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Widespread global interest and adoption of deliberative democracy approaches to reinvigorate citizenship and policymaking in an era of democratic crisis/decline has been mirrored by increasing interest in deliberation in schools, both as an approach to pedagogy and student empowerment and as a training ground for deliberative citizenship. In school deliberation, as in other settings, a key and sometimes neglected element of high-quality deliberation is facilitation. Facilitation can help to establish and maintain deliberative norms, assist participants to deliberate productively, and enable collective goals. By participating in facilitated deliberation, students can develop awareness, skills, and voice that empower them to engage with democracy, in school and beyond. This article draws on our experience as scholar/practitioners running a Deliberation in Schools program in Australia to explore challenges and strategies for deliberative facilitation. The challenges we discuss are power, inequality, diversity of expression and knowledge, and disagreement and these are discussed in the general context of inclusiveness. We highlight two facets of deliberative facilitation--technique and design--that are important for dealing with these challenges and increasing inclusion in school deliberation and in democratic deliberation more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meghan Trainor's 2016 song, "Woman Up", serves not only as a call to action for women everywhere, but also serves as a representation of the collective force of women necessary to exist and persist within higher education. Throughout this piece, one will come to see that student leaders need experiences in higher education to feel empowered, and women leaders can be the ones to create those experiences. Carol Gilligan's Theory of Women's Moral Development will serve as the foundation for discussing how to proceed in advancing the holistic development of women student leaders. In the discussion about opportunities and moments for experiences, one can see that there are practical ways in which we can apply the theory in everyday life. Through this work and Trainor's lyrics, it will be evident that women are necessary in the structure of higher education and need to bring each other up to create change within the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feminist movement has been a contending issue recently as there have been calls for gender equality in all facets of life owing to the injustice meted out to them; hence, it is in this regard that this research seeks to carry out a stylistic analysis of the Revolt on the Bumpy Chested by Stella Oyedepo. This stylistic research underpins how the author exemplifies the idea of feminism in the text in contrast with the reaction of men alike. It focuses on the tools that aid how she maximally underscores her characters to spiral the feministic ideology. This research critically considers how women are empowered for roles meant for men and how this transition is enveloped in the text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pedagogía Social is the property of Pedagogia Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sociedad e Infancias is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Indian traditions offer a very specific place in the society to women, and the religious practices give them certain responsibilities. Religion and common life are practically inseparable and the role models offered by the Hindu pantheon and sacred texts are to be reflected in the day to day activity. Shakti is the wife of Lord Sadashiva and the Mother of the Universe, while Lakshmi is the wife of Lord Vishnu, whose main characteristic is to bring prosperity. This article is approaching the role women play from the position of the Hindu tradition, overviewing Puranic and epic texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The issue of female economic empowerment in the Middle East and the North Africa region (MENA) has attracted significant attention; however, its potential in the tourism sector has not been fully explored. This study aims to identify the steps involved in conceptualizing, designing, and conducting a customized tourism training program to economically empower women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design/methodology/approach: Grounded in stakeholder theory and using a triangulation method of data analysis, the study is an outcome of mixed-method research. The data were collected through focus group interviews, personal interviews and a survey involving women stakeholders from public and private sectors. Findings: The study revealed that the desired components for tourist guide training among Emirati women include career paths, ways to seek support from family, entrepreneurial and leadership skills development, and destination knowledge. Originality/value: The study provides theoretical and practical implications for a systematic training approach undertaken by a destination management organization (DMO) in liaison with other stakeholders. The study recommends a series of phases to scientifically design and conduct tourism training in order to empower women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agroalimentaria is the property of Alejandro Antonio Gutierrez Socorro and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Pedagogía Social is the property of Pedagogia Social and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the concept of policy feedback and its impact on low-income families in the context of the welfare state. It highlights the negative effects of neoliberal or punitive policies on the sense of efficacy and attachment of target populations as democratic citizens. However, the article also presents a glimmer of optimism through a deep dive into the feedback effects of after-school programs, which offer empowerment and positive outcomes for low-income parents. The author emphasizes the value of ethnographic research in understanding public policy and administration and suggests that this research can contribute to progressive change. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores how the identity of victim-survivors of sexual violence is portrayed in the dystopian TV series Westworld (2016-present) by analyzing the linguistic characterization of the lead female character, Dolores Abernathy. To do so, this paper adopts a mixed methodology which combines corpus stylistics and Appraisal Theory with a feminist critical reading of the results in order to examine the textual cues in Dolores' dialogue which characterize her journey from being a victim to becoming an empowered being. The results of the analysis show that the series features a misappropriation of female empowerment and liberation since Dolores presents a masculinization of her fictional identity which mirrors patriarchal practices and attitudes against women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The participation of women in adventure tourism in recent decades is remarkable, and this challenges gender stereotypes, traditional norms, and discrimination against women in some societies. Given their unique and attractive nature, leisure activities, including adventure tourism, can be considered to improve women's living conditions and to empower them. This study examined the effect of self-expression on Iranian women's empowerment in adventure trips. For the purpose of this study, 223 adventure tourists were selected as the sample and structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. The findings acknowledged that participation in leisure activities such as adventure tourism can lead to women's self-expression, which directly affects their empowerment in various dimensions and can improve their social, economic, physical, and political status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development sector's adoption of private sector logics and practices has seen donors increasingly disburse funds using aid chains. Aid chains consist of at least two nodes, with work subcontracted from donors to organizations socially and geographically closer to beneficiaries. Aid chains enable "ethics dumping," where subcontracting facilitates higher-tier actors distancing themselves from the messy work of engaging in the politics of interventions. The power inequalities of aid chains stand in sharp contrast to donors' "partnership" rhetoric and raise the question of how lower-tier actors can challenge donors. This question is particularly pertinent for aid chains for women's empowerment projects, given that the agenda of women's empowerment has been instrumentalized. This article considers the resistance strategies used by lower-tier actors to contest policy. Analyzing a rare on-the-record case of resistance, it examines a women's empowerment project implemented through a four-tier chain. The article documents the strategies deployed by a lower-tier actor to advance the understanding of women's empowerment not as market inclusion but as originally conceived: as movement building. Its analysis offers insights into how feminist advocates can advance alternatives, as well as the impacts of aid subcontracting and how "partnership" is interpreted in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the characteristic and constraints of female entrepreneurs in rural tourism. The paper draws on a longitudinal case study following and comparing 26 microbusinesses and entrepreneurs in rural tourism in Norway (Global North) and Chile (Global South) from 2003 until 2020 (Nordbø, 2009, 2018, 2022). It responds to a call for more research on female entrepreneurship from different geographical locations, and from within an industry of great importance for the economic development and vitality of rural areas. The female entrepreneurs in the study stand out with reference to their motivation for running a business, their goals and economic aspirations, priorities, challenges and survival rates, among other things. The findings from the research show that although some of the differences and challenges are clearly related to the female entrepreneurs' embeddedness in national, regional and local contexts and historical path dependency, others are more global in scale and related to the spread and diffusion of Western ideas of entrepreneurship and rural economic development. Female entrepreneurs in rural tourism, more than men, and independent of Global North – Global South location, can become locked into path-dependent trajectories related to rural tourism as an economic sector, tourism entrepreneurship as a rural economic development strategy, and the history of place. The article suggests it is vital to understand and differentiate between such factors in order to be able to provide more accurate initiatives for the empowerment and business survival of female entrepreneurs in rural areas, in both the Global North as well as the Global South. • Characteristic and constraints of female entrepreneurs in rural tourism in a Global North-South context through a longitudinal case study over 15 years. • Responds to a call for more research on female entrepreneurship from different geographical locations, and from within an industry of great importance for rural areas. • The differences and challenges are related to the female entrepreneurs' embeddedness in national, regional and local contexts and historical path dependency, and to the diffusion of Western ideas of entrepreneurship and rural economic development. • Such factors are important in order to provide more accurate initiatives for the empowerment and business survival of female entrepreneurs in rural areas both in the Global North and South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil's Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV) program was touted as a "pro-female" policy to promote women's autonomy and empowerment through subsidized homeownership. However, its design and discourse constructed motherhood as the primary basis of women's inclusion. This article examines the gendered effects of a maternalist housing program through ethnographic research in São Paulo, looking at both movement organizations using MCMV to provide housing for members, and everyday life among residents in an MCMV-subsidized housing complex. It finds that while many women felt empowered by inclusion in MCMV, the program also produced gendered exclusions and reinforced unequal gendered burdens. First, it selectively prioritized low-income mothers while excluding other groups of women as undeserving "single people." Second, it primed beneficiaries to view state-subsidized housing as conditioned upon their responsibility for home and family, expanding maternal obligations to include the financial management of homeownership without easing gendered burdens of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do welfare programs affect beneficiaries' perceptions of social mobility? This paper uses the case of Brazil's Bolsa Família Program to assess whether, how, and to what degree the welfare program affects beneficiaries' views of their potential social mobility. It makes a key contribution to the understanding of social mobility by incorporating the role that race and gender play in beneficiary respondent's evaluation of social mobility. Use of an original field survey undergirds the finding that, in contrast to conventional understandings of Brazilian racial and social dynamics, beneficiary status operates differently for Afro-Brazilian and White beneficiaries, as well as for male and female beneficiaries. Specifically, that the program has significant empowerment effects for White women beneficiaries, but that it does not affect the evaluations of Afro-Brazilian women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I examine how LGBT empowerment is discursively constructed within the material context of postcolonial Ghana, arguing that LGBT empowerment emerges as a contentious site of "glocalized assemblage" that condenses multiple meanings and spatio-temporal histories of colonization, gender, and sexuality to produce contradictory and paradoxical effects on Sassoi. I explain how neoliberal frames of governmentality are embedded in LGBT-centred empowerment programmes through discursive evocations of community, personal responsibility and human rights education. In conclusion, I argue for queer (post)colonial approaches to LGBT empowerment that open up spaces for radical imaginations to social change in Ghana and across the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research aimed to