Professional Women Research Articles

Women Professionals in Construction Industry: Barriers and Approaches to Improve Wellbeing, Safety and Health

Women Professionals in Construction Industry: Barriers and Approaches to Improve Wellbeing, Safety and Health

Effects of the three-child policy on the employment bias against professional women: evidence from 260 enterprises in Jiangxi province

AbstractBased on the samples from 260 enterprises in Jiangxi Province in 2022, this study examines the enterprises’ employment attitudes towards female employees from the perspective of HR managers. Through factor analysis, one-way analysis of variance, product-moment correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis, this study investigates the female employment bias and its underlying mechanism across five dimensions: employee change, career development bias, policy impact, job competency and gender bias. The research findings confirm the employment bias against professional women by employers. The study reveals that the implementation of China’s three-child policy has exacerbated employment bias against female employees, especially in male-dominated enterprises. It is therefore recommended to provide more preferential policies for such enterprises. Furthermore, job competency has a significant negative correlation with gender employment bias. Continuing education and skills training are effective measures for professional women of childbearing age, particularly those in low-skilled jobs. With the further implementation of the three-child policy, this study anticipates a more challenging employment or promotion prospects for professional women. This study has also indirectly confirmed the employment dilemma of professional women of childbearing age, indicating potential obstacles in achieving the intended outcomes of the three-child policy.

‘Considering the reality, I am very lucky’: how professional players and staff perceive injury prevention and performance protection in women’s football

ObjectiveTo explore the beliefs and perceptions of professional female footballers and staff regarding injury prevention and performance protection in professional women’s football.MethodsThis qualitative study applied semistructured interviews with 18 participants...

The Hundred: A sociological analysis of gender relations and the (semi-) professionalisation of women's cricket in England

In this article, we adopt a critical sociological perspective to understanding gender relations and cricket, through the lens of The Hundred – a new, short-form tournament, described by the England and Wales Cricket Board as being part of its long-term commitment to making cricket a gender-equal sport. The Hundred is the first sporting tournament in the world which, from the outset, featured fully aligned competitions for both men's and women's teams, including equal prize money, but not equal pay, which the recent Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket condemned. Drawing on concepts of professionalisation as a gendered process we discuss data from interviews with 33 people working in cricket to consider how gender relations continue to impact opportunities for women in cricket. This article further supports the need to conceptualise professionalisation in sport as gendered by considering the ways The Hundred facilitates opportunities for men's and women's cricket differently.

“Pro Gamers” & Cyberbullying: Workplace bullying & sexual harassment in professional video gaming

As Esports grows rapidly, it is imperative to understand cyberbullying in the professional video game playing context, including those who are most vulnerable to cyberbullying. It is predicted that professional women players would experience more cyberbullying and consequently have adverse effects on their mental health. Participants (N = 145) were collected from around the world (n = 14 countries) and completed a 10-minute online survey. Path analysis demonstrated that being a woman is a significant predictor of a particular type of cyberbullying (sexual harassment) which in turn also predicts mental health outcomes. Further, the degree to which a player treats gaming as a job (i.e., level of gaming professionalism) is a significant predictor of overall cyberbullying, and that cyberbullying subsequently predicts mental health outcomes. This study suggests the virtual workplace for professional players is unsafe, and further research is required to better understand how to protect these vulnerable workers from harm.

Women career in construction industry after industrial revolution 4.0 norm

The advancement of women's careers in construction following the Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 is a significant concern. This study aims to investigate the primary factors and barriers encountered by women professionals in the construction industry, and how IR 4.0 technologies can mitigate these challenges. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies were employed to identify the most impactful barriers faced by women in construction and assess the effectiveness of IR 4.0 technologies in supporting their careers. Key challenges such as fear of heights, work-life balance, musculoskeletal disorders, and exposure to harmful gases on-site were identified as significant barriers for women in construction. Technological applications such as advanced building technology, autonomous construction, building information modelling (BIM), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were identified as having the potential to overcome these barriers. Fear of heights with a relative importance index (RII = 0.785) and work-life balance (RII = 0.772) were determined to be the most influential factors contributing to these barriers for women. Meanwhile, advanced building materials (RII = 0.831) and autonomous construction (RII = 0.806) emerged as the primary technologies within IR 4.0 that could positively impact women's careers in construction. The findings indicate that IR 4.0 technologies effectively address the barriers faced by women in the construction industry. This study sheds light on these barriers and offers guidelines for their resolution, leveraging the advancements of IR 4.0.

Addressing gender in STEM classrooms: The impact of gender bias on women scientists' experiences in higher education careers in Germany

AbstractGender bias underlying discrimination against women are particularly salient in STEM higher education. Complementing top-down measures to mitigate these issues identified in the extant literature, we aim to highlight a complementary bottom-up approach. First, to elicit gender stereotypes and gender bias in STEM, we conducted a group concept mapping (GCM) study involving women professors, teaching staff, and scientific staff from different STEM disciplines at German universities (N = 70). We first asked them to provide statements reflecting their experience in response to the following focus prompt: ‘In my career as a STEM teacher, I experienced gender issues related to:’ Experts were then asked to thematically cluster and rank the statements according to their importance and feasibility with respect to a potential pedagogical intervention that may target these issues. Findings revealed an agreement across STEM disciplines regarding stereotypical beliefs about women, heteronomous gender roles, gender workload, sexism, and structural power relations, in that they remain significant factors for hindering female success in STEM careers in higher education. Based on their experience, however, the women saw potential in working on the awareness of gender bias with pedagogical interventions in online group learning scenarios (CSCL). Statements rated most appropriate were discussed in the light of the aspects of gender bias addressed, with a specific focus on addressing them in collaborative scripts.

“You feel like you’re fairly disadvantaged with an advert over your head saying ‘in final years of reproduction’”: social egg freezing, dating and the (unequal) politics of reproductive ageing

Recent decades have seen an increasing gap occurring between the ‘desired’ and ‘actual’ family size of middle-class and professional women. This situation of ‘unrealised fertility’ and ‘incomplete families’ carries implications at a population, but also couple and individual level. This paper explores how middle-class professional women make decisions about partnering and parenthood and how these are shaped by a contemporary neoliberal feminist discourse which articulates the possibility of ‘having it all’ through engagement in careful life planning, appropriate self-investment, and by drawing on new technologies of reproductive biomedicine. Informed by semi-structured interviews with UK and US women conducted at two different points in time, it explores how they approach and experience the process of relationship formation in the face of age-related fertility decline. It also examines how the use of social egg freezing shape their romantic and family building expectations but also their interactions with (potential) partners. In doing so, it explores how gendered cultural dating scripts and unequal gender power relations shape the formation and progression of intimate relationships in a manner which can disempower women as they age. It therefore questions whether egg freezing may be the ‘great equaliser’ that some have hoped.

Professional women footballers’ stories of marketing portrayals and sponsorship: “I just had to feel grateful for what I’ve been given”

ABSTRACT In this paper we investigate the marketing portrayal and sponsorship experiences of professional women athletes. Specifically, we examine the perspectives of professional women footballers (i.e. soccer) and the ways in which the gender ideal is reproduced, negotiated, and resisted, as well as their (re)imagined equitable sporting future. Using critical feminist narrative inquiry, twelve interviews were conducted with four professional women footballers. Four themes were constructed that call attention to: 1) the lack of commercial sponsorship that limits career growth; 2) performative partnerships that perpetuate inequities; 3) objectifying women athletes through labour exploitation; and 4) limited agency restricts resistance and transformation potential. The findings challenge the concept of sponsorship “partnerships” and expose an exploitative off-pitch reality for women athletes. This study highlights the need for systemic change in professional football for all women to be perceived as legitimate and worthy of investment.

Obstetric violence as perceived by nursing students

Objective: To identify the perception of Nursing students about the understanding, causes, and prevention actions of obstetric violence. Method: A descriptive, exploratory, and qualitative study carried out at a private university center in Paraná. The data was collected from June to July 2022, using a semi-structured questionnaire for 10 Nursing students and submitted to thematic content analysis. Results: The following category emerged: knowledge of Nursing students about obstetric violence, made up of two subcategories: obstetric violence: concept, types, and understanding of the causes in the perception of Nursing students; and empowerment of women, active listening and training of health professionals to prevent practices that constitute obstetric violence. According to the interviewees, obstetric violence is characterized by abuse and mistreatment by health professionals, in its physical, verbal, moral, psychological, and sexual forms. Professional and structural issues were identified as the main causes, while professional training and women's empowerment were identified as factors for preventing the problem. Final considerations: The students understood the practices characterized as obstetric violence, were familiar with their main causes, and pointed to professional training and the need to provide women with preventive actions against this type of violence in obstetric services.

Examining the Role of Fan Support on Home Advantage and Home Win Percentage in Professional Women's Basketball.

Our main aim in this study was to analyze any differences in Win Percentages at Home (HW) that might represent a Home-Court Advantage (HA) in women's professional basketball. A secondary objective was to analyze how team ability might modify the HA effect by comparing any interaction effect between HW and team ability in games played with and without fans. We collected data from first Spanish female basketball divisions, using a linear mixed model (LMM) for repeated measures to identify differences between time periods (games with fans vs. games without fans) for HA and HW. When comparing games with and without fans, we found no significant HA and HW differences (p = .283 and p = .872, respectively). In fact, interestingly, we observed higher win values when fans were absent. Additionally, during the COVID-19 shut down stage, HA increased; but it returned to pre-pandemic levels afterward, with no significant differences between these periods (p = .482). Similarly, while HW seemed to increase during the COVID-19 shut down period and continued improving in the post-pandemic phase, there were actually no statistically significant differences (p = .772). Higher HA and HW were evident without fans during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period when fans were present in women's professional basketball. During the post-pandemic period, HA decreased upon fans' return, while HW continued increasing. We discuss possible bases for these unexpected findings.

Analysis of the differences in body composition and physiological profiles of professional female sub-junior soccer players of Manipur: An observational study

Background: This study aimed to analyze body composition and certain physiological profiles in professional women sub-junior soccer players of Manipur during their playing season. Method and Materials: Twenty-seven players from the Manipur sub-junior soccer team playing in local league games participated in this study. They were assessed using the variables body fat mass (BFM), soft lean mass (SLM), fat-free mass (FFM), intracellular water (ICW), extracellular water (ECW), total body water (TBW) through the sophisticated state of the art impedance bioanalyzer (Chorder, USA) and also cholesterol and lactate threshold. One-way ANOVA showed significant differences (p<0.05) in anthropometric indicators and body composition parameters (Glycogen mass, Muscle mass, BCM, BCM/FFM%, Total Mineral Mass, TBW, ICW, ICW%, ICW/FFM%), body-fat percentage, relative V̇O2max, cholesterol and lactate levels and fat mass with respect to field positions. Results: There were no significant differences between playing positions in the variables of body weight, height, age, or professional experience (P>0.05). However, forward-position players showed lower values of fat-free mass in relation to other playing positions, and they are lower and lighter with regard to the goalkeepers (P<0.05). There are qualitative and quantitative alterations between assessed positions and the correct use of these individual differences on behalf of the team can contribute to the sportive success. Relative BCM, ECM/BCM, BCM/FFM, cholesterol, lactate threshold, and BCMI need wide-scale application in team sports. Conclusion: It can be concluded that size and body composition are important when analyzing soccer players according to their position, despite the appearance of only minor differences between them.

Professional Women’s Perceptions of Financial Well-Being in a Patrifocal Culture

This qualitative study explored the perception of financial well-being among 30 professional women belonging to the middle to upper class in India through a series of in-depth one-to-one interviews. The major dimensions of financial well-being revealed from the narratives were financial adequacy, financial security, having control over one’s finances, being independent, and having a balance in life. The findings were explained based on psychological theories on human motivation. This study improves the present state of knowledge about the financial well-being of women by providing fresh insights into their perspectives, its key driving factors, and the key issues that are critical to their financial futures. The information can be used to develop effective financial intervention strategies and policies to improve financial well-being that target the specific needs of women in an emerging country context.

Women’s lives and temporalities of fertility treatment

This article explores women’s temporal experiences of using Assisted Reproductive Technology. The demand for such treatment has increased since the first in vitro fertilisation birth. Assisted Reproductive Technology involves invasive procedures in women’s bodies, uncertain outcomes and temporal challenges. A sample of 11 professional women was drawn from a larger sample recruited for interviews from online infertility forums. Analysis was carried out using a biographical life course approach to draw out the temporal elements of experiences. Four themes were identified: biographical timing and temporalities of fertility treatment; biographical timing and a/synchronicity with friends; temporalities of everyday life when using Assisted Reproductive Technology; and ‘public issue’ or ‘private trouble’ in relation to silences around Assisted Reproductive Technology. Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology treatment sets these women apart from friends who conceive without treatment, and they faced challenges for the rhythms of everyday life during this period. Using Assisted Reproductive Technology highlighted public taboos about women’s bodies. Thus for many, this critical phase had to be kept secret. Understanding women’s temporal experiences of using Assisted Reproductive Technology and the challenges involved are important for developing context sensitive theories and concepts that can contribute to deeper insight into the intersecting temporalities of reproductive processes in general and using Assisted Reproductive Technology in particular.

Explore the Family Responsibility and Career Dilemma of Professional Women in Marriage

This paper investigates the reasons why married women in the banking industry choose occupational mobility by qualitative research method, analyzing the factors that influence womens choices of doing or undoing gender. The investigator interviewed 20 female bank clerks in marriage as the object of the study. All the women have had higher education in the past. In the background of modern labor society and the social identity of gender, professional women in marriage are under the dilemma of their work and family which includes occupational promotion, spouse, childcare, and eldercare. The consideration of family factors such as spouse, children, and the elderly, ultimately leads to the choice of occupational mobility for these married women. Personal career prospects, aspirations for a better future, the need for better educational conditions and opportunities for children, and the need to support parents and in-laws, all influence women's choice to make active or passive career mobility. It is still difficult for women from higher education backgrounds to make free choices after marriage.

Charlotte Meentzen – Einblicke in ein Dresdner Naturkosmetik-Unternehmen der 30er und 40er Jahre

Abstract In the early 1930s, the trained beautician Charlotte Meentzen founded a company in Dresden based on naturopathy with the three pillars of a cosmetics institute, production and school. The foundation, financed by her father Theodor Meentzen, a professional speaker and publicist as well as trade union and SPD member, took place at a time of upheaval that affected the prevailing image of women as well as economic and political conditions. Charlotte Meentzen and her sister Gertrud, who joined the company early on, belonged to a close circle of professional women who ventured into self-employment in an industry that was still controversial at the time. The essay focuses on Charlotte Meentzen as a person, the circumstances surrounding the founding of the company in terms of female entrepreneurship, the cosmetics industry in general and natural cosmetics in particular against the backdrop of the final years of the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era in the Saxon metropolis. At the time, Dresden was considered a stronghold of naturopathy and was proclaimed the «Stadt der Volksgesundheit» («City of Public Health») under the Nazi regime. Using (advertising) examples such as the guide published by Meentzen in 1941, «Heilkräfte im Dienste der Schönheit» («Healing powers in the service of beauty»), the actions of the company management between adaptation and self-assertion become clear. This applied not least to the years of reconstruction in the Soviet occupation zone and the GDR, whereby the sisters always remained true to their convictions regarding individual health and beauty on the basis of natural remedies.

Unpacking the career transition process of returning women professionals in the Indian workplaces: a qualitative study

PurposeThis study aims to explore the career transition process of women professionals when they return to the workplace after a break and re-integrate with their career aspirations.Design/methodology/approachThis research used a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews for data collection. All 20 women participants have returned to their careers after a break.FindingsThe data analysis reveals women’s career transition and re-integration process into the workplace after a career break. Supervisory support, work–life balance practices, role models, coworker support and career success emerged as factors enabling successful transition. The employing organisations’ diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring strategy emerged as an important mechanism for re-entry.Originality/valueAlthough previous research has studied women professionals returning after a break, the “transition process” that enables re-entry is missing.

Achieving while looking forward: variables influencing performance in the transitory career phases of professional women’s handball

ABSTRACT This paper investigates what variables may influence long-term performance in the transitory phases of a team athlete’s career according to the perceptions of the athletes themselves. Narrative research was conducted with 16 world-class, retired women handball players and the qualitative analysis reveals those factors that influenced their performance in the transitory phases “from development to mastery” and “from mastery to discontinuation” on the individual, interpersonal, organisational, and sociocultural levels. The variables are organised into a systems map to provide a full overview as well as the perceived relationships between them. The practical implication of the paper is to draw the attention of those organisations that aim to improve long-term performance to the leverage points that athletes themselves find important.

The Awakening of Feminist Artistic Expression: A Comparative Study of the Self-Portrait of Frida Kahlo and the Self-Portrait of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

The topic of feminism was not discussed by scholars until the 20th century, but it has become a highly debated issue in today's society. Female portrait artists have been historically marginalized due to the origins of portraiture being intended to please male viewers. In the past, women were predominantly viewed as mothers and housewives within the social context. However, the research has revealed that numerous female artists defied the societal norms of the time and made unique efforts to achieve independence as professional women. In the long history of painting, there have been many female painters who have expressed feminist ideas through their art. This article compares the self-portraits of two portrait painters, Frida Kahlo and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, in terms of painting themes, methods, and the representation of women. This study explores how female artists' paintings were influenced by the rise of female consciousness in different periods. The final result concludes that feminist awakening is depicted in female-themed paintings across different social periods by female artists.

Breaking boundaries in festival programming

In Germany, the modern jazz festival programmer descended from earlier multifaceted roles established during the interwar and war periods as cultivated by both German and international jazz critics, record collectors, and impresarios. While impresarios historically occupied multiple roles as fans, critics, and producers; they often inhabited the quintessential cosmopolitan role of (white) male jazz critic and discoverer of Black musical creativity. This article examines the impact of the legacy of this archetype in the German context, with the case study of JazzFest Berlin. In particular, we trace the particular contours of Joachim-Ernst Berendt’s (1922–2000) embodied enactment of masculinity within the postwar German jazz festival world, beginning with the seminal founder of the JazzFest Berlin. Drawing on feminist initiatives of the first American women jazz organizers, we compare this female-centric legacy with the particular style and ideologies created by Berliner Jazztage programmer Nadin Deventer, the first female programmer of this historic festival, who brings an innovative and socially engaged approach, in part by staging less constrained gender expectations. Through interviews and an examination of publications, programme reviews, and more, we reveal how the figure of the jazz impresario has been disrupted by increased attention to the roles of professional women programmers who consciously embrace diverse competencies and seek greater recognition of the intersectional barriers for women, women of colour, and foreigners within the German jazz scene.