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This study aimed to reveal the liberal feminism in Ika Natassa’s novel, Critical Eleven. This study applied liberal feminism as proposed by Lewis (2018) who claims that liberal feminism focuses on the issues of woman’s equality in the workplace, education and political rights. This study used qualitative methods since it involved the characteristics of qualitative procedures of analysis (Creswell, 2009). The main data were collected from the novel, and the supporting data were taken from books, journals and websites dealing with the subject matter of this research. Therefore, this study is categorized as a library research study as is noted by Herbert (1990: 18) who claims that a library research study is research to collect ideas and theories and to report empirical data within scholarship in the library. The research results show that of the three issues foccused on in liberal feminism as proposed by Lewis (2018), those of woman’s equality in the workplace and education are vividly reflected in the novel by the character named Anya who had a prestigious education (she is a Georgetown University graduate) and also has a good career as a management consultant. Equality in political rights is not found in the novel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust body of research examines factors affecting the likelihood that women experience increasing barriers to promotion in workplaces. However, limited research examines how racialized and gendered processes may intersect and work differently for racially and gender marginalized workers. Specifically, the processes relating to a worker's ability to reach middle-level management positions (e.g., those managers who oversee a small group of employees) and senior-level management positions (e.g., CEOs and other executive positions) may vary based on workers' race and gender. Using 2015 EEO-1 data collected by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), we examine how the characteristics of a workplace affect Black men, Black women, White men, and White women's share of middle- and senior-level management. We find Black women and Black men are strikingly under-represented in both middle and senior management in private-sector workplaces. Our results demonstrate that access to middle- and senior-management varies by the characteristics of the workplace and workers' race and gender. Overall, our findings point to an important implication: Greater oversight of workplaces, including by the EEOC, is associated with marginalized race/gender groups having higher shares of management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the Active Aging Index (AAI) to China to measure active aging among men and women over the age of 55. The strength of the AAI approach lies in its selection of a dashboard of multidimensional indicators of active aging, which are then aggregated into composite measures. The analysis used here considers the differences between men and women on 22 AAI indicators and their aggregations. China scores high on the first domain of the AAI (employment), is comparable with the EU countries on the second (participation in society), and scores lower on the third and fourth domains (independent and health living, and capacity and enabling environment). China has one of the largest gender gaps in active aging, especially in employment, but also in the domain of "Independent Living." The comparison with EU countries points to a number of policy priorities and learnings, including the removal of disincentives to women working longer, namely differential mandatory and occupational retirement ages, and the introduction of measures to make workplaces more age and gender friendly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the perceived organizational barriers on women career progression in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). A descriptive survey was carried out to examine the barriers that females face in educational organizations when trying to empower their careers. The sample of the study was composed of 21 women who were selected randomly. The data were collected using quantitative research methodology. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were used to explain the results. The results revealed that the female education administrator's career advancement was not affected by biological make up of female in family life % 57.14 (N=12) and female education administrators perceived their career progression to be not affected by male dominated hierarchies in the workplace %71.43 (N=15). In addition, the biological make up of women was not a block from any promotions when they moved up to senior positions in the workplace %76.19 (N= 16). However, the results revealed that female education administrators faced career barriers during their career advancement % 76.19 (N=16). The results revealed that female education administrators overcame challenges in their career progression while they persisted in gender equality, empathy, patience, responsible decision making, collaboration and corporation with men and seeking legal right in the workplace. In addition, the participants stated that there was no prejudice about female biological make up against female career progressions in the educational organizational settings of TRNC %66.67 (N=14). However, female education administrators are in need of organizational support in the same context. They should confront the challenge and responsibility of identifying work-life balance requirements, which should provide equal opportunities with male education administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines two decisions of the Supreme Court of India: Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, which formulated a set of directives for the prevention of sexual harassment of women at workplaces; and the National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India, which recognized "third gender" persons and directed the state to provide them with affirmative action. Within a wider application of human rights and fundamental rights that are guaranteed in the Constitution of India, both these court decisions relied on a nondiscrimination category of sex. This article recovers the underpinnings of caste and class that are latent, obscure, and omitted in these decisions. The conceptual framework of "intersectionality" is useful in making this recovery, and for showing the application of intersectional approaches toward more transformative