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Background: Community health agents (CHAs) provide basic health services and increase health care access thereby improving health outcomes for peri-urban regions in Peru. Few studies analyze the effect that becoming a CHA has on women's interpersonal interactions. We aim to explore the impact CHAs may have on gender and social norms through their roles as trusted leaders in male-dominated communities. Methods: We conducted six 90-minute group discussions with CHAs working in Huancayo and Trujillo, Peru. We designed the discussions to extract data about family and community norms that changed as a result of working as a CHA. Results: A total of 53 female CHAs participated in six discussion groups. CHAs reported shifting family support (a change in how their family supported them in their role as a CHA), gaining status within their family (feeling more valued for their knowledge and experience), and shifting family gender roles (men and boys taking on more household responsibilities) as a result of their work. CHAs also reported a change in community norms and felt they were more valued and respected within their communities as women leaders. Conclusions: Working as a CHA creates an opportunity to enact social change through altering family dynamics and community perceptions. Moreover, empowering women to become CHAs not only generates tangible benefits in community health, but can help create social change that ultimately improves the lives of women and realize their human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Introduction: Rwanda stands out in East Africa with the lowest infant mortality ratio at 29 per 1000 live births. It also leads in gender equality on the African continent, ranking sixth globally according to the 2022 Global Gender Gap Report. This makes Rwanda an ideal case for studying the link between women's empowerment and infant mortality. Method: This study aims to assess the impact of women's empowerment on infant mortality using data obtained from the Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2005, 2010, and 2015. A three-category women's empowerment index was created using the principal component analysis method. The statistical analysis employed in this study is multivariate binary logistic regression. Results: Results demonstrate a significant impact of women's empowerment on reducing infant mortality, considering regional and residential inequalities, bio-demographic factors, and healthcare variables. Conclusion: The findings contribute to existing literature and highlight the importance of empowering women to improve maternal and child health outcomes. Such empowerment not only enhances health but also supports sustainable development and social progress. Policymakers, healthcare providers, and organizations should prioritize investing in women's empowerment to achieve maternal and child health goals, as empowered women play a pivotal role in driving positive change for a healthier and more equitable society. Significance: This study highlights the critical importance of women's empowerment in improving infant survival rates and promoting population health in Rwanda. The study is significant due to the country's low infant mortality rate and leading position in gender equality in Africa. By demonstrating the strong association between women's empowerment and infant mortality, the findings highlight the need for ongoing efforts to empower women and ensure equitable access to healthcare services for all. This research provides valuable insights that can inform policies and programs aimed at reducing infant mortality and enhancing the well-being of both women and children in Rwanda and similar contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's empowerment is now a global development objective. However, the instrumentalization of this approach to gender equality has prompted calls for research into the financing of interventions. With donors now reporting the gender credentials of their spending, this article follows the money for one region—Southeast Asia—to investigate how donors are engaging with women's economic empowerment. Through a systematic review, it identifies and codes women's economic empowerment projects. Data is analyzed according to geographic distribution, thematic distribution, and participant types. The article offers important insights into funding patterns and deficiencies in current reporting practices. It finds, first, while there is a more thematically diverse mix of projects being funded than indicated in previous research, women's economic empowerment continues to be interpreted in Southeast Asia as women's market inclusion, continuing the trend of instrumentalization. Second, and consistent with emergent research highlighting the political uses of aid transparency, it demonstrates that donors are engaging in gender wash by inadequately and incorrectly reporting project characteristics. By upselling their gender credentials, donors are characterizing their activities as advancing gender equality despite often intensifying the challenges faced by women, underscoring the urgent need to reform reporting practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender experts are increasingly employed across governments, multilateral donors, companies, and NGOs where they are defining a new profession and a new field of study, driving calls for research into the relationship between expertise and feminism. At the same time, the instrumentalization of the women's empowerment approach has prompted analysis of whether it can be reharnessed to its radical roots. By interviewing 25 gender experts, this article examines their political practices in navigating their work at a time when there is unprecedented support for gender equality, and yet interventions overwhelmingly focus on women's market inclusion. The article underscores the profound contradictions generated by the privatization of development, where most gender experts support increased private sector involvement but operate in a hostile environment and devote substantial labour to gender-capacity building. Based on the limited scope for re-radicalising women's empowerment, the article proposes advocating for feminist participatory action research as an alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progress towards women's empowerment (WE) and gender equality is slow and uneven across the Global South. Livestock systems support the livelihoods of one billion poor people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), most of whom are women. While livestock and gender research has focused on addressing gender inequalities to build a better livestock sector, there is growing evidence that livestock development can contribute to WE and gender equality. The latter is the main topic of this scoping review. A total of 99 papers, corresponding to 102 studies, were included in the analysis. Results indicate that the gender approach strongly influences the effect of livestock interventions on WE, as much as the type of livestock intervention. Gender accommodative approaches were associated with more advances in WE than gender blind approaches, but there was no significant difference in the reported negative effects, challenging the prevailing assumption that gender-accommodative approaches 'do no harm'. Most asset transfer projects combined with extension had positive