Women Candidates Research Articles

The Effect of Probiotic Supplementation in Intrauterine Sperm Insemination Pregnancy Rate

Background: By using probiotic products, such as Lactovag, which contain high amounts of a safe and beneficial bacterial strain, the vaginal microbiome can be near healthy in infertile women, and as a consequence, the reproductive outcomes are improved. Objectives: The present study was done to assess the effect of Lactovag on pregnancy outcomes in IUI cycles. Methods: This single-blind clinical trial was conducted on 194 infertile women who underwent IUI in the infertility clinic of Yas Hospital between December 2021 and March 2022. In the intervention group, two weeks before IUI, Lactovage suppository was prescribed once per night, while in the control group, no extra interventions were done. All the patients underwent IUI in the same way. The primary outcomes of the study were biochemical and clinical pregnancy rates. Results: The average age of women was 30.51 ± 4.6 years, ranging from 22 to 43 years. The average age of the women’s partner was 34.89 ± 4.41 years, ranging from 24 to 49 years. There were no significant differences regards the basic information of the two study groups. The most common infertility cause was polycystic ovary syndrome (40.7%). The biochemical and clinical pregnancy rate was 12.4% in the Lactovage group and 10.3% in the control group. Although the pregnancy rate improved with a Lactovage prescription, this difference was insignificant (P-value = 0.651). Conclusions: While the pregnancy rate in women with probiotic therapy was higher, it was insignificant. Future randomized studies are needed to definitively examine probiotic therapy and establish its benefit in women candidates for IUI.

Gender, Politeness, and the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary Debates

Using politeness theory as a framework, this study compared men and women presidential candidates’ argumentative discourse in the 2020 Democratic primary debates. Researchers conducted a content analysis of all twelve debates in which women candidates were present utilizing Dailey, Hinck, and Hinck’s (2008) coding schema. Findings revealed differences in how men and women candidates approached the 2020 Democratic primary debates suggesting that the strategic use of face support and threat can be important tools in building a desirable political image of leadership.

Metabolic Syndrome and Assisted Reproductive Techniques.

Metabolic syndrome is a risk factor affecting reproductive health and pregnant outcomes. So far, the effect of this syndrome on the success rate of assisted reproduction techniques (ART) has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between metabolic syndrome and the success rate of ART in infertile women in Isfahan. A prospective cohort study performed on 147 women candidates using in-vitro fertilization/intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) and/or ICSI methods referred to Isfahan Infertility Center in two groups with metabolic syndrome(n=49) without metabolic syndrome(n=98), by convenience sampling methods in Isfahan, Iran in 2018. Body mass index (BMI) and waist, abdominal circumference, Serum triglyceride (TG), cholesterol and FBS were measured. If βHCG test was positive (day 15-16 after ART), transvaginal sonography (TVS) was done 15 days later. Pregnant women were followed up to the 20th week of pregnancy. To analyze, t-test, chi-square and logistic regression tests were used. The frequency of metabolic syndrome was 33.4% (n=49). The frequency of ART was not significantly different between women with and without metabolic syndrome (p=0.321). The relative frequency of pregnancy (p=0.907) and abortion (p=0.896) did not show a significant difference between the two groups. Independent t-test showed that the mean FBS, HDL, TG, systolic and diastolic BP, abdominal circumference and BMI in the studied units did not differ significantly based on the occurrence of pregnancy and abortion. According to the results of this study, there was no significant difference between the indicators of metabolic syndrome and the success rate of ART in achieving, pregnancy and pregnant outcomes in the first twenty weeks of pregnancy.

The Role of Lembaga Gemawan (NGO) Encouraging Women's Political Participation in West Kalimantan

Women’s participation in political activities in Indonesia has grown since the reformation era in 1998. Democracy believes everyone has an equal right to participate in politics, and no one is left behind. The affirmative policy regarding women's participation in politics has been regulated in Article 65, paragraph (1) of Constitution No 12 of 2003, which mentions that at least 30% of parliament members should involve women as representatives. However, in reality, many cases show that women always become a second party with the privilege to participate in politics. Lembaga Gemawan is one of the local NGOs in West Kalimantan which focuses on women's empowerment, including political participation. This article discusses the role of the NGO (Lembaga Gemawan) in encouraging women's participation in local politics in West Kalimantan. This research used a descriptive qualitative method. The research results show that the Gemawan Institute has a positive role in encouraging women's participation in local politics in West Kalimantan through two strategies, 1) establishing empowered women's communities at the local level, such as the Mempawah Regency Women's Union (SPKM) and the Kayong Utara Regency Women's Union (SETARA); 2) organized a strategic course on winning women candidates at the provincial level by providing political education for women candidates.

Sit Still, Talk Pretty: Partisan Differences Among Women Candidates’ Campaign Appeals

ABSTRACT Women running for Congress make different choices from men about how to connect with constituents on social media, and the increasing number of women running for Congress from both parties suggests that further assessment of the gendered patterns of emotional appeals is needed. We use this opportunity to assess the joint influence of gender and partisanship on patterns of emotional appeals, showing how party moderates the distinct appeals women candidates make on social media. We use a dictionary-based computational approach to catalog congressional candidates’ emotional rhetoric on Twitter during the 2020 election year, finding Republican women use more joyful appeals and fewer angry appeals compared to both Republican men and Democratic women, suggesting a gap in emotive appeals and differing expectations for how women communicate that varies with party. Our results underscore the importance of accounting for relative partisanship in developing a more nuanced explanation of how and when women adopt stereotypical styles of campaign communication as the number of Republican women running for Congress continues to increase.

Constrained Communication and Negativity Bias: Gendered Emotional Appeals on Facebook

ABSTRACT Are women congressional candidates on Facebook disproportionately punished for using negative emotions? Scholars suggest the success of negative language used by campaigns is patterned by gender, but it is less clear whether women politicians are able to grow support on a digital platform where negativity spurs engagement. In this research note, we consider the relationship between candidate gender, negative appeals, and user engagement on Facebook. We argue that women candidates are not shying away from negative voter appeals on Facebook, posting more on average with anger, disgust, and sadness than male candidates, and those posts are likely to get increased engagement, but that interaction is conditional. Women candidates, while reinforcing connections by getting more likes and comments than their male counterparts, are not advantaged or disadvantaged in the number of times these types of posts are shared – even when the posts contain more negatively valenced language. Our research suggests that there are some limits to the benefits of using negative emotive language for congressional candidates.

District Variation in Party System Competition and Women’s Candidacy in Proportional Representation Systems

Abstract This article examines the influence of district-level party system dynamics on the list placement of women candidates. As local district competitive realities change, the strategic considerations for party leaders regarding the selection of non-mainstream political candidate profiles vary in important ways. We measure these dynamics with a set of novel variables that better capture variation in competition from district to district: individual party magnitude, district dominance and district contagion. Turkey’s lower level of party system nationalisation between 2002 and 2018 offers a useful case for such an investigation, and results reveal both the significance and pattern of influence on women candidates for all three strategic variables.

How gender shapes the experience of running for office: A comparative study of women and men candidates from Bolivia's local and national elections (2020−2021)

Are the experiences of running for political office affected by the candidate's gender? In order to address why there might be gender imbalances in the election of political representatives, it is imperative to study the process by which they are selected and elected. Latin America is an important region to study because women's representation increased significantly over the past decades due to quota laws. These laws have been introduced as a solution for women's political underrepresentation. However, despite improving women's descriptive representation by increasing the number of women candidates, it is not clear if quotas have an effect on the selection and campaign experiences of women running for office. Drawing from 36 interviews with women and men candidates for national (with quotas) and local (without quotas) elections in Bolivia, this paper offers evidence of gender’s prevalence in defining how women and men candidates approach and experience the electoral process differently. Regarding candidates' selection, the presence of quotas increases the demand for women, enhancing the value of their particular background. Yet, parties still retain a gate-keeping role over women's candidacies. When they are not forced to nominate women, they tend to select men and prefer women with trajectories similar to their male counterparts. Moreover, quota laws do not reduce voters' gender bias. Women still walk a thin line between the negative and positive consequences of their gender. On the one hand, because they are women, candidates are perceived as transparent and capable of redistributing goods and administrating the economy. On the other hand, contrary to men, women's leadership is constantly questioned. And, as this paper reveals, they even face backlash that stems from other women's wrongdoings.

Gender bias in postgraduate year one pharmacy letters of recommendation

AbstractIntroductionLetters of recommendation (LORs) are important in pharmacy residency applications. Applicant gender, among other variables, may result in implicit biases that could impact LORs and/or residency attainment. This study hypothesized that LORs have linguistic gender differences in pharmacy residency applications.ObjectivesThe primary objective was to determine if gender‐linguistic differences exist in applicants' LORs. Gender was assessed via the pronouns utilized within the applications. The secondary outcome was to assess LOR linguistic and demographic differences between candidates who did and did not receive interviews.MethodsThis was a multiyear, multicenter study involving postgraduate year one (PGY1) applicants to participating pharmacy residency programs. Demographic data were extracted using the PhORCAS (Pharmacy Online Residency Centralized Application Service) WebADMIT (Admissions Management System) portal, and LORs were analyzed by validated linguistics processing software.ResultsA total of 7529 LORs and 2383 applicants (28.5% men, 71.5% women) were included. Women candidates had higher mean number of awards (4.71 vs. 4.1, p = 0.001) and leadership positions (4.87 vs. 4.48, p = 0.019). Compared with men candidates, women had statistically significantly higher levels of clout (p < 0.001), positive emotion (p = 0.01), social processes (p < 0.001), prosocial behavior (p = 0.002), and social referents (p < 0.001). Women also had lower authenticity compared with men candidates (p < 0.001). Two thousand and one hundred twenty applicants included in the secondary analysis found no difference in offer to interview between women and men candidates (odds ratio [OR] 1.173 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.895–1.57], p = 0.247).ConclusionsMen and women applicants' LORS differed in specific linguistic variables, although offer to interview was not significantly different based on gender. LOR writers and programs should consider implicit biases that could affect residency offers to interview.

Paradox as resistance in male dominated fields and the value of (sur)facing enthymematic narratives

AbstractWomen working in masculine organizational contexts face a challenge of balancing (1) access to power by co‐opting masculine discourse in ways that risk reinforcing it, with (2) challenging and resisting practices that privilege masculinity. In this manuscript, we address one communication strategy for navigating that challenge: The denial/acknowledgment paradox in which women explicitly deny that gender affected their experience, but also describe the many ways it affected their experience. To do so, we examined transcripts of interviews with 11 women candidates who ran in the 2017 Virginia House of Delegates election in the United States and demonstrated this paradoxical communication strategy. Our analysis offers five different structures of the denial/acknowledgment paradox and shows how four of those structures engage what we call an “enthymematic narrative” of victimhood. Ultimately, we argue that (sur)facing the enthymematic narrative amplifies the generative potential of the denial/acknowledgment paradox and suggest that (sur)facing enthymematic narratives should be taken up more broadly as a strategy for organizational and social change.

Do Women Have the Right Skills, Network and Support to Become CEOs?

This study investigates how women board members in listed companies perceive the fit between women’s leadership skills and how the role of CEO in listed companies is defined in the recruitment process. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 women board members, representing all listed companies in Iceland, to obtain an understanding of their experiences regarding support of women candidates and whether they believe estimates of women’s leadership skills contribute to the small number of women holding the position of CEO in a listed company. Data analysis revealed three themes; the first theme concerns networks and their impact on the appointments of CEO; the second deals with support for women seeking CEO positions and the third considers assessment of women’s leadership skills in relation to CEO appointments. The findings provide a new insight into the experience of women board members as regards the assessment of women’s leadership skills and the support to take on the position of CEO in listed companies in Iceland, but only limited research is available about the topic. The findings indicate that when selecting the CEOs of listed companies, it is a matter of importance that the applicant is a member of a male network and complies with masculine stereotypes of leadership styles. The findings suggest that when appointing CEOs of listed companies there is more support for men’s overconfidence than women’s reserved demeanour and men’s overconfidence is perceived as a better fit to how the role of CEO is defined in the recruitment process. The study provides new insights into how these outdated ideas on effective leadership and gender roles impact decisions when CEOs of listed companies are selected with corresponding likelihood of women being overlooked as successful candidates in the selection process.
 Keywords: Gender, effective leadership, CEO recruitment, listed companies, boards, stereotypes.

A pilot study to compare propranolol and misoprostol versus misoprostol and placebo for induction of labor in primigravidae; a randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled trial

BackgroundThe Induction of labor is the most common obstetric procedure in daily practice. Introducing propranolol as a new drug to augment the action of prostaglandins will help in the induction process and decrease CS rates. Several researchers have used propranolol in the augmentation of labor.AimThis pilot study compares propranolol and misoprostol versus misoprostol alone for labor induction in primigravids.MethodsThis is a Randomized clinical trial, single-blinded, placebo-controlled trial at Ain Shams University Maternity hospital. This study included 128 pregnant full-term primigravid women candidates for labor induction, randomized into two groups. All candidates underwent labor induction with 25 µg of vaginal misoprostol. Group I received 20 mg of oral propranolol tablets, while group II received sugary pills as a placebo. Candidates who responded successfully to induction were assessed for possible augmentation of labor by amniotomy or oxytocin infusion. The Primary outcome was induction to delivery interval, while the secondary outcomes were the duration of the latent phase, mode of delivery, and APGAR score of the neonate.ResultsThe induction-delivery time was (11.8 ± 8.1 h. vs. 12.6 ± 8.9 h., P value = 0.027) and the duration of the latent phase of labor (7.9 ± 5.6 h. vs. 9.2 ± 6.03 h., P value = 0.017) were significantly shorter in the group of misoprostol and propranolol compared to the group of misoprostol and placebo. There was no statistically significant difference between both groups’ mode of delivery, indications for cesarean section, misoprostol, and oxytocin doses, or neonatal outcome. (P value > 0.05).ConclusionPropranolol, when used with misoprostol for induction of labor, results in augmentation of action of misoprostol and a significantly shorter induction-delivery interval.Trial registrationWe retrospectively registered this trial in clinicaltrial.gov on 01/09/2020 (NCT04533841). https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04533841

A woman’s got to be what a woman’s got to be? How managerial assessment centers perpetuate gender inequality

Why do women receive equal or better performance ratings than men in managerial assessment centers even when they are structured in ways that systematically disadvantage them? This study provides the first attempt to understand this managerial assessment center gender paradox using in-depth interviews with managerial assessment center evaluators for a large semi-military governmental organization. The study revealed that the managerial assessment center was a gendered environment in which organizational practices, language used, and the underlying logic establish and reinforce men as assertive or protectors and women as weak and in need of protection. In accordance with the managerial assessment center gender paradox, women were successful at the managerial assessment center despite systemic bias against them. Interpretive analysis revealed that women candidates generate discomfort that evaluators alleviate by increased attention to the extent to which they conform to gender ideology. We coin the term ‘benevolence effect’ to describe evaluators’ tendency to over-valuate and advance women candidates who conform to traditional stereotypes of white femininity. The benevolence effect paradoxically contributes to the preservation and perpetuation of the sexual binary and the idealization of the abstract manager as male-bodied in the organization, even as it contributes to the promotion of women.

Modeling Theories of Women's Underrepresentation in Elections

AbstractResearch on women candidates in American elections uncovers four key facts: Women (i) are underrepresented among candidates, (ii) are underrepresented among office holders, (iii) perform better in office, and (iv) win open seats at equal rates to men. Scholars offer two types of explanations: Women are less willing to run than men, due to differential costs or a gap in self‐perceived qualification, or voters discriminate at the ballot box. We formally model these mechanisms. Lower willingness to run predicts the first three facts but not the fourth. Voter discrimination at the ballot box predicts the first three facts and creates competing effects with respect to the fourth. Thus, the major stylized facts cannot be explained without voter discrimination, whether overt or more subtle. We explore whether a close‐election regression discontinuity distinguishes the mechanisms; surprisingly, it does not.

ELECTORAL GENDER QUOTAS IN KAZAKHSTAN

The scientific article is devoted to highlighting the issues of equal participation of women in the decision-making process, which is a necessary condition for taking into account the interests of women in modern society, including Kazakhstan. The article analyzes one of the most popular methods of increasing the representation of women in elected bodies - gender quotas. These quotas are aimed at determining the minimum number of women candidates to participate in the elections. As a strategy to increase the share of women in the Parliament of Kazakhstan, gender quotas for party lists were introduced in 2020 and implemented for the first time at the elections of deputies of the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2021. This article presents the opinions of citizens in the perception of gender quotas and in explaining the reasons for the underrepresentation of women in political life. The study shows that a significant gender gap arises not only in perceptions related to the legitimacy and effectiveness of quotas in relation to positive discrimination, but also in explanations that hinder women's success in elections, and in which strategies can work better in overcoming inequality. These differences are important because they give an idea of the dynamics that explain why gender quotas do not lead to a noticeable increase in the representation of women in parliament.

Gender, disability and political representation: understanding the experiences of disabled women

Women face multiple barriers during political recruitment and representational processes. Concomitantly, a burgeoning scholarship has revealed the existence of various obstacles to elected office faced by disabled people. While studies have examined the intersections between gender, race and class, we know little about how the intersection between disability and gender shapes people’s experiences. This article provides an exploratory case-study analysis of the UK. We centre the perspectives of disabled women in our analysis, drawing upon qualitative interviews undertaken with 41 disabled women candidates, politicians and party activists, as well as participant observation of online events organised to discuss disabled women and elected office. Three themes emerged from this research: first, disabled women feel that they are perceived as ‘not up to the job’; second, disabled women are ‘othered’ during recruitment processes; and, third, hyper-visibility experienced by some, but not all, disabled women can be experienced positively but mainly negatively.

Telling the Tale: Black Women Politicians and Their Use of Experiential Rhetoric

AbstractStereotypical assumptions about minority candidates serving those who identify most closely with their own identity have led to heightened scrutiny of women and Black candidates’ language. Using race-gendered language on the campaign trail can undermine a candidate’s viability, as skepticism of racial and gendered language is rooted in the belief that minority candidates may be “too narrow” in their concerns. Against this backdrop, this article explores the campaign rhetoric of three mayors: Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta, Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, and Muriel Bowser of Washington, DC. Analyzing 62 mayoral debates using NVivo, I find that Black women candidates leverage their lived experiences, rooted in their racial and gendered identity, more than their race and gendered counterparts when advocating for their policy preferences. This work produces key insights into identity and campaign rhetoric utilized by Black women politicians.

Voting for a woman: ideology and gendered candidate choice in Finland

ABSTRACT This study contributes to the literature on gendered candidate choice by investigating how voters’ ideological positions on both the socioeconomic left–right and the cultural GAL–TAN dimensions are associated with support for women candidates, and how these associations play out among women and men voters. The study is situated in the open-list proportional electoral system (OLPR) of Finland, where voters are obliged to cast a vote for a single candidate from a large selection of nominees and where women have a strong presence in the political sphere. We use unique data on voters’ self-reported candidate choice from two Finnish post-election studies in 2011 and 2019. The results show that a majority of both men and women voters tend to engage in same-gender voting, meaning that women voters are more inclined to cast a vote for women candidate than men voters are. We further show that the two ideological dimensions have different connections for men and women voters. While women voters’ propensity to support women candidates is connected to their position on the left–right dimension, but not to the GAL–TAN dimension, the opposite holds for men voters.

Evaluation of Episiotomy Characteristics of EPISCISSORS-60 Scissors Compared with Mayo Scissors: A Single-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial.

It seems that angled scissors may be able to minimize the occurrence of obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS) during vaginal delivery by correcting the angle of the episiotomy incision.For this purpose, this study aimed to evaluate the episiotomy characteristics of EPISCISSORS-60 scissors compared with Mayo scissors. In this single-blind clinical trial study, 64 pregnant women candidates for natural childbirth were included; 32 women underwent episiotomy with Mayo scissors and 32 underwent episiotomy with the EPISCISSORS-60 instrument. Then, post-suturing angle, incision length, episiotomy, postpartum pain, bleeding volume, and the incidence of OASIS and dyspareunia were assessed. The collected data were analyzed by independent sample t test, chi-square test, and the Fisher exact test. Episiotomy incision length in the EPISCISSORS-60 group with a mean of 4.75 ± 0.72 cm was significantly longer than the Mayo group with a mean of 3.91 ± 0.52cm (P < 0.001). In addition, the incidence of dyspareunia was not significantly different between the 2 groups (6.3% vs 15.6%; P = 0.426). Sphincter damage did not occur at all in the EPISCISSORS-60 group and only 2 cases of grade 3 sphincter rupture occurred in the Mayo group (P = 0.238). The mean of post suturing angle in the EPISCISSORS-60 group (59.09° ± 3.47°) was significantly higher than the Mayo group, with a mean of 31.06° ± 7.21° (P < 0.001). According to the results of the present study, the use of EPISCISSORS-60 can be associated with a higher post-suture episiotomy angle compared with Mayo scissors. As a result, both the incidence of OASIS and its long-term side effects, like dyspareunia, were decreased. However, in our study, the incidence of these complications was very rare and not different between the 2 groups.

Hate and Incivilities in Hashtags against Women Candidates in Chile (2021–2022)

This study is interested in the phenomenon of violence in social networks against women who hold political office in the framework of the Chilean constitutional process (2021–2022). To study this major socio-political phenomenon, we have used the tracking database “Women and Politics”, composed of 2,912,732 Twitter posts mentioning women candidates and collected between July 2021 and September 2022. Based on this data, we analyzed the network of hashtags by electoral list at points in time: all 2021 messages, all 2022 messages and only hate messages published in 2022 (n = 563,223), codified by an automated detection method. The results of the study reveal that hashtags extracted from messages containing hate speech are better understood under the concept of incivilities. These were expressed in a two-phase electoral process: the presidential election and the constitutional plebiscite. The implications and limits of this study are discussed and considered in context in the conclusion.