formulations of law reform and judicial outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on women legal practitioners in Zimbabwe. Despite extensive legislation outlawing gender‐based discrimination, Zimbabwean women have not been able to achieve equality in the workplace. The article explores the conundrum posed by, on the one hand, an increase in enrollments and graduations of women law students, and on the other hand, fewer women entering legal practice. The article suggests three dynamics lie behind the failure of practice to attract and retain female lawyers. First, overt discrimination faced by female lawyers. Second, the structuring of the profession and work environment, which creates an "uneven playing field." And third, the attitudes of male practitioners and partners as well as the spouses of women lawyers, which affect the entry and retention of women in the profession as well as their career prospects. Subsequently, women legal practitioners are accorded a lower professional status than men and are underrepresented in important facets of legal practice. The study was premised on social role theory and the concept of the glass ceiling. Forty‐six participants were interviewed in an interpretivist approach study where data was analyzed using thematic analysis with the assistance of ATLAS TI 8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orientation: Although significant progress has been made globally in gender equality, women still occupy less political influence, fewer leadership positions and yield less control over their careers than most men. Gender inequality is evident in male-dominated work environments such as the security industry. Research purpose: This study reflects on women's perceptions on gender equality and career progression in the South African security industry. Motivation for the study: In post-democracy South Africa, women are categorised as previously disadvantaged, therefore a priority group in terms of advancement. However, it is still unclear, from the narratives of the women themselves, how their career progression is encumbered in the milieu of the security industry. Research approach/design and method: Through qualitative one-on-one semi-structured interviews, 15 women, working in the security industry, shared their experiences concerning gender equality and career progression. Data were analysed thematically, guided by the context of the gendered security profession. Main findings: The findings reveal that women experience slower career progression than men in terms of rejection and work allocation. Moreover, negative perceptions of female leadership among colleagues was a factor hindering career progression. Practical/managerial implications: This study argues by doing gender well, equality in the security workplace can be obtained. Furthermore, the study encourages South African security managers to recognise how aspects such as rejection, work allocation and a negative perception of female leadership may encumber the career progression of female security professionals. Contribution/value-add: The study contributes to scientific knowledge and discourse regarding women's perceptions on gender equality and career progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this inquiry is to examine why companies create LGBTQ-inclusive work environments and how these firms advance LGBTQ-inclusiveness through CSR practices and address challenges presented by strategic duality. Design/methodology/approach: Using a qualitative multiple case study design, data was collected and then triangulated from interviews and company documents. NVivo, a qualitative research program, was used to organize, sort, query and model the data. Findings: Several themes were identified as reasons why Fortune 500 organizations sought to create LGBTQ-inclusive work environments. Themes include a positive return on investment, advancing human rights issues within the framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR), internal organizational pressure and parity with other Minnesota companies. Findings are examined through the theoretical lens of strategic duality. Research limitations/implications: Primary theoretical implications include contributions to our understanding of strategic duality by providing a first-hand account from people in organizations that encountered imperatives that to some degree are in conflict. By design, the multiple case study methodology does not allow generalizations to be drawn beyond the organizations included in this study. Practical implications: Both managers and researchers will find this study provides valuable insight on how people and organizations experience and navigate strategic duality (pairs of competing imperatives) within the context of the motivation behind creating an LGBTQ-inclusive work environment. Originality/value: This inquiry provides a unique and valuable account as to why organizations choose to invest resources in creating a LGBTQ-inclusive work environment, the return on investment (ROI) and examines competing imperatives (strategic dualities) faced by management. Similar multiple case studies of this qualitative nature are rare, possibly even non-existent and, therefore, this study makes a significant contribution to the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workplace equality policy (LGBT-WEP) helps signal and reinforce the organizational commitment to workplace equality and diversity. Prior evidence suggests that LGBT-WEP is viewed favorably by stakeholders (customers, employees, and channel partners) and influences firm performance. Drawing on stakeholder theory and the resource-based view of the firm, the authors examine whether LGBT-WEP influences customer satisfaction through marketing capability and whether demand instability dampens these associations. To alleviate endogeneity concerns of LGBT-WEP, they exploit the plausibly exogenous state-to-state variations in workplace equality policies determined by statewide laws on nondiscrimination based on sexual orientation. Empirical results indicate that LGBT-WEP positively influences customer satisfaction both directly and through enhanced marketing capability. Demand instability, however, dampens these associations. Additional analyses with alternate measures of key variables, alternate distributional assumption, and alternate model specifications yield consistent results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Internacional y Comparada de Relaciones Laborales y Derecho del Empleo is the property of ADAPT University Press 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 Revista Internacional y Comparada de Relaciones Laborales y Derecho del Empleo is the property of ADAPT University Press 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 Court cited U.S. Supreme Court judgment Brown v. The Board of Education and the "Edna Hazin" judgment of the National Labour Court.] 