Search

Despite numerous international and national policy documents promoting girls' and women's empowerment and participation in community sports, the actual access to sport for women and girls is still restricted in several countries. This paper explores the situation in Ghana. Through the analytical lens of Cooky and Messner's theory of 'the unevenness of social change', we analyse the cultural and structural barriers that prevent girls and women from participating in sport in Ghanaian communities. The data material is document analysis, focus groups and semi-structured interviews with male and female officials representing state-funded regional and district sports organisations as well as non-state sports organisations in Ghana. The findings reveal that cultural barriers, rooted in deep-seated cultural norms and structural hindrances that undermine gender-inclusive policies, contribute to the limited participation of girls and women in community sport. Furthermore, the interplay between these cultural and structural factors leads to gender-specific practices and fewer women in leadership positions. Based on our analyses, we suggest that structural changes (enforcing and implementing gender policies) can result in cultural changes (positive gender equality outcomes) over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What effect do peacekeeping operations (PKOs) have on women's empowerment? The gendered consequences of peacekeeping have long been an issue of contention. Stung by multiple cases of peacekeepers directly engaging in sexual exploitation and abuse, the United Nations took measures to mainstream gender equality within PKO goals, ranging from protection from sexual violence to the encouragement of female participation in peacebuilding processes. Yet while a growing body of research has begun to provide insights into the gendered aspects of the PKOs themselves, much less is known about the broader gendered impact of PKOs on the host countries. To better understand these effects, we examine the extent to which PKOs serve to advance female empowerment in terms of women's participation in official political channels as well as women's civil liberties and active involvement in civil society participation. Examining these linkages from 1970–2013, we find that multidimensional PKOs are conducive to growing levels of women's empowerment, though such growth decreases considerably after the conclusion of the PKO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conditions under which women's national football teams do better or worse in international tournaments remains an open question. Using data from 116 countries worldwide, we have examined three arguments accounting for the gender gap in international football success, focusing on positive externalities from economic development and women's empowerment, and the active policies promoting women's football. Our findings show that the international performance of women's national football teams compared to men's national football teams increases with women's empowerment and in countries committed to the promotion of women's football, while economic development is not relevant. The general question we address is whether gender gaps disappear because of economic and social development, or if active policies promoting women are required to achieve gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This academic theory incongruously aligns with the political philosophy of Xi Jinping which asserts both that school leaders are patriotic role models and gender equality is a worthy ambition in China's Rise ([34]). Combine these beliefs with the fact that female empowerment may be growing unstoppably in China due to sheer weight of numbers and it looks certain that Chinese women will be very influential as China continues to Rise. If the participants in our research project about Chinese school leadership and role modelling gender equality are to be believed, then China is well along the path to attaining those goals. The fifth goal of the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals is gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls. [Extracted from the article]

Gender advocates have bemoaned the diatribe about women inequality at the neglect of males' vulnerability in abstract narratives. We propose that achievement of female empowerment will be complimented by empirically exploring men's vulnerability themes wrapped in "masculinity" with cultural differences. This study documented views on male vulnerability in the Ghanaian environment using mixed-method design with 189 respondents conveniently. Chi square goodness-of-fit test, and thick descriptions were applied to the open-ended questionnaire items. Indeed, 74% of the participants agreed that Ghanaian males were vulnerable with 26% expressing contrary views. With nine overarching themes generated, gender was not a significant factor in categorising male vulnerability (Σ2 (8) = 10.836, p >.05). We concluded that both sexes appear to have shared views on Ghanaian males' vulnerability issues and recommended for gender advocates to expand the equality discourse to cover males' vulnerability. Implications for adult education and guidance and counselling practices are indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how historically the accumulation of symbolic power by men produced a glass ceiling for women in the Catalan Pyrenees and how women have overcome this constraint by engaging in male-led networks, founding gender balanced networks and developing women-nurtured networks. Through semi-structured qualitative interviews and ethnographic research, the paper investigates the strategies women employed to maintain their involvement in networking activities over a 10-year period. The paper identifies the importance of being connected with horizontal organizations and the empowerment of sharing experiences provided by social bridge agents. The results of this research make a strong case for more inclusive and gender-aware policies in rural areas as a means to promote economic and social viability while empowering women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extant literature views the decision to protect women’s economic rights as made by firms and neglects the role of the state. This study argues that states are pressured to improve the protection of these rights by enacting gender parity–promoting policies in response to similar policy choices by their economic competitors, resulting in a specific type of policy interdependence—the upward policy convergence. Additionally, this convergence should be stronger in laws than in practices because some states continue to benefit from women-suppressing policies, and because improving laws is less costly than improving policy implementation. Using newly coded global data from 1999 to 2009 on women’s economic rights that distinguish between laws and practices, spatial econometrical analyses support these conjectures. Essentially, this study shows that the race to the bottom is not the sole consequence of globalization, a climb to the top is possible as well when we look closer and more carefully. In other words, trade and capital dependence can generate positive policy gains too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]