised to view information about (1) standard NHS age-based screening; (2) a later screening start age for low-risk women; or (3) a longer screening interval for low-risk women. Primary outcomes were cognitive, emotional, and global acceptability. ANOVAs and multiple regression were used to compare acceptability between groups and explore demographic and psychosocial factors associated with acceptability.ResultsAll three screening approaches were judged to be acceptable on the single-item measure of global acceptability (mean score > 3 on a 5-point scale). Scores for all three measures of acceptability were significantly lower for the risk-adapted scenarios than for age-based screening. There were no differences between the two risk-adapted scenarios. In multivariable analysis, higher breast cancer knowledge was positively associated with cognitive and emotional acceptability of screening approach. Willingness to undergo personal risk assessment was not associated with experimental group.ConclusionWe found no difference in the acceptability of later start age vs. longer screening intervals for women at low risk of breast cancer in a large sample of women who were screening naïve. Although acceptability of both risk-adapted scenarios was lower than for standard age-based screening, overall acceptability was reasonable. The positive associations between knowledge and both cognitive and emotional acceptability suggests clear and reassuring communication about the rationale for de-intensified screening may enhance acceptability.

Collective vulnerability between the researcher and the researched: a reflection on researcher positionality and ‘safety’ in the study of Islamophobia in economic Muslim migrants

ABSTRACT This paper reflects on collective vulnerability shared between the researcher and the researched, specifically in relation to studying the impact of Islamophobia in South Asian Muslim women in Britain. I reflect on my PhD study, and explore the tensions within the research space vis-à-vis researcher positionality. Puwar’s ‘Space Invaders’ is employed to explore the possibilities of disrupting power within research. This paper, therefore, reflects on the role of ‘collective vulnerability’ as a key to creating and maintaining a ‘safe’/ ‘counterspace’ to dislodge the trappings of employing a vertical gaze on data.

Navigating the Labour Market: Women Job Seekers’ Mobilisation of a Postfeminist Sensibility

Job seeking is a crucial yet overlooked process through which people navigate the world of work. Yet there remains limited qualitative research examining the complex and nuanced experiences of job seekers in a contemporary labour market. This article explores 38 interviews with job-seeking women in England, all of whom were interviewed over a six-month period. Using a postfeminist sensibility, findings revealed an oscillation between empowerment and success on the one hand, and disempowerment and perceived failure on the other, including wanting to: find the ‘right’ job, but accept any job; convey an authentic self but imitate what they think employers want; negotiate salaries, but accept pay cuts; emulate ‘successful’ behaviours, but experience doubt, uncertainty and negativity. This article contributes to the sociological practice of employment, identifying that through this oscillation, women experience a form of postfeminist precarity that starts from the outset of job seeking.

‘We shouldn’t have to ask’: exploring the realities of minority ethnic women football spectators

ABSTRACT Research Question: Women’s football is experiencing significant growth, but is it fully inclusive? Little research explores the experiences of minority ethnic women spectators. For women’s football to capitalise on its success and be welcoming for all, it is critical to explore the barriers facing women intersectionally. This paper seeks answers to the following questions: What influenced minority ethnic women’s decisions to watch the UWE, and what challenges exist to their spectatorship? Research Methods An online survey and three focus groups explored United Kingdom respondents’ thoughts around spectatorship at the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euros. Topics included the marketing before the event, their experiences, and future intentions. Results and Findings: Analysis of the results resulted in the following themes: the importance of supporting the England women’s team vs. a lack of diversity, lack of cultural awareness, performativity and the FA, and women’s football being different to men’s football. Minority ethnic women face numerous challenges, including perceptions of tokenism, a lack of representation on and off the pitch, and religious observances, including a lack of prayer rooms and no-alcohol zones. Implications Governing bodies must take action to diversify the sport at all levels, especially grassroots, including consulting and listening to the voices of minority ethnic women. The creation of role models will increase feelings of connectedness. While this work has focused on women’s football, leaders in the men’s game and other governing bodies could embrace our suggestions to encourage more minority ethnic spectators.

Women’s experiences of risk-stratified breast cancer screening in the MyPeBS trial: a qualitative comparative study across two European countries

Objective Risk-stratification should improve the benefits-to-harms ratio for breast screening, whereby higher-risk women receive additional screening and low-risk women are screened less. This study investigated the effects of healthcare context by comparing how women in England and France experienced risk-based breast screening. Methods and measures Fifty-two women were purposively sampled from participants who underwent risk-based screening in the MyPeBS trial. Women received objectively-derived 5-year breast cancer risk estimates (low = < 1%, average = 1–1.66%, high = ≥ 1.67 to <6%, very-high-risk = ≥ 6%). This determined future trial-related screening schedules and prevention options. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed for thematic framework analysis. Results Two overarching themes were produced: the importance of supported risk communication and accessibility of risk management. Overall, risk-based breast screening was viewed positively. However, trial procedures, especially in risk estimate provision, differed across sites. Women at increased risk were more reassured when appointments were with specialist healthcare professionals (HCP). When absent, this resulted in reduced satisfaction with risk communication and greater uncertainty about its personal relevance. Low-risk women’s views on extended mammogram schedules seemed linked to how health services are organised differently. Conclusions Context is an important consideration regarding acceptability of healthcare innovations such as risk-stratified screening: it should not be assumed that findings from one country apply universally.

COVID-19 diagnosis, vaccination during pregnancy, and adverse pregnancy outcomes of 865,654 women in England and Wales: a population-based cohort study

The extent to which COVID-19 diagnosis and vaccination during pregnancy are associated with risks of common and rare adverse pregnancy outcomes remains uncertain. We compared the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with and without COVID-19 diagnosis and vaccination during pregnancy. We studied population-scale linked electronic health records for women with singleton pregnancies in England and Wales from 1 August 2019 to 31 December 2021. This time period was divided at 8th December 2020 into pre-vaccination and vaccination roll-out eras. We calculated adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for common and rare pregnancy outcomes according to the time since COVID-19 diagnosis and vaccination and by pregnancy trimester and COVID-19 variant. Amongst 865,654 pregnant women, we recorded 60,134 (7%) COVID-19 diagnoses and 182,120 (21%) adverse pregnancy outcomes. COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with a higher risk of gestational diabetes (adjusted HR 1.22, 95% CI 1.18-1.26), gestational hypertension (1.16, 1.10-1.22), pre-eclampsia (1.20, 1.12-1.28), preterm birth (1.63, 1.57-1.69, and 1.68, 1.61-1.75 for spontaneous preterm), very preterm birth (2.04, 1.86-2.23), small for gestational age (1.12, 1.07-1.18), thrombotic venous events (1.85, 1.56-2.20) and stillbirth (only within 14-days since COVID-19 diagnosis, 3.39, 2.23-5.15). HRs were more pronounced in the pre-vaccination era, within 14-days since COVID-19 diagnosis, when COVID-19 diagnosis occurred in the 3rd trimester, and in the original variant era. There was no evidence to suggest COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Instead, dose 1 of COVID-19 vaccine was associated with lower risks of preterm birth (0.90, 0.86-0.95), very preterm birth (0.84, 0.76-0.94), small for gestational age (0.93, 0.88-0.99), and stillbirth (0.67, 0.49-0.92). Pregnant women with a COVID-19 diagnosis have higher risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. These findings support recommendations towards high-priority vaccination against COVID-19 in pregnant women. BHF, ESRC, Forte, HDR-UK, MRC, NIHR and VR.

Emersonian Intertext and Whitmanian Intimate Influence: Queering “Nature” in 19 th -century New England Women’s Writing

Cet article propose de lire les références aux plantes et paysages de Nouvelle-Angleterre comme moyen pour les autrices de cette région au xixe siècle de se réapproprier l’imagerie de R.W. Emerson et de W. Whitman dans le but de mettre en avant leur être « naturel » et de décrire les relations d’intimité féminine comme non seulement naturelles mais aussi foncièrement américaines. Ainsi la figure symbolique d’Emerson est-elle présente sous la suggestion d’une intimité féminine dans la nouvelle de Louisa May Alcott « Laurier des montagnes et cheveux de Vénus », tandis que le motif whitmanien du plaisir de la relation à la nature traverse les écrits d’autrices contemporaines d’Alcott, telles que Lucy Larcom, Sarah Orne Jewett et Alice Brown. L’article se clôt sur une lecture de la nouvelle d’Amy Lowell « Les lilas », suggérant que l’autrice s’y réapproprie le projet de citoyenneté queer de Whitman. À travers des références emersoniennes et whitmaniennes au monde naturel, ces autrices célèbrent leur propre personne et ancrent le plaisir queer au cœur de la Nouvelle Angleterre et de la jeune nation américaine. L’intertextualité emersonienne et les influences et inspirations whitmaniennes permettent en effet de faire des plaisirs queer un trait constitutif de la Nouvelle Angleterre et de la nouvelle nation, pour ainsi les légitimer .

Book notes: The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain by Francesca Sobande

Book notes: <i>The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain</i> by Francesca Sobande

Noblewomen, Court Service, and Crossing Borders: England &lt;em&gt;c&lt;/em&gt;. 1500-1550

There are significant difficulties in defining aristocracy when it comes to women in sixteenth-century England, because women were so often agents of social mobility and might in theory move between social classes by dint of multiple marriages. Exactly who “counted” as a member of an aristocratic dynasty could get complex extremely quickly. This issue is further complicated when considering court service, because intimacy with and proximity to the monarch was not usually defined by aristocratic title. Moreover as princesses moved across borders to marry, they brought women with them as ladies-in-waiting who often then married into the aristocracy of their new country, necessitating a “meshing” of systems of nobility that might suggest that actual titles were less significant than sometimes thought.

‘All the same under the skin’: representations of class and gender in Michel Faber’s Under the Skin

ABSTRACT The essay, broadly conceived in two sections, examines the relationship between gender and class in Michel Faber’s novel Under the Skin. The first section utilizes Beverley Skeggs’ ethnography on working-class women in Britain to outline Isserley’s social positioning and how it is associated with negative value. We contend that Isserley’s appearance and employment reproduce the dominant and pathologizing cultural representations of working-class women. Further, the essay argues that Isserley disidentifies as a working-class woman through the discourse of improvement since the representations of her positioning constantly devalue her. In the second section, we shift our focus to the intersection of gender and class in the construction of masculine identity. We argue that the representation of men in the novel replicates that of working-class men in the British context. The essay draws on R.W. Connell’s concept of marginalized masculinities to explore how the lives of men become inferior not just in terms of their bodies but also by failing to align with the hegemonic norms of manhood, such as staying employed, married, and being a provider for the family.

Breast cancer risk assessment for prescription of menopausal hormone therapy in women with a family history of breast cancer: an epidemiological modelling study.

Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) can alleviate menopausal symptoms but has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. MHT prescription should be preceded by individualised risk/benefit evaluation; however, data outlining the impact of family history alongside different MHT therapeutic approaches are lacking. To quantify the risks associated with MHT use in women with varying breast cancer family histories of developing and dying from breast cancer. An epidemiological modelling study for women in England using the BOADICEA breast cancer prediction model and data relating to MHT use and breast cancer risk taken from research by the Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer. The risk of developing and dying from breast cancer between the ages of 50 and 80 years was modelled in women with four different breast cancer family history profiles: 'average', 'modest', 'intermediate', and 'strong' by using 1) background risks of breast cancer by age and family history, 2) relative risks for breast cancer associated with MHT use, and 3) 10-year breast cancer-specific net mortality rates. This study modelled use of combined oestrogen-progestogen MHT (cyclical or continuous) and oestrogen-only MHT. For a woman of 'average' family history taking no MHT, the cumulative breast cancer risk (age 50-80 years) is 9.8%, and the risk of dying from the breast cancer is 1.7%. In this model, 5 years' exposure to combined-cyclical MHT (age 50-55 years) was calculated to increase these risks to 11.0% and 1.8%, respectively. For a woman with a 'strong' family history taking no MHT, the cumulative breast cancer risk is 19.6% (age 50-80 years), and the risk of dying from the breast cancer is 3.2%. With 5 years' exposure to MHT (age 50-55 years), this model showed that these risks increase to 22.4% and 3.5%, respectively. In this model, both family history and MHT are associated with increased risk of breast cancer. Estimates of the risks of breast cancer associated with MHT for women with different family histories can be used to support decision making around MHT prescription for women experiencing menopausal symptoms.

Holding Their Own? Assessing the Merger of Men’s and Women’s Field Hockey in England

In 1996, the All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA) and the men’s Hockey Association (HA) merged, ending a policy of separatism lasting over a century. In contrast with governance mergers in other sports, the AEWHA were able to exert a substantial amount of influence over the form and timing of the merger due to the financial clout of women’s hockey. However, the inclusion of quotas within the new English Hockey Association (EHA) did not prevent the governance of field hockey in England from becoming male-dominated post-merger. The lack of cultural integration between the old HA and the new EHA proved to be a barrier, with the old separatist practices of the HA ensuring many women felt uncomfortable and voiceless in the period after the merger. The forced move to merged governance therefore reduced the autonomy and representation of women within English hockey. The merger changed hockey’s governance structures, but it did not change the competing organizational cultures sufficiently for women to flourish within the EHA, and did not result in greater gender equality or equity.

Impact and economic analysis of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-targeted antenatal screening, England and Wales, 2021.

BackgroundHuman T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a neglected virus that can cause severe disease and be transmitted from mother to child through breastfeeding. Avoidance of breastfeeding prevents 80% of vertical transmission. The United Kingdom (UK) is currently assessing whether HTLV-1-targeted antenatal screening should be implemented.AimWe aimed to assess the impact and cost-effectiveness of a targeted programme to prevent HTLV-1 vertical transmission in England and Wales.MethodsWe estimated the number of pregnant women who have high risk of HTLV-1 infection based on their or their partner's country of birth. With data from 2021, we used a mathematical model to assess cost-effectiveness of HTLV-1 antenatal screening. We also estimated the annual number of infant infections and the number that could be prevented with screening and intervention.ResultsWe estimate that ca 99,000 pregnant women in England and Wales have high risk of HTLV-1 infection. In the absence of screening, 74 (range: 25-211) HTLV-1 infections in infants would be expected to occur every year in England and Wales. Implementation of targeted screening would prevent 58 (range: 19-164) infant infections annually. The intervention is effective (incremental 0.00333 quality-adjusted life years (QALY)) and cost-saving (GBP -57.56 (EUR -66.85)).ConclusionOur findings support implementation of HTLV-1 targeted antenatal screening to reduce vertical transmission from mothers to infants in the UK.

Space and Memory in Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other

Bernardine Evaristo’s novel Girl, Woman, Other uses the places “the Greenfield Farm” and “National Theatre” as places imprinted cultural memories. The former symbolizes the equally important roles of reformers and radicals in inspiring intellectual progress and constructing social memory, while the latter signifies the breaking of conventions and the empowerment of those pushed to the margins by patriarchal and white supremacist Britain, both of which complement each other in constructing a historical space dominated by the collective authority of black women in Britain. Combined with Assmann’s theory of cultural memory, collective memory and individual memory, especially the latter, have had a significant impact on the construction of individual and social memory.

Thorny entanglements: feminism, eugenics and the Abortion Law Reform Association's (ALRA) campaign for safe, accessible abortion in Britain, 1936-1967.

For the past two decades anti-abortionists in the Global North have been aggressively instrumentalising disability in order to undermine women's social autonomy, asserting, falsely, there is an insuperable conflict between disability rights and reproductive rights. The utilisation of disability in struggles over abortion access is not new, it has a history dating back to the interwar era. Indeed, decades before anti-abortionists' campaign, feminists invoked disability to expand access to safe abortion. This paper examines the feminist eugenics in the first organisation dedicated to liberalising restrictive abortion laws, the Abortion Law Reform Association (ALRA), established in England in 1936. ALRA played a vital role in the passage of the Abortion Act 1967 (or the Act) that greatly expanded the grounds for legal abortion, a hugely important gain for women in Britain and beyond seeking legal, safe abortions. In addition, the Act permitted eugenic abortion, which also had transnational effects: within a decade, jurisdictions in numerous Commonwealth countries passed abortion laws that incorporated the Act's eugenics clause, sometimes verbatim. This essay analyses ALRA's role in codifying eugenics in the Abortion Act 1967 and argues that from the outset, ALRA was simultaneously a feminist and eugenist association. Initially, ALRA prioritized their feminist commitment to 'voluntary motherhood' in their campaign whereas starting in the 1940s, they subordinated feminism to negative eugenics, a shift that was simultaneously strategic and a reflection of genuine concern to prevent the birth of children with disabilities.

Muslim women’s diasporic identity: a critical discourse analysis of Leila Aboulela’s Minaret (2005)

ABSTRACT Due to different unpropitious circumstances, immigration is globally on the rise. A Muslim Sudanese woman’s diasporic experience can be best perceived through a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of Leila Aboulela’s novel Minaret (2005). In a study of Minaret’s textual analysis, this article applies three central CDA postulations: 1. Teun A. van Dijk’s (1993a, & 2006b) three layers of study through ‘Discourse, Cognitive, and Society’, 2. Ruth Wodak’s ‘Language, and Ideology’ in the study of discourse analysis, and 3. Norman Fairclough’s (1996a, 2001b & 2013c) ‘3D model of CDA’. This research explores the social, diasporic, and historical challenges through a textual analysis of Minaret, which is faced by Sudanese women in Britain. Najwa, the protagonist struggles to find her identity while encountering innumerable challenges in the diasporic route. Her dis/placement of identity, and religion can be seen to construct an identity in a multicultural world (like Britain). In a nutshell, Minaret presents Najwa’s identity, representation, and language relation in social practice. Class conflict, power inequality, and a struggle for identity quest are contemporary issues that have been demonstrated around Najwa’s life.