173 Isr. 1 ISRAEL Regional Labour Court (8822-02-18), National Labour Court (36077-04-18), Supreme Court (3515/18) The Israel Women's Network v. State of Israel-Civil Service Commission Equal opportunities - gender equality - separate education courses for men and for women in government training - religious v. equality considerations - interim orders in discrimination cases HEADNOTES Facts The Israel Women's Network (IDN) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to advance women's rights in Israel. Regional Labour Courts are the trial courts of the Labour Courts system and have jurisdiction, among other workplace issues, over disputes concerning equal opportunity at work. [The Court cited the facts and Isr. 1 175 then summarized Israel's laws and precedents regarding equality at the workplace. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores how gender interacts with race, ethnicity, and/or culture to structure the microaggressions experienced by visibly and culturally diverse women in Australian science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical (STEMM) organisations. Our aim is to disrupt the normative erasure of race from the workplace diversity context by focusing on these women’s experiences. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with women in academia, industry, and government who self-identify as women of colour or as culturally diverse. We use an intersectional lens to show that the challenges experienced by visibly and culturally diverse women cannot simply be subsumed under gender. Rather, race and gender intersect to create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination and disadvantage. These issues are largely unintelligible in STEMM fields as science is positioned as gender- and race-neutral. Consequently, despite their devastating impact, racial microaggressions may be invisible to members of the dominant racial group—those most likely to be the peers and managers of visibly and culturally diverse women. White managers and peers can act as allies to women of colour in STEMM by respecting and amplifying their concerns. Learning to recognise and confront racial microaggressions can help make science workplaces more inclusive of all scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about gender inequality in Canadian professors’ workloads in particular whether or not women perform more service than men. To address this gap, we explore the distribution of research and service work amongst Natural Sciences and Engineering (NSE) professors from the Atlantic and Prairie provinces. We further investigate whether women are disproportionately responsible for activities intended to improve gender equity (for example, youth recruitment targeting girls to account for women’s underrepresentation in NSE); and ascertain the professional and personal effects of heavy service demands. Statistical analyses of a cross-sectional online workplace experiences survey indicated that men spent significantly more time on research than women, while women spent significantly more time on service than men. Women reported significantly more time spent on professional development and outreach activities than men, specifically. Women’s heavier service load was associated with decreased research productivity, longer terms as assistant professors; and below average salaries, as compared to men of similar rank and experience. Moreover, women’s well-being was negatively affected by heavy service. Accordingly, women’s disproportionate responsibility for service is an obstacle to gender equity in academic NSE in Canada; and suggests that initiatives intended to improve gender equity in NSE may be detracting from women’s research time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on five studies with a total of 993 married, heterosexual male participants, we found that marriage structure has important implications for attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to gender among heterosexual married men in the workplace. Specifically, men in traditional marriages--married to women who are not employed--disfavor women in the workplace and are more likely than the average of all married men to make decisions that prevent the advancement of qualified women. Results show that employed men in traditional marriages tend to (a) view the presence of women in the workplace unfavorably, (b) perceive that organizations with higher numbers of female employees are operating less smoothly, (c) perceive organizations with female leaders as relatively unattractive, and (d) deny qualified female employees opportunities for promotions more frequently than do other married male employees. Moreover, our final study suggests that men who are single and then marry women who are not employed may change their attitudes toward women in the workplace, becoming less positive. The consistent pattern of results across multiple studies employing multiple methods (lab, longitudinal, archival) and samples (U.S., U.K., undergraduates, managers) demonstrates the robustness of our findings that the structure of a man's marriage influences his gender ideology in the workplace, presenting an important challenge to workplace egalitarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gender equality topic is gaining momentum both in the organizational and in the institutional management field. In order to close the gender gap that is common in the business environment, governments are promoting full and effective inclusion of women in all business areas and levels, developing useful policies to reach equal career progress opportunities and access to the highest level of the decision-making stages in the political, economic and public context. Companies also apply and implement these kinds of policies. The design and application of gender equality policies generates multiple benefits for companies' intangible assets, such as positive reputation and legitimacy. Companies who apply effective equality policies can expect an improvement in their internal and external social acceptance, and, therefore, an increase in their moral legitimacy perception. The objective