investigate the degree to which women's empowerment dimensions (social, economic, political, and women's issues) are addressed through English language books in Saudi secondary education. It raised a question on the extent to which women's empowerment dimensions are addressed in secondary English language books. The authors followed the descriptive analytical research design. The research utilized a checklist of (19) indicators describing women's empowerment dimensions (social, economic, political, and women's issues). The checklist was designed to measure women's empowerment dimensions in the content and activities in English language books by inferring them from the units of analysis considered in the current research - paragraphs and pictures. Results showed that in the first year of secondary school, political empowerment was ranked first, whereas economic empowerment was ranked last. Additionally, in the second year, women's issues were ranked first, followed by political empowerment, then economic empowerment was ranked last. In the third year, social empowerment came in the first rank meanwhile political empowerment came in the last rank. The study concluded a need to re-evaluate and update the curricula and textbooks regarding women in line with the national goals for women. It is a significant study because it addresses empowering Saudi women in EFL textbooks. It recommends including basic issues, especially woman-related ones, in EFL textbooks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Migraciones is the property of Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Instituto Universitario de Estudios sobre Migraciones and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper introduces a case study in cross-cultural Cognitive Linguistics focused on the variable use of English modal verbs conveying new Covid-triggered experiential metaphors conceived by a focus group of multicultural participants in online discussion. The group was composed of Italians, Greeks and migrants from Nigeria, Morocco and Yemen, all non-native speakers of English - a language that they used as a 'lingua franca' (ELF) while participating in the intercultural interaction taking place in the computer-mediated dimension of a virtual university classroom. The case study intended to determine whether the group's pragmatic use of modals introducing novel metaphors actually diverged from habitual high/low- context schemata related to the multicultural participants' different native sociolinguistic communities. Schema divergence was assumed to be prompted by the particular 'emotion-raising' topic chosen for the case study - namely, the probable fake news on the causes of the Covid-19 pandemic, as they were conveyed by three journalistic texts submitted for discussion. More specifically, the case study explored the new cognitive metaphors of 'inclusion', 'exclusion', and 'seclusion' developed by the participants in relation to their social and psychological involvement with the topic - which eventually developed further to encompass the positive and negative consequences of pandemic, including the obligation to stay at home and communicate exclusively online, with the related issues of gender and ethnic discrimination, or rather empowerment. What stands out in this case study is that the more the participants were emotionally involved in such a topic, the more markedly their specific ELF variations emerged in the discussion. This is assumed to be due to the fact that the participants unconsciously perceived such ELF variations as more spontaneous and familiar for the immediate expression of their emotions and opinions, insofar as these variations have developed from the natural transfer of their native-language structures into the non-native English language they used. Indeed, precisely these ELF variations allowed the conveyance of the new metaphors for the expression of the participants' unprecedented experience of forced lockdown and online communication through the so-called 'metaverse' replacing reality. In such a virtual context, the participants in the online debate who were migrants from the high-context cultures of Nigeria, Morocco, and Yemen unexpectedly developed novel low-context epistemic metaphors of 'inclusion' triggered by their sense of a possible freedom from their native social constraints granted by remote communication mode without the use of video, which would conceal their ethnic and socio-cultural features. On the contrary, participants from the middle/high-context cultures of the Southern European countries of Italy and Greece showed a strengthening of the stereotypical high-context deontic metaphors imposing 'exclusion' and 'seclusion'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Turkish Journal of Social Research / Turkiye Sosyal Arastirmalar Dergisi is the property of Turkish Journal of Social Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the exploration of women farmers' information literacy (IL) in the context of rural Bangladesh within the context of an ICT-based women empowerment project. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses thematic analysis of qualitative data collected during a culturally sensitive workshop on IL with a group of project participants. Findings: The findings showed that women understood their information needs and where to find information, which indicates that participants had some basic IL skills. However, the online environment presented challenges for them to evaluate the quality of the information and its relevance to their daily activities. The cultural complexity of IL was observed with the rural women's information practices affected by family patterns, community and religion, amongst other social factors. Collective practices are made highly evident by the women's natural tendency to share phones and information and by the way information is maintained. While the collective practices are very useful in utilising information for daily needs, the downside is that women are potentially vulnerable to threats in an online environment when sharing confidential information. Originality/value: This article shows that in the context of rural Bangladesh, women farmers' information-seeking behaviour and practices of sharing and creating information are influenced by sociocultural characteristics. It describes how the women's situational context of collectivity and power relations influence their ways of handling information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization in low and middle-income nations is characterized by economic and demographic shifts largely understood to be beneficial to women's empowerment. These changes include increased education and wage-labor opportunities, a disruption of traditional patrilocal residence systems, and reductions in spousal age gap and fertility. However, such changes may drive a "violence backlash," with men increasing intimate partner violence (IPV) in efforts to challenge women's shifting status. To date, tests of this idea primarily relate to women's changing economic status, with less known about the demographic correlates of IPV in urbanizing settings. Addressing this, we conducted a cross-sectional study of IPV behavior and attitudes in an urbanizing community in Mwanza, northern Tanzania (n = 317). Consistent with a violence backlash, IPV was reported more often among women educated at higher levels than their husband, and women earning similar, rather than lower, wages to their husband were more likely to report that he condones IPV. These findings were independent of women's absolute education and income. Furthermore, less frequent paternal kin contact, and relatively small spousal age gaps, generally understood to boost women's empowerment, were associated with an increased risk of experiencing IPV. Less frequent paternal kin contact was also associated with an increased likelihood that a husband condones IPV. Contrary to our predictions, relatively lower fertility, generally linked to higher women's empowerment, did not predict IPV behavior and women with high, rather than low, fertility were more likely to report that their husband condones IPV. Overall, our results support the notion of a violence backlash corresponding to economic changes for women that accompany urbanization. In contrast, demographic changes associated with urbanization have more variable relationships. Drawing on these results, we suggest future research avenues for better understanding the vulnerability of women to IPV in urbanizing settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, approximately one-fourth of university presidents are female. The lack of women in senior leadership roles at higher education institutions mirrors other industries, and research has shown that institutions and organizations which lack female representation are less effective. To ascend to senior leadership roles, including the presidency, women persist through existing macro, meso, and micro levels of gender-based barriers. Thus, the primary research question guiding this study was: What factors contribute to the self-efficacy of women presidents in higher education? The theories of self-efficacy and transformational leadership provide the framework through which the concepts of women as leaders, American college presidents, gender-based barriers, and support structures were explored. This study resulted in six major findings: (a) Women presidents in higher education institutions are highly selfefficacious yet aspire to even greater levels of efficacy and professionalism; (b) Women presidents in higher education institutions are authentic, relationship-focused, and goal-oriented; (c) Women presidents in higher education institutions experience a multitude of gender-based barriers on their leadership journeys and in their presidencies; (d) Mentoring and leadership or professional development programming are essential components of the leadership journey for women presidents in higher education institutions; (e) Misalignment exists between the genderbased barriers and support structures identified by women presidents of higher education institutions; and (f) Women presidents of higher education institutions are committed to supporting the next generation of leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study has been conducted to identify vulnerabilities and effects of climate change on women in 12 unions in Shyamnagar upazila in the Satkhira district in the Southwestern Coastal Region of Bangladesh (SWCRB). Climate vulnerability and gender inequality may increase due to climate change. Women may, thus, face specific conditions of vulnerability in society and daily livelihood. This paper focuses on investigating factors that influence women's vulnerability from climate change, their adaptations, and the importance of women empowerment to reduce their inequality in SWCRB. This study also emphasizes gender inequality caused by climate change, and looks at accommodations for women to reduce hostile influences of climate change. From the 9 unions in SWCRB, a total of 320 household respondents were randomly selected to complete a questionnaire. The results of the statistical analysis showed that most of the survey's perimeter has significant. Interviews, case studies, focus group discussions, workshops, and key informant interviews were also conducted from 12 unions, and it was found that climate change impacts men and women differently, with women being more vulnerable than men. Through case study this paper investigated the main factors influencing the vulnerability of women. In terms of empowerment women may also be well positioned to lead adaptation efforts alongside men, as this analysis represent that gender inequalities are leading by social norms. Women being more vulnerable both in short-term i.e., major natural disasters, cyclones, flood, and long-term i.e., sea level rise, salinity intrusion in water and soil, land erosion, droughts, climatic events, as they enhance gender inequalities. Further, gender inequality is seen in illiteracy, food shortages and poor health conditions, traditional norms, religious taboos, and patriarchy. Moreover, gender-based economic opportunities, women's mobility, and income are changing, while household authority relations and gender-based socio-economic, cultural, and institutional constraints remain. This study examines the increased vulnerability of women in SWCRB to climate change, which can be mitigated through women empowerment; female involvement with environmentally friendly stoves, rural electrification and renewable energy development, microfinancing, and nakshikantha. (Nakshikantha is a special type of sewing art that is made by creating designs with different types of colored threads on plain stitches). Lastly, women may also lead adaptation efforts alongside men, make decisions, and promote their participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many caricaturists get the idea for their caricature from current issues of society. The philosophy of the caricature lies in the opinion it presents, which discusses society's goals, culture, and crises, and it is represented in an ironic way to deliver its visual message. The fight for women's rights, inequality, and discrimination are examples of issues concerning Saudi women that have been represented by several caricaturists. Hence, the aim of this paper is to investigate female and male caricaturists' linguistic and semiotic representation of Saudi women's challenging issues. Following (Kress and Van Leeuwen. 2006. Reading images: The grammar of visual design, 2nd edn. London: Routledge), a social semiotic multimodal approach to the analysis is adopted in this study, which is drawn from Halliday's social semiotic theory. Twenty caricatures were carefully selected based on the content and the issues that are being discussed in the caricatures with a consideration of their relation to the aim of the study. The present study contributes to enriching Saudi women's rights in relation to Saudi Vision 2030. The research is significant in that, in examining women/male caricaturists' representations of the challenges and opportunities of Saudi women empowerment prior/after Saudi Vision 2030 in the workplace, social life, it contributes to understanding the supportive caricature discourse, basic social values for Saudi women, the pressures they undergo, and the success they have achieved so far in attaining their rights. The study findings show that both the semiotic and verbal elements of the caricatures were significant in delivering the messages for women's rights in the new Saudi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's economic empowerment a strategy aimed at enabling women in decision-making, increment in income and asset ownership. The main aim of the study is to examine the impact of microfinance on women's economic empowerment. Data were derived from a questionnaire of a sample of 346 women clients of microfinance. Multiple regression and paired sampled t-test data analysis techniques were used in the study. Multiple linear regression result revealed that age, marital status, education level, credit amount, and number of training have significant effect on women's economic empowerment. However, previous business experience did not have significant impact on women's economic empowerment. Paired sampled t-test result revealed that there is significant mean difference before and after microfinance service in terms of income, asset, and saving. Microfinance has significant positive effect on women's economic empowerment by improving women's independent income, increasing asset possession levels, and improved monthly saving amount. Moreover, the study proved that microfinance has a positive impact on women's entrepreneurship development and business exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's empowerment is considered to play a crucial role in food and nutrition security. We aimed to explore the relationship between women's empowerment and food and nutrition security, in rural Pakistan. Methods: To estimate women's empowerment, we developed a Rural Women Composite Empowerment Index incorporating nine domains. For indicators of food and nutritional data we used data of 1879 rural households from Pakistan Rural Household Panel Survey (PRHPS). Food insecurity was measured through a caloric intake approach; nutrition insecurity was measured through recommended nutrient intake (RNI). Using the Rural Women's Composite Empowerment Index (RWCEI), we employed multi-level mixed-effect regression analysis. Results: The domains of traveling safely (21%), time allocated to tasks (20%), and (lack of) domestic violence (19%) were the most significant domains in defining empowerment of rural woman. The prevalence of food and nutrition insecurity were 33% and 50% respectively. Regression analysis found a positive and significant relationship between women's empowerment and food and nutrition security–the proportion of household who were food and nutritionally secure in empowered households was 70% and 98% respectively. Conclusions: Developing programmes and policies to improve the range of domains of women's empowerment requires a focussed policy agenda, bringing together policy makers from a number of different sectors including education, economy, communications, technology and agriculture. Women's empowerment has the potential to make positive changes not only in food and nutrition security, but in all aspects of family health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become increasingly important to train for an educational culture that makes use of digital technology to enhance its practices. Frameworks such as DigCompEdu enable identification of weaknesses and areas which require more training. This paper presents the results of a case study with 249 participants from a Portuguese University examining differences in the digital competence of teachers according to gender, age, faculty and experience. Based on the data obtained, it was found that there were no significant differences and that it was, therefore, more important to consider training for digital empowerment according to the different areas of the DigCompEdu framework and to address weaknesses found in each of these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence on the efficacy of women's empowerment to improve child growth and minimum dietary diversity (MDD) in the Eastern Africa (EA) region is limited. This cross‐sectional study used recent Demographic and Health Survey data of mother–child dyads from seven countries in EA to examine the associations between women's empowerment measures, child growth and MDD. Length‐for‐age z‐scores, weight‐for‐length z‐scores and weight‐for‐age z‐scores were used to categorize growth indicators of 6–23 months old children. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify significant associations. Among all countries, 32%–59% of children experienced growth failure. Children meeting MDD were 18%–45%. Women having self‐esteem were associated with lower odds of stunting (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.62 in Rwanda), wasting (AOR = 0.38 in Uganda), underweight (AORs = 0.60 and 0.57 in Tanzania and Uganda, respectively) and growth failure (AOR = 0.64 in Rwanda). Having health decision control in Burundi was associated with lower odds of stunting (AOR = 0.49) and child growth failure (AOR = 0.52) and higher odds of meeting MDD (AOR = 2.50). Having Legal empowerment among women increased the odds of stunting (AOR = 1.79 in Burundi), underweight (AOR = 1.77 in Uganda) and growth failure (AOR = 1.87 in Burundi). Economic empowerment showed mixed associations with child growth and MDD among some countries. Women's self‐esteem and health decision control were associated with better child growth and MDD for some countries in EA. Nutrition‐sensitive interventions aimed at improving child growth and MDD should consider local contexts when addressing women's empowerment. Key messages: Understanding the associations between women's empowerment, child growth and child dietary diversity is important for most nutrition‐sensitive interventions seeking to improve child feeding practices and growth by targeting mothers.In this study, for women to have self‐esteem and health decision control was consistently beneficial for child growth and minimum dietary diversity (MDD). Mixed associations existed among other women's empowerment measures, child growth and MDD across the seven East African countries investigated.For improved child growth and better child dietary diversity, targeting specific women's empowerment measures based on local context may be beneficial in the East African region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the pottery production potential for rural livelihood and empowerment of Kisi female potters of Tanzania, 1970-2010. Interviews, observation, and consultation of secondary data are used to collect data from five villages, including Matema and Ikombe in the Kyela District and Lumbila, Nkanda, and Chanjale in the Ludewa District. The interviews include 65 female potters from these villages--17 from Lumbila, 15 from Nkanda, 15 from Chanjale, eight from the Huruma potting group in Matema, and ten female potters that were working with the Ikombe workshop in the village of Ikombe. After the collapse of workshops, these female potters returned to traditional pottery making. Findings from the study reveal that the majority of female potters interviewed are married and have attended primary schools--none of them have any secondary education. Furthermore, these female potters contribute to the livelihood of their families as pottery replaced fishing and became the main source of income. Through this, Kisi female potters diversified their pottery products and made goods such as flowerpots, ashtrays, candle pots, and decorative souvenirs for tourists. The income generated from potting gives female potters social and political freedom to engage in various activities as well as the establishment of groups such as the Huruma potting group. Despite their efforts, female potters receive minimal support from the government. This study recommends that the government should find appropriate means of empowering potters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media offered new opportunities for politicians to engage with the public. However, little research has explored public perceptions of women politicians and their role in women's empowerment, especially in non-Western contexts. This study used a qualitative methodology to explore how young Emirati women made sense of gender and other identities in their discussions of Emirati women politicians on social media. Drawing from intersectionality theory, the study looked beyond gender, exploring other identities that may play a role in Emirati women's perceptions. The results offered insights into the family and ethnic identity as they interacted with gender. The findings also highlighted the challenges of personalizing messages in a patriarchal society. This study contributes to international political communication research and practice by understanding the complexity of women's sense-making of social media and women politicians in a non-Western context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses the potential for basic income to become a tool for empowering women in the household and in the workplace. Recent debates among feminist political theorists indicate that it is not obvious whether basic income has the potential to push our society toward greater socioeconomic gender justice. I show that arguments for and against basic income put forward by feminist theorists rely on implicit assumptions about how women's work should be conceived—assumptions that are not shared among all of them. I also argue that these beliefs can be sorted into two dichotomies: one concerned with the suitability of remuneration for caregiving, the other with the question of who should be responsible for caregiving. I conclude by explaining the possible causes of the divergences in the views of feminist supporters and critics of UBI, and by recommending ways to arrive at common conceptual grounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community health agents (CHAs) play a critical role in primary healthcare delivery and health promotion in low-resource settings. Though there is substantial evidence of the benefits of CHAs in achieving targeted community health outcomes, there is limited research into the impact of empowerment experienced by CHAs themselves. This study examined how working as a CHA impacts the lives and self-perceptions of women in Peru volunteering with Catholic Medical Mission Board's (CMMB) markedly successful robust CHA model. We conducted six focus group discussions (FGDs) of 53 CHAs who implement CMMB programming in Trujillo and Huancayo, Peru. The FGDs were designed to explore themes related to empowerment, changes in women's lives, and perceptions of themselves. We identified four major themes related to women's empowerment: achievements, agency, meaningfulness, and resources. The most common empowerment theme was achievements, expressed through subthemes of changes in family behavior, self worth, education, health and nutrition, and rights and politics. The second most common empowerment theme was agency, with subthemes related to increases in using their voice, confidence, decision making, and participation. CHAs also reported experiencing empowerment through enhanced meaningfulness. CMMB's CHA model is an example of how well-structured community programs can facilitate women's empowerment. Providing meaningful community leadership opportunities can have far-reaching effects on women's perceptions of themselves as valuable, capable, and empowered leaders. This work deepens our understanding of how to practically improve community health through empowering women to catalyze gender equality in communities with disproportionate barriers and limited opportunities burdening them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Few studies have examined the influence of women's participation in farmer groups on female and male empowerment, which is considered essential to improving nutrition. Objectives The study aimed to 1) assess the empowerment of Ghanaian women farmers, 1 adult male family decision-maker per household, and the household gender equality; and 2) investigate the relation of empowerment and household gender equality with women's participation in farmer-based organizations (FBOs), women's and men's nutritional status, and household food security. Methods A cross-sectional study investigated secondary outcomes using baseline data from a nutrition-sensitive agriculture intervention implemented through FBOs in rural Ghana. Existing FBOs in 8 communities were selected based on 6 criteria (e.g. participation level, readiness to change). Female FBO (n  = 166) and non-FBO (n  = 164) members together with a male family member (n  = 205) provided data on individual and household characteristics; empowerment was measured across 11 indicators with the project-level Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index. Generalized linear mixed models tested the associations of empowerment and household gender equality with FBO membership, nutritional status, and household food security. Results Women's FBO membership was associated with an increased likelihood of women's empowerment [adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 3.25; 95% CI: 1.97, 5.33] and household gender parity (aOR: 2.82; 95% CI: 1.39, 5.84) but not men's empowerment. Household food insecurity, but not nutritional status, was positively associated with women's FBO participation and individual empowerment indicators (financial services). Food insecurity was negatively associated with the women's empowerment indicator related to attitudes about domestic violence [adjusted β coefficient (aβ): −0.78; 95% CI: −1.35, −0.21] and men's overall empowerment (aβ: −0.79; 95% CI: −1.58, −0.01). Conclusions Understanding the complexity in which FBO participation, empowerment, nutritional status, and food security are linked is critical in designing interventions that promote gender equality and improved nutrition. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03869853. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Socioloski Pregled is the property of Srpsko Sociolosko Drustvo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Itobiad: Journal of the Human & Social Science Researches / İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Itobiad: Journal of the Human & Social Science Researches and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In March of 2019, along with 276 other applications, the project titled DREAM ROAD - Danube Region for Improved Access and Empowerment of Roma Development was first submitted within the 3rd call for projects of the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme. The improved access and empowerment of a marginalized community, represented in all countries of the Danube Region, was and still is at its core, three years later. The 15-member partnership, representing 10 countries of the Danube region, gathered around the shared goal of improving communities by making sure all its members have comparable, if not equal, access to public services and life opportunities. So far, the project has triumphantly marked most of its planned milestones - including the establishment of Learning Labs as shared spaces of knowledge, skill and competence gain, as well as community areas in all participating countries. Currently in progress is engagement with public services providers, public authorities and decision makers, which aims to contribute to the strengthened inclusion of Roma in their local environments. With the COVID pandemic the partnership faced obstacles pertaining not only to its meetings but also with regard to reaching its target audiences. While the former moved to online space, the latter was implemented after major restrictions were lifted in participating countries and regions, in the spring of 2022. The implementation of educational activities and those aimed at skill and competence enhancement was underpinned by the pandemic, during which Roma settlements and communities were hit particularly and unjustly hard. As a direct result of the pandemic, Roma pupils were faced with the hybrid or exclusively online school models, bringing seemingly unsurmountable barriers to children from marginalized communities and a halt to their educational aspirations - often their only way of escaping marginalisation. Worryingly low numbers of Roma pupils attended classes during this period, as can be observed in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and other Danube countries. The DREAM ROAD project implementation took place against the backdrop of this complete exclusion of Roma pupils from education across the Danube region and amidst widespread concern among educators. However, the project was successful in tackling its main specific objectives - to mobilize and empower members of Roma communities to become agents of change, to strengthen skills and competences of relevant stakeholders and local communities for effective intercultural communication and implementation of novel solutions, to facilitate policy change through developing strategic partnerships, and stimulating development and implementation of novel approaches. The pillars of these suggested novel approaches are developed Learning labs as communal spaces where access to skills, knowledge and competences can be granted to Roma community members. These activities do, however, constitute only one side of the multifaceted project approach; in the final project stages, work with public authorities, decision and policy makers, educators, public employees etc. is under way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helping women break the asymmetric shackles of the society, giving them the power to make the strategic life choices that will affect them, is empowering women. A company’s responsibility towards the society must embrace this initiative towards this segment that has been deprived for long. West Bengal, though called a land of societal values and customs, still sees gender inequality, bias and discrimination towards women, especially in rural areas. This paper examines the relationship between a company’s social responsibility initiatives and women empowerment. It studies the importance of such Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives and also focuses on how companies can help strengthen the scope of women empowerment. The paper found that though gender bias still exists, it is through a company’s reformatory guidelines that such disparity can be minimized, especially in terms of payment and wages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though Indonesia faces significant gender disparities across various sectors, including education, health, employment, and political representation, there remains a dearth of research addressing the barriers and strategic solutions for women's empowerment, which is the aim of this study. A quantitative method driven by the Modified Penta Helix Model (MPM) and the Delphi Analytical Network Process (DANP) was used. On the one hand, MPM was used to establish renewal between the five strategic dimensions and other additional elements such as economic, socio-cultural, and education and training. On the other hand, D-ANP developed indicators based on Focus Group Discussions (FGD) outcomes, in-depth interviews, and structured questionnaires. According to this study, education and training are essential in empowering women. The results of this study indicate the main problems in empowering women, which are divided into eight main dimensions: economic, socio-cultural, education and training, government support, association support, academic support, media support, and private sector support. Education and training were the most critical problems in empowering women. Collaboration between academics, business, community, government, and media is essential to develop effective education and training programs to empower women in Indonesia. Through employing D-ANP and MPM methodologies, this study suggests a model of women's economic empowerment to improve the quality of Indonesian women and Indonesia's position in the Women's Empowerment Index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examine the impact of the 2017 flood in Bangladesh on time use, women's empowerment, and income-generating activities (IGA). • After the flood, women spend less time on domestic work and more on IGA, while men engage more in domestic work. • These results are confirmed only for individuals who experienced another flooding event occurred in 2014. • The response to the 2017 shock depends on the 2014 shock's long-term effects on women's economic autonomy and empowerment. • Repeated exposure to negative shocks can enhance women's empowerment by improving their economicautonomy within the household. In low- and middle-income countries, differences between men and women in their time use patterns represent a major source of gender inequality. Among other factors, natural shocks can affect these differences. This paper examines the impact of the 2017 flood in Bangladesh on men's and women's time use patterns and women's empowerment. Using georeferenced and longitudinal data, we find that the flood decreased women's time spent on domestic work while increasing their engagement in income generating activities and empowerment. In contrast, men spent less time at work and increased their participation in domestic work to substitute for women's. These responses to the shock are confirmed only for those individuals who were exposed to another flooding event that occurred in 2014. To better understand the underlying mechanisms, we look at the long-term impact of the 2014 flood on women's empowerment and on their engagement in income generating activities, and we find that the shock still positively affects both variables. These results suggest that when an increase in empowerment naturally occurs within the household, it persists over time and influences reactions to subsequent shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Rio Convention in 1992, there has been a strong political and ethical imperative to link biodiversity conservation and equity and to promote gender-sensitive policies. However, there has also been a huge gap between these global injunctions and local actions. Mangrove conservation policy is a good illustration of "nature grabbing," which leads to environmental violence. This paper explores the perspectives of the fisherwomen who inhabit the mangroves. It analyzes their struggle to maintain control over mangrove resources and spaces in the face of private or public forces seeking to commodify them in the name of conservation. Based on a corpus of ethnographic data collected over more than 40 years, the paper focuses on the narratives of the oyster fisherwomen in Basse-Casamance, Senegal. It highlights their individual, family, and collective strategies in three time periods: the 1980s, the 2000s and the 020s, demonstrating their resistance over time, defensively or offensively, to the consequences of globalization. The paper shows the ability of the women to preserve their heritage and empower themselves, notably thanks to their self-organization and mutual support. The paper concludes with the scientific uncertainties regarding mangrove dynamics and the conflictual visions on the future of the mangrove socio-ecosystem at diverse scales. • Ability of fisherwomen to be recognized for who they are and what they do, and how they react in the face of globalization • Links between heritage, territory and identity highlighted through a long-term and decolonized approach • Woman power and empowerment thanks to the multiple use system of mangroves and the mutual support and recognitions • Environmental violence from public or private actors to the detriment of the most vulnerable people [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural livelihood diversification can improve food security at the household level. However, a large majority of the research has focused on male-headed households, thus overlooking experiences of female-headed households that constitute a significant portion of households in low-income and middle-income countries. This paper explores how on-farm livelihood diversification affects female-headed households' food security experiences. Using interviews and focus group discussions, the paper finds that on-farm diversification improves female-headed households' food security. The paper also finds that on-farm diversification was more effective in improving the food security experiences of female-headed households compared with off-farm diversification. Further, the additional income from diversification creates additional benefits, including empowering women and allowing them to further diversify their livelihoods. • Female-headed households are neglected in rural livelihood diversification research. • On-farm diversification can improve female-headed households' food security. • On-farm diversification can improve women's empowerment. • On-farm activities support off-farm diversification in female-headed households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to examine community efforts in running home industries to improve welfare, the government's role in supporting community home industry activities, and the obstacles to improving community welfare through home industries and how to overcome these. This research was conducted on a home industry in East Java, Indonesia, namely one engaged in the food industry, including providing processed fish, tempeh, emping mlinjo, and banana chips. Data were gathered through observations, interviews, and documentation analysis, and these were then analyzed using Miles and Huberman's data analysis techniques. The results indicated that efforts to empower a community depend on the community's degree of autonomy. The community studied was effectively empowered through the home industry, which improved the welfare of the community. The home industry needs to pay attention to business capital, raw materials, production, marketing, and a business spirit to achieve success. The role of the government in the home industry is very important, especially in terms of the policies and assistance that are needed. Barriers to community empowerment through home industries include lack of capital, market opportunities, management, cooperation, and marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's empowerment is a fundamental human right but attempts to measure progress in this area have been limited. We used 142 nationally representative surveys to quantify empowerment in six domains (Intimate Partner Violence, Family Planning, Reproductive Healthcare, Employment, Education, and Decision-Making) for first-level subdivisions of all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa for three years (1995, 2005, and 2015). The possible value for each domain ranged between zero (worst) and one (best). The median value for employment decreased by 0.02, but it increased between 0.09 and 0.16 for the other domains. The average empowerment score increased from 0.44 to 0.53, but it remained low for Education (0.34). While progress was clear and consistent, it was uneven within and between countries, and Sahelian West Africa fell further behind. The expanded understanding of geographic variation and trends in women's empowerment that we provide should be instrumental in efforts to improve women's lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

oppressive sex-gender system as a social structure establishes asymmetrical power relations between the sexes. From this context, the empowerment of coffee-growing women is a strategy that aims to restore this inequality, giving them the ability to decide on their own affairs and on those that affect them. concern the community. The gender perspective allows evaluating what role social roles play and what are the interactions that take place between genders, hence the need to articulate the territory and gender variables, delving into the factors that determine gender gaps and the backwardness experienced by women coffwards gender equity, the research exposes a diagnosis of gender gaps present in the cooperative coffee production process of the Tercer Frente municipality, Santiago de Cuba, thus contributing to the conceptual discussion, and identification of public policies leading to local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the findings from a microcredit (financial inclusion) scheme that has been operated by a non-governmental organization since 2012 in a local community in Ghana, and sustained through the COVID-19 pandemic. It first examines microfinance, women's empowerment and third-sector organizational dynamics. It then provides an overview of microfinance in Ghana within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by dissecting the organization's microcredit, training and women's empowerment programmes. The following part documents the findings, with brief concluding thoughts and policy implications appearing in the last section. It is argued here that financial schemes, particularly those operated by third-sector organizations, can play a significant role in helping women in particular to deal with the secondary effects of COVID-19 by providing improved non-financial services and easy access to microfinance at low, sustainable interest rates. These findings have implications for policy formulation and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]