effects while those focusing on output markets negatively impacted WE. Gender accommodative approaches had negative or unclear impacts on women's labour and workloads. Use of these findings should help guide the design of livestock projects aiming to enhance gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines public attitudes toward ambivalent sexism in the State of Qatar, which has taken considerable initiatives to prioritize women's empowerment strategies and promote equality between men and women. It investigates whether these equality initiatives are reflected in nationals' attitudes toward women by measuring scores on the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). While prior research has focused almost exclusively on the role of social implications, much less has been explored regarding the public sentiments underlying traditional gender roles and patriarchal attitudes in Qatari society. This study uses original survey data from a national sample of a 2019 survey. The results of the novel analytical descriptive approach used here suggest that individuals in Qatar are highly sexist on average, indicating that as a nation, Qatar scores low on gender equality measures. The analysis also reveals that benevolent sexism is evaluated more positively than hostile sexism, although its underlying dimensions correlate with patriarchal views and gender stereotyping in the context of high gender inequality. These findings are especially important considering the ever-emerging dynamics of gender roles and the increased efforts being gradually expended for improved gender parity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on how women construct resistance, project their agency and sculpt a positive identity for themselves. It employs feminist critical discourse analysis as a framework to examine how Nigerian blogs on gender issues constitute a discursive site for sociopolitical action, the interrogation and deconstruction of gendered social structures and the amplification of women's voices(s). The article analyzes discursive strategies used in the blogposts to resist gender inequality, women's exploitation and female subjugation while constructing a positive image for women and emphasizing their empowerment. The results reveal three main strategies: (1) denouncing patriarchy and gender discrimination, (2) countering toxic gender narratives and (3) calling out sexist attitudes and praising women who resist such behaviour. Together, these mechanisms contribute to a sociopolitical critique of systematic gendering of privilege aimed at social transformation and Nigerian/African women's emancipation. Implications of the study for research on marginalized, disenfranchised groups are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the impact of generative artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, on human development and education. It explores the paradox of how a technology that enhances our capabilities can also be destructive to our opportunities. The author raises questions about the impact of AI on learning, education, research into human flourishing, policy practice, and social justice. The article also provides an overview of the achievements of the human development and capabilities approaches, as well as their future prospects and limitations. It emphasizes the importance of nuance, specificity, and alternative perspectives when using AI and highlights the potential of the capability approach to create social impact through research and engagement with stakeholders. The article concludes by encouraging the wise and constructive use of artificial intelligence. [Extracted from the article]

One of the successes of development is that the role of men and women is very influential on the success of development. In this case, the Cirebon City government issued Regional Regulation Number 7 of 2021 concerning the Regional Medium Term Government Plan, namely "In creating a society with human resources that are competitive and superior in all fields". This observation aims to find out implementation policies and expectations in the gender mainstreaming program. in realizing gender equality, what is the reality in the Cirebon City Community, then what are the supporting and inhibiting factors, in an effort to overcome policy obstacles to implementing gender mainstreaming programs in DP3APPKB in Cirebon City. This research uses a descriptive qualitative method using primary techniques, namely from in-depth interviews consisting of the DP3APPKB Gender Mainstreaming Sub-Coordination and the Cirebon City Community. Secondary data has been obtained from documentation and archives at DP3APPKB as well as several statutory regulations and other documents that support this research. George C Edwards' theory used in this research covers the success of policy implementation which is influenced by four aspects, namely: Communication, Resources, Disposition or Attitude of the Implementer and Bureaucratic Structure. The results of this research show that the implementation of the gender mainstreaming program has been quite successful, but there is still a lack of response from the community and an uncertain budget from the government so that it is less than optimal for realizing gender equality in the development sector in Cirebon City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender assessments are often used to inform gender mainstreaming in agriculture for development programming and practices. However, they often lack true community engagement, integration of critical perspectives for structural transformation, and a systems approach to support gender equality. In our qualitative case study, we conducted a content analysis of gender policies and approaches for the largest funding and implementing organizations working in Honduras. Our findings indicate that some organizations address the known gaps in the effectiveness of gender analyses such as inclusion of masculinities and moving beyond economic empowerment to address other important domains for women's empowerment. However, the majority of organizations continued to approach participation as extractive rather than transformative, over-relied on the economic domain as the sole indicator of empowerment, failed to integrate critical contemporary theories such as intersectionality and masculinities, and inadequately addressed the fundamental structural inequalities in the systems that reinforce normative gender roles. Improving practices for participatory gender assessments and addressing dominant social norms during research is necessary to have significant gender transformative and sustainable impacts on agrifood systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can NGOs implement rights-based gender equality programs when donor focus on the area is shrinking? This paper explores how one development program has made strategic choices incorporating the interests of multiple stakeholders, addressing donor interests while simultaneously addressing the needs of local communities. It examines the evolution of BRAC's Polli Shomaj, a rural women's civil society organisation designed to challenge power structures through collective action in rural Bangladesh. It draws on interviews with program staff and existing program literature to find that over time, BRAC leadership has narrowed its program focus to shed its broad transformative agenda to focus solely on gender equality through a combination of service delivery and rights-based approaches. The paper suggests that while it is possible for NGOs to promote gender equality through a combination of rights-based and service-delivery approaches, greater focus is needed on challenging power structures to bring about lasting structural change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women have made substantial gains in health, education, and political representation in Bangladesh, which has been led by female prime ministers since 1991. Women play a key role in the garment industry, the country's main export sector, and entrepreneurial ventures funded by microcredit loans have also boosted women's empowerment. But entrenched patriarchal norms have pushed back against these changes, limiting women's mobility, their presence in public spaces, their sexuality, and their reproductive choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explored the resilience and empowerment narratives of women entrepreneurs in small-scale businesses in Ipetu-Ijesha, a southwest community in Nigeria with a view to examine the strength and determination exhibited by these women as they confront various challenges while striving for a better future.An in-depth qualitative interviews were used through semi-structured interviews on women who have thrived in the same business for over 15 yearsand content analysis was used to analyse the interviews. The findings revealed that the participants' perceptions of empowerment varied, encompassing financial independence, stability, freedom, and the ability to make choices for oneself. Each woman's journey towards empowerment was unique, involving the negotiation of societal norms, surmounting barriers, and confronting systemic inequalities and access to emotional support was identified as a crucial element in their empowerment journey. These women, as agents of change, shaped their destinies, overcame adversity, and contributed to the betterment of their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While increasingly more economic and social exchanges are taking place in the digital environment globally, women entrepreneurs' access to, and adoption of, digital platforms cannot be assumed to happen naturally due to gender and social inequalities that are being replicated in the online environment. This study investigates the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurial digital competencies for women tourism entrepreneurs (WTEs) in Latin America from a gendered perspective. A total of 33 interviews were conducted with women tourism entrepreneurs in Mexico and Ecuador. The findings reveal that women tourism entrepreneurs can and have been empowered through utilising digital technologies and digital platforms, but they face significant challenges and barriers, including the lack of digital competencies; lack of access to digital devices, infrastructure, and training; reliance on supporting staff and family members; and concerns around safety, security and work-life balance. This study contributes to existing entrepreneurship literature by identifying the social and structural inequalities that impede growth in women's tourism business. The findings also highlight how women are disadvantaged in gaining digital competencies because of the macro gender digital divide and micro-level factors. Implications for women's entrepreneurship policy development in relation to digital competencies are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides a list of contributors to the journal Europe-Asia Studies. The contributors include scholars and researchers from various institutions and disciplines, such as sociology, political science, gender studies, and international relations. Their research interests cover a wide range of topics, including interpersonal violence, gender inequality, state-civil society relations, reproductive behavior, LGBTQ+ rights, and gender discrimination. The contributors have published their work in reputable academic journals and have authored books on their respective areas of expertise. [Extracted from the article]

The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to empowering countries by implementing a gender, equity, and human rights approach in the health sector. The objective of this gender and inclusion analysis is to assess potential gender disparities of health sector management in the Kyrgyz Republic. The employed mixed-method approach takes advantage of data triangulation. Besides information from the literature and policy documents available at the international and national levels, the analysis includes interviews and data from the self-assessment of health services managers in the Kyrgyz Republic. A convenience sample of 75 health managers was taken and after up to three reminders a commendable response rate of 80% was achieved which resulted the final sample size of N = 60. A factor analysis using quartimax orthogonal rotation was applied to investigate the correlation between Teaching Qualification, Digitalization, Training Usefulness, Computer Workplace, and Gender Equality. In 2021, the Kyrgyz Republic adopted a new Constitution, which provides a sound legal framework to support gender equality and promote women's empowerment. However, according to a survey, only 42.9% of the respondents felt that equal rights and opportunities were integrated into their job descriptions. Similarly, only 40.7% believed that their institutions' written documents reflected a commitment to equal rights and opportunities for both genders. Two factors were identified as influencing gender equality: (1) personal and (2) technical aspects. Regarding personal aspects, gender equality, teaching qualification, and training usefulness were found to be significant. Regarding technical aspects, the computer workplace was related. In recent years, the Kyrgyz Republic has been developing a culture of gender equality. Political will is essential to promote and make organizational change possible. It is important to create a written mid-term policy that affirms a commitment to gender equality in organizational behavior, structures, staff, and management board compositions. Healthcare institutions need to prepare strategic and operational plans that incorporate gender equality principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, women in (peri-)urban areas are commonly engaged in small trade, which allows them to meet the basic needs of their families. Microsaving approaches are a low-risk option to obtain financing for economic activities. A project combining men's sensitization on gender equity and women's empowerment through village savings and loan associations were implemented in North and South Kivu to raise the household economic level. Objective: This study assessed how involving men in gender equity affects women's health and socio-economic outcomes, including food security. Methods: A cohort study was conducted with 1812 women at the baseline; out of them 1055 were retrieved at the follow-up. Baseline data collection took place from May to December 2017 and the follow-up from July 2018 to January 2019. To identify socio-economic changes and changes of gender relations, linear and logistic regressions were run. Results: Results showed that the household income improved with intervention (coefficient = 0.327; p = 0.002), while the capacity to pay high bills without contracting debts decreased (coefficient = 0.927; p = 0.001). We did not find enough statistically significant evidence of the influence of the intervention on skilled birth attendance (coefficient = 0.943; p = 0.135), or family planning use (coefficient = 0.216; p = 0.435) nor women's participation in the decision-making (coefficient = 0.033; p = 0.227) nor on couple's cohesion (coefficient = 0.024; p = 0.431). Food insecurity levels decreased over time regardless of being in the intervention or control area. Conclusion: Empowering women while sensitizing men on gender aspects improves financial well-being (income). Time, security, and strong politics of government recognizing and framing the approach are still needed to maximize the benefit of such projects on social factors such as women's participation in decision-making and social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon that is associated with value creation and considered a driver of economic development. While Africa exhibits a strong upsurge in the number of women entrepreneurs, the continent is still struggling in terms of gender equality and women's empowerment. The region is entrepreneurially disadvantaged, with a low degree of female participation in this field and a large gender gap in favor of men. Therefore, this paper aims to present original insights into female entrepreneurship from the context of Morocco, exploring the motivations and barriers to women entrepreneurs in the service sector. It adopts a multi-level integrative framework and combines feminist and institutional theory to capture the agency and enabling factors along with institutional regulative and normative constraints associated with female entrepreneurship. The paper adopts an interpretative qualitative research approach capitalizing on in-depth interviews with twenty women entrepreneurs in the service sector. The data is analyzed using thematic coding and identified factors are classified into micro-meso-macro levels. The findings highlight the importance of integrating multiple lens and levels of analysis to capture the complexity of the phenomenon and illustrate the imbrication and interplay of enablers and constraints and contribute theoretically and empirically to knowledge on female entrepreneurship in the North African context and a factor-driven economy through the case of Morocco. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to provide empirical evidence of the role of Social Entrepreneurship (SE) in bridging the Gender Gap. The unprecedented rise in the social and economic issues in developing countries, like Pakistan, has fostered efforts to achieve a new organizational model under SE to counter the said issues. SE is a new way of offering an innovative and creative solution to the problems of societies. In this paper, the authors have examined the role of SE in overcoming the GG in society, which is otherwise left unaddressed. A qualitative study is conducted by adopting the hermeneutic view of reality. The data is collected by conducting a semi-structured interview with social entrepreneurs working in Pakistan. For validating the findings, the secondary source of data is collected from the published reports by the British Council consulting on the role of SE in Pakistan. Findings revealed that SE is contributing to reducing the GG in Pakistan through increased women empowerment and employment. It is helping to create more opportunities for women in the field and overcoming the social issues of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positivity discourses targeting women have become a global phenomenon. A body of literature has responded to criticise their potential to psychologise and depoliticise efforts to achieve gender equality. The purpose of this review is to analyse this critiques' literature, which mostly focuses on the Western context, to better understand the phenomenon and how its analysis might be applied to a non-Western context, in this case Vietnam. As a group of scholars based in Vietnam, we have observed a similar set of positivity discourses emerge in the country over the last 10 years. Despite its grounding in a Western context, we argue that the critique's literature and its theoretical interpretations, when situated differences are considered, are useful for analysing the emergence of this phenomenon in Vietnam. The review provides insights for social psychologists wishing to engage with questions on women's subjectivity in a global context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the empowerment and organization of rural women into collectives that generate income and contribute to the improvement of the living conditions in their communities, are necessary actions to achieve sustainable development. In Mexico, these strategies must be included in public policies and be in accordance with the Sustainable Development objectives issued in the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations Organization: gender equality and the end of poverty. In this article experiences of women in rural areas are described, the forms of organization, strategies for labor inclusion and progress in empowerment in the community of Chiquihuitlán, Jalisco. It is a qualitative, descriptive study, with the application of group interviews that allowed interaction with people obtaining important data for analysis and discussion. In the results, experiences, obstacles and challenges overcome are described, the institutional support received and the existing distance between the public policies outlined by the State and the reality perceived through the discourse of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the rate of presidential turnover in higher education has accelerated, prompting research on what motivates the next generation of leaders. This article focuses on millennial women in Christian higher education, a sector where White male leaders have historically dominated: Women have remained underrepresented in college presidencies despite earning the majority of degrees at all levels. Although leadership literature has addressed that women have broken beyond the glass ceiling toward improved gender equity, both gender and generational barriers continue to impede a woman's ambition to pursue a presidency. The research herein was conducted using the theoretical framework by Dahlvig and Longman, a women's leadership development model, to investigate further millennial women's intrinsic and extrinsic motivators to aspire and pursue a presidency in Christian higher education. This article explores the relevant literature and examines the findings from interviews of 12 millennial women participants who work at Christian colleges and universities within the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. Seven major themes emerged from the data: (a) patient preparation for the presidency; (b) the value of relationships, recognition, and representation; (c) how the experiences of current leaders differ; (d) what it means to be intrinsically wired as a leader; (e) care for the well-being of the institution; (f) exercising faith over fear; and (g) transformation through developmental relationships with mentors, coaches, and sponsors. These findings contribute to an understanding of the motivators of millennial women as they contrast with previous generations. Findings also support the adapted model proposed here, the millennial women's leadership development model, as well as offering practical implications for campus leaders and aspiring women presidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the literature on the drivers of export diversification by tackling an issue that has received scant attention in this literature, that is, the effect of women empowerment on export product diversification in developing countries. The analysis focuses on a sample of 106 developing countries covering the period 2002–2018. The results suggest that women's political empowerment and gender parity in secondary school enrolment have a positive effect on export diversification. On the contrary, gender vulnerable employment inequality and gender wage inequality have a negative effect on diversification. These findings suggest that policies targeting SDG 5 – gender parity and women empowerment – can potentially improve trade performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the research growth, collaboration trends, and performance of the author, organization, and countries and to identify the trending research topics on gender equality and women empowerment research in BRICS countries. This study employed Scientometric tools to evaluate the research publications for ten years (2012- 2021). A total of 1,558 bibliographic records were downloaded from the Scopus and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and Tableau statistical tools. Moreover, the network visualization and scientific mapping analysis was done using the open-source data visualization tools VOSviewer, and Biblioshiny. It was found that BRICS countries were actively involved in research on gender equality and women's empowerment in the last decade as the publication was growing by 20.45% Annual Growth Rate (AGR) and research outputs shared 16.18% of global publications. India contributed the most publications (n=683) and received the highest citations (TC=2,798), while South Africa was the most significant collaborator with different countries across the globe. The study also identified the most prolific authors, organizations, and journals based on the number of scientific publications and citations. It is indispensable to highlight that most prolific authors and organizations were affiliated with South Africa. In recent years research has been trending in topics related to women's education, women empowerment, entrepreneurship, gender equality, and sustainability. Furthermore, the study identified the most influential articles based on the citation burst. The findings of this study will benefit contemporary society, the scholarly community and other key stakeholders in the field by providing an understanding of the development and trends of research in the domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As women's empowerment is critical for the adoption of agricultural technologies by farmers, some governments have over the last three decades adopted a gender equality approach to food security. In Ghana, women play a vital role as farmers and food processors, which means they impact household nutrition in important ways. In this article, we explore women's empowerment in maize‐producing sites in Ghana by drawing on original data collected from over 400 farmers and service providers as part of a United States Agency for International Development‐funded Feed the Future project. We employ a quasi‐"women's empowerment in agriculture index" to measure the extent to which men and women maize producers are either empowered or disempowered in the domains of production, access to resources, control over income, leadership, and time allocation. Our study reveals that cost and time poverty are the main factors that influence the adoption of technologies to reduce postharvest losses. We also find that women are disproportionately disempowered in the areas of control over the use of income and time poverty. Importantly, we further find that researchers need to account for perceived versus actual empowerment when examining gender inequality in agriculture. Our study findings and policy recommendations will be of interest to policymakers, scholars, and development practitioners. Key points: Cost and time poverty are the main factors that influence the adoption of technologies to reduce postharvest food losses in Ghana.Ghanaian women are critically disempowered in the areas of control over the use of income and time poverty.Researchers need to account for perceived versus actual empowerment when examining gender inequality in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper deals with the limited aspects of calculation of gender gap in terms of socio-economic variability measures in Sehore Municipal Council (Sehore M.C.), Madhya Pradesh, by partially utilizing Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Pronounced gender inequality in terms of Indian scenario and thrust of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) introduced by the United Nations, on Gender Equality (Goal-5), have made it pertinent to assess gender gap in terms of socio-economic variability. The present study, therefore aims to measure the gender inequality in the upcoming city of Sehore, a class I city as per 2011 Population Census, in Madhya Pradesh. The study adopts the methodology of the Global Gender Gap Index of the WEF, and applies it to 15 variables over 3 sub-indices obtained from the household survey of 940 women across selected 17 localities covering 4 wards in Sehore M.C. The methodology includes the standardization of the selected variables and preparation of the composite index. As per the composite index mapping, 35% of the localities belong to very poor category, while 29% of the localities belong to poor category. Nearly 12% of the localities belong to each satisfactory, good and very good categories. The study concludes with suggestions for the promotion of gender parity in the city apart from highlighting the ongoing activities of the government for the women's empowerment in the Sehore city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to develop a country-specific index to measure women empowerment among married women aged 15–49 years in Afghanistan. The data from the 2015 Afghanistan demographic health survey (ADHS) was used to develop the index. The data on 26 variables across eight hypothesized domains related to women empowerment were used in EFA to probe the underlying domains in the data. CFA examined the structural validity of hypothesized factors in EFA. Four indicators were dropped during the analysis either due to the low and significantly different loading on one factor as compared to other indicators or due to overlap with other indicators loaded on different factors. The final model included 22 indicators across seven domains (labor force participation, attitude toward violence, decision-making, access to healthcare, literacy, age at critical life events, and property-owning) and had Cronbach's alpha = 0.69; indicative of good internal reliability. The goodness-of-fit test represented an acceptable level of construct validity with the likelihood ratio, RMSEA, and SRMR values ≤ 0.05 and CFI and TLI > 0.95. The developed index shares a common ground for future research concerning women empowerment in Afghanistan and can enhance the comparability of the results across future studies. In addition, having a standard index for women empowerment at the individual and country level could help assess the progress and efforts that have been made to achieve gender equality (SDG 5), and guide the direction of future policies and interventions. [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 term "mancession" appeared after the economic crisis, spreading the false assumption that men were more affected by the recession than women. This discourse was fuelled across different US media outlets, including film. Some genres, such as the corporate melodrama, supported this rhetoric directly, while others did so more obliquely, as is the case of the chick flick, which pivoted to the trope of the successful working woman during the 2010s. While some contemporary films seem to pander to the myth of the "mancession" by showing women getting ahead in their careers while men fall implicitly or explicitly behind, this article argues that there is an increasing number of chick flicks that highlight sexism and gender inequality at the workplace, challenging postfeminist images of female success and empowerment. The essay analyzes how post-2008 (but pre-pandemic) working woman chick flicks downplay traditional concerns in the genre, such as romance, and open their scope to focus on women's professional struggles, deploying the "mancession" narrative only to expose its contrivance, thus showing a greater feminist awareness than many of their predecessors often do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 20 years, empowerment has been used as a 'rallying cry' for girls' education and a necessary condition for gender equality. This article explores gender as an organising framework for international education policy and development during the Global Goals era (2000–2020). Using feminist policy discourse analysis as a coordinated conceptual and methodological approach, I show how gender organises the policy discourses by constructing target populations and constraining policy parameters. The data used in this article are sourced from policy documents published by UN Women and UNGEI from 2000–2020, and from semi-structured interview conversations with girls' education policy workers during the MDG-SDG transition. The findings presented in this article show how dominant policy discourses are constructed over time, and how they evolve to reflect changing cultural expectations for education's role in development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite achievements in women's economic and political empowerment, gender inequalities persist in the key socioeconomic areas of health and education in Laos. How can we explain these gaps in equality? We analyze how Lao people perceive gender equality and how differences in the perception of multiple dimensions of gender equality affect women's rights in healthcare and education. The results of a 2023 survey of 664 Laotians highlight the perception of equal responsibilities as the key dimension of gender equality, which may limit the improvement of gender equality in health. The results imply that female leadership and greater public consideration of gender equality with respect to rights and opportunities may promote gender equality in Laos. This study contributes to the study of perceptions and practices of gender equality in non-Western countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is achieved when policies are effectively implemented to foster the well-being of all. Research on equality has generally focused on women's empowerment as the foundation of empowering a nation. Similarly, there has been increased attention given to working with men in gender equality. However, researchers have not considered these two lines of thought side by side to achieve sustainable development. We examine the relationship between gender equality and development by empirically identifying country-specific factors that are associated with the level of gender equality over time for a sample of 44 African countries. Using trend analysis, we find a linear relationship between male and female inclusion in economic participation and opportunity. In particular, the empirical findings suggest that among the socio-economic, infrastructural, and governance-related factors, income, rural revitalization, mobile subscription, fixed telephone subscription, and rule of law are important factors in explaining the level of gender balance. In contrast, we find that unemployment positively impacts gender equality. We associate this outcome with the role expansion theory. These findings support debate in the literature that when economies grow, they stand better chances of fostering gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The development of human capital is a priority for most nation states, accelerated by the COVID‐19 global pandemic. In the context of reimagining a "new normal" post‐COVID, we reconsider the concept of human capital, and focus on knowledge, skills, and training of individuals in order to capture aspects of inclusive development. Purpose: This paper shows how the perspective of women, informal sector workers, representing some of the most marginalized workers in society, informs and improves our understanding of human capital and its development and utilization. Methods and approach: Our findings are derived from field‐based research conducted over the summer of 2021 in which multiple (virtual) focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with selected members of the Self‐Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in India. Findings: Through our FGDs, the participants provided new perspectives and insights into our knowledge of human capital, emphasizing the importance of social protection programmes, gender equity, ongoing training opportunities, decentralized supply chains, and income security. Perhaps most significantly, the benefits accrued to women through being organized have been key to unlocking their human capital potential. Policy implications: Our research highlights themes that are often overlooked in the literature or are beyond the scope of more narrow conceptualizations of human capital. We show that human capital is tightly interwoven with other forms of capital (community assets), and hence efforts to build the former cannot be achieved in isolation from attending to the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What kind and whose security is the European Union concerned with in its gender practices in countering violent extremism? This article contributes to the scholarship on EU implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda and gender in countering violent extremism, highlighting shortcomings in the conceptualisation and practice of women's participation in the security sphere. Taking Niger as a heuristic case study, the paper explores tensions between local gender norms and EU securitised framing of women's empowerment and gender equality, arguing that women's increased participation in the security field is tacitly understood in terms of use-value. Building on feminist postcolonial scholarship, the analysis uncovers how women are included and what expectations they are deriving from their engagement, exposing the neoliberal and neocolonial framings of EU intervention and the misunderstandings of women's materialities. By ontologically flattening women subjectivities without accounting for their intersectional experiences, both patriarchy and global hierarchies of knowledge production are reiterated. In doing so, the EU co-constructs gendered and racialised subjects, thus reinforcing inequalities, silencing local pluralities, and in many cases, aggravating women's situation of insecurity in Niger. The analysis employs feminist and ethnographic methods, including semi-structured interviews and participant observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the world, women along with men are key actors in every aspect of food systems, as farmers, processors, wageworkers, traders, and consumers. Despite their significant role, the evidence shows that women are not only structurally disadvantaged in the food system, but also their contributions are often undervalued. Unraveling the gender dynamics in food systems is necessary to address gender inequalities and develop efficient, inclusive, and resilient food systems. Some positive actions toward inclusion are being integrated, however, more efforts are needed. To achieve sustainable food systems, gender equity, and women's empowerment are needed across different nodes of the food systems. Men and women have different experiences and different strategies throughout the food system. Therefore, understanding such gender differences could facilitate the development of gender-sensitive policies and programs that could help achieve sustainable, nutrition-sensitive, and inclusive food systems. We have used the most recent food systems framework developed by the High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) and examined the perspective on how gender dynamics shape men's and women's participation in food systems and to identify the entry points for improved gender equity and inclusion to attain sustainable food systems for healthy diets in low and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vindication of female sport at an international level and the visibility of this subject in the media provided the groundwork for the release of the fictional television series Les de l'hoquei/The Hockey Girls (TV3, 2019–2020; Netflix, 2019). After a successful first season on TV3, it was included in the Netflix catalogue. Through content analysis of its first season and an ad-hoc analysis sheet, we conclude that this series promotes equality by creating a new collective subject that unites men and women. We also find that it builds new models of masculinity, female empowerment, sisterhood and better relations between genders. Therefore, the series moves away from post-feminist postulates and shows that it is still necessary to establish equality between men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyberstalking, especially among university students, has become a critical social concern. While a growing body of research associates cyberstalking with abuse of technology, psychological instability and the perceived porosity of the legal systems, power inequality has not been foregrounded as a major driver. With a focus on establishing power relationships between victims and perpetrators, the study explored structural and social environments surrounding female students at the University of Dar es Salaam. The quantitative and qualitative data were collected with an online survey questionnaire distributed to 424 female students. Together with the questionnaire, deeper insights for the qualitative information were obtained from online interviews held with 30 female students and 15 key informants as well as from online Focused Group Discussion held with another cluster of 30 female students who had experiences of cybertalking. Interpreted from a feminist theoretical perspective and 'gender digital divide' stances, the results indicate multiple forms of unequal power relations surrounding third-world women internet users in universities. The study recommends strategies against gender inequality to be extended to cyberspace, while women's empowerment in online spaces should be spearheaded in gender equality discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the progress made by the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in terms of gender equality and social and, above all, educational emancipation, today there are still disparities in terms of the participation of women in the labour market. This paper proposes a descriptive and qualitative analysis of the situation of women in two MENA countries, which are Algeria and Morocco, and of the socioeconomic factors that hinder their autonomy in the field of work. As a result, the role of the family and the social environment on women is emphasised so that they could be active members of society and consequently become an additional labour force trained for the growth of the region, is emphasised, but it is condemned for the achievement of this triple challenge: education, professional integration, and economic empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During World War II, the British and Soviet governments permitted more personal contact between their citizens in hope that they would develop feelings of goodwill and become more supportive of their Alliance. This article examines the wartime correspondence exchanged between women of Britain and the Soviet Union as well as between two organizations, which facilitated their interactions. Participants from both countries used personal and gendered language to frame the Alliance and their contributions to it. Despite their ideological and political differences, the participants found common ground by focusing on their shared experiences as mothers, wives, and workers as well as by stressing a model of womanhood, which contained both radical and traditional elements. They combined essentializing concepts of femininity, which emphasized women's maternalism and vulnerability, with arguments for women's empowerment, based on their ability to change state policies and overcome gender inequities. The two committees that facilitated the exchanges wielded this feminine ideal to bolster the Alliance as well as to advance their own institutional agendas. Ultimately, these conversations shed light on: popular participation in the Anglo‐Soviet alliance, the power of emotion to forge political ties, and how womanhood was conceptualized and put in service of military and political goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will examine how underwater cultural heritage research can be an essential tool for reaching gender equality in the maritime world. It will examine the interplay of male and female identities in the maritime world of the past through the analysis of works of art depicting shipwrecks. This will make it possible to investigate the social representation of gender roles and produce ground-breaking research on the consequences of past history in current gender conceptions. The importance of this research is reflected in the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes Goal 5, 'promoting national and international efforts towards gender equality and women's empowerment'. Since gender inequalities are still deep-rooted in the maritime profession, this article believes that requestioning the vital role of women in the past and asking the right questions can advance gender equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In alignment with the sustainability strategy focusing on good governance, sustainable development, and racial harmony, this study investigates the access, use, and effects of ICT training on women in Sarawak. Its primary objective is to assess how ICT training benefits women in managing small homebased businesses. Data was gathered through questionnaires from 62 participants who attended training sessions in various Sarawak locations: Kota Samarahan, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Kuching, and Bako. This research holds significant importance for the state government, as it strives to increase the number of individuals with ICT skills and narrow the digital divide between urban and rural areas. The study reveals a strong consensus among respondents regarding the positive impact of ICT on empowering women, boosting their self-esteem, enriching their knowledge and skills, benefiting the socio-economic community, and fostering efficient management practices. The findings offer valuable insights into the effectiveness of ICT training for Sarawakian women engaged in home-based businesses. The mean scores for all variables indicate high agreement among respondents, with values exceeding four for each variable. This study underscores the substantial role of ICT in knowledge dissemination and empowering individuals, particularly in advancing gender equality. It suggests that ICT is an invaluable tool for successful training in rural areas and underscores the need for a systematic strategy to enhance ICT literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 19 January 2023, Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio signed the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE) Act into law. While it may have been productive to directly confront the differences of opinion that are evident even amongst the authors, being left to make up our own mind allows us to experience the complex political and conceptual challenges at stake in Sierra Leone's post-war trajectory to redefine gender justice. [Extracted from the article]

Over time, women have managed to slowly enter different fields of science, politics, education, and research, but there is still a lack of gender equity, which can cause negative results in success and progress of women in these areas. A systematic search was carried out in the PubMed, SciELO, and Cochrane Library databases, the NIH research portfolios on gender equality were reviewed, on how women entered research studies and how this participation influenced their health.; evidencing the lack of women in the leadership of clinical trials, as well as the participation in these, which leads to the limited understanding of the influence of sex and gender in the presentation of various diseases, especially those related to chronic diseases that influence with cardiovascular health or also other situations such as knowing the differences in the response to pain between men and women, which makes it relevant to generate government policies that encourage greater participation of women in society, and likewise that the women seek empowerment of their health, of their life in society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist scholars have debated the issue of integration and specialising of women in policing. Whether using a 'Western' definition of integration, gender-segregated units, or specialised policing for women, research reveals that within all nations, women experience barriers to hiring and promotion and are disadvantaged, discriminated, or marginalised, within the male dominated organisation. In this article, we argue that equity must be achieved before women police are to obtain equality in the workforce. We examine different models of gender in policing around the world including an equality model, an equity model, a hybrid model, and a cultural-specific model. Our findings suggest that no nation has made policing a gender equal institution. We have thus proposed a two-stage gender policy in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals that allows equity to come first to create an equal platform for women in policing, following which gender equality may be achievable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's empowerment is fundamental for realizing unalienable human rights and is vital to sustainable development outcomes. In India, the SWABHIMAAN intervention program was an integrated multi-sectoral strategy to improve girls' and women's nutrition before conception, during pregnancy, and after childbirth. This study assesses the role of self-help-group (SHGs) in improving the effectiveness of community health interventions and its impact on their self-empowerment. Qualitative data gathered through in-depth interviews (IDI) with community-based SHG members involved as Nutrition Friend (Poshan Sakhi-PS) in the SWABHIMAAN program in 2018 was used for analysis. Informed consent procedures were followed, and only those who voluntarily consented to the interview were interviewed. Twenty-five IDIs of purposively selected PSs in three states (Bihar, n = 9; Chhattisgarh, n = 8; and Odisha, n = 8) were analyzed thematically, according to Braun & Clarke (2006). NVivo 12 software was used for organizing and coding data. Three central themes that emerged to explain women's empowerment were (1) Barriers & redressal mechanisms adopted by PS, (2) PS as a change-maker, and (3) Changes in the life of PS. The study found that women perceive themselves as more empowered through involvement in the SWABHIMAN intervention program, besides improving the community's and their households' nutritional status. The results suggest that policies and programs on health and nutrition interventions need to involve peer women from the community, leading to more effective outcomes. Empowering women and closing gender gaps in employment/work are critical to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is focused on reviewing the literature on the issue of gender equality and women’s empowerment policies to reveal relationships, publication trends, hot topics or themes that have always been the object of research – especially on the issue of gender equality and women’s empowerment. In this study, the data used for analysis wasconsisted of 877 documents obtained from the Scopus database. Then, the data was analyzed using VOSviewer. VOSviewer is used for creating, visualizing, and exploring bibliometric maps of science. The results showed a significant increase in the number of publications on gender equality issues over time. However, these results do not necessarily become a primary indicator of the occurrence of gender parity. On the contrary, the results of this study can be used as a reference to understand gender mainstreaming better, as well as to outline the benefits of gender equality and women’s empowerment – namely, creating prosperity and peace for the entire community [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this book, she compares migratory strategies of Vietnamese migrant workers from five ethnic groups - the ethnic Vietnamese, Vietnamese Chinese, Khmer Krom, Cham, and Hre - in Malaysia and other developing countries such as Thailand and Cambodia. At the basic sociological level, the book examines the usual story of Vietnamese migrant workers who, due to aggressive recruiting practices and a lack of relevant information, borrowed a significant amount of money to pay for various brokerage and travel fees. Migration for work by Vietnamese and Vietnamese Chinese is more gender balanced compared with the more male-centered migratory strategies of Khmer Krom, Cham, and especially Hre. [Extracted from the article]