of this study is to verify how gender equality policies influence the corporate moral legitimacy. To measure this relationship, a sample of 75 experts in social responsibility has been used and a model of a regression has been applied to measure the impact of gender equality policies on moral legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using quantitative and qualitative methods, this study investigates inequalities in occupational status and wages between native-born and foreign-born employees in elderly care institutions in Sweden. It finds that employees from Africa, Asia and Latin America – the "Global South" – are disadvantaged in both respects. Combinatory explanations of the inequalities are needed. The shorter work experience of foreign-born workers in the care sector plus the lesser value given to educational credentials obtained outside Sweden are among the factors related to human capital theory. Access to less-valuable resources in the workplace social networks of foreign-born employees is related to social capital theory. The processes that result in exclusion from powerful social networks, in turn, are found to be affected by discrimination in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on research suggesting that alcohol consumption can be used as a means of coping with negative affect (Cooper et al. 1995), the current study examines sexism as a factor in college women's alcohol consumption. Despite being more prevalent than hostile sexism, benevolent sexism is often viewed as less sexist (Oswald et al. 2018) and having a less aversive impact on women (Bosson et al. 2010). To increase understanding of the negative effects of both hostile and benevolent sexism, the current study experimentally manipulated sexism during a lab session and measured 176 U.S. college women's actual alcohol consumption that evening. As predicted, college women who experienced either the hostile or the benevolent sexism condition reported consuming a greater number of alcoholic drinks, and those in the hostile sexism condition were more likely to meet the binge drinking threshold than participants in the control condition. This pattern suggests the importance of examining the unique effects of benevolent sexism in addition to hostile sexism because both may influence women's behavior even in important health domains. Given the many negative consequences associated with alcohol consumption, our results provide evidence for education on healthy coping mechanisms and interventions to reduce both hostile and benevolent sexism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on interviews conducted with a sample of 27 senior women leaders from across Australian industries, this study found that legitimate workplace structures disrupt and challenge the subliminal status effects of gender on perceived task or role performance. This related to structures such as increased opportunities for promotion into higher status roles and opportunities to participate in unstructured group-task roles. These findings were in stark contrast to traditional workplace structures where senior women leaders relied on their ability alone to reach the top. Our findings have significant implications for organizations wishing to legitimize and replicate HRM policy levers that help to formalize workplace structures of equality and counter prevailing gender stereotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore whether women's underrepresentation among political and workplace decision makers may subject female citizens and employees to COVID-19-related decisions that are at odds with their preferences. We find that women overall, as well as female political party members, workers, and workplace leaders in particular, share a distinctively female perspective that more heavily emphasizes caution with respect to COVID-19 compared with men. Given the limited representation of women leaders across most industries and in politics, COVID-19 regulations are thus likely to be less cautious than would be the case if there were an equitable representation of women across leadership roles. We argue that female employees, in particular, face a representational "double whammy" for COVID-19: gender imbalances in workplace leadership create inequities that are compounded—rather than redressed—by unequal political representation. We conclude by addressing how this dynamic may enhance the movement of women away from Republican candidates moving forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In writing Equal Citizenship and Public Reason, we aimed to show that political liberalism is a feminist liberalism. To that end, we develop and defend a particular understanding of the commitments of political liberalism. Then, we argue that certain laws and policies are needed to protect and secure the interests of persons as free and equal citizens. We focus on the laws and policies that we think are necessary for gender justice. In particular, we apply our view to the contexts of prostitution law, family and marriage law, state support for caregivers, and religious exemptions from generally applicable laws. In this article, we consider some of the challenges made by the thoughtful critics who are part of this symposium. In particular, we address: why the collective enterprise view of liberal democracy requires shared reasons for the justification of certain laws and policies; how we understand substantive equality and why our understanding of substantive equality does not commit us to a comprehensive doctrine; how we avoid defending a particular political conception of justice in showing that political liberalism is a feminist liberalism; and how it is that, given justice pluralism, public reasons can provide stability for the right reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethno‐racial and linguistic boundaries have major implications for socio‐economic well‐being throughout the world, yet their specific effects vary greatly across contexts. The countries that were once part of the Soviet Union have seen dramatic transformations yet also exhibited remarkable continuities from the socialist era. This article contributes to cross‐national evidence on the roots and expressions of ethno‐racial socio‐economic inequalities and on nation building and nationalism in the post‐Soviet context. It uses data from two identically designed nationally representative surveys conducted in Kyrgyzstan in 2011 and 2017 to investigate patterns and trends in ethnic and linguistic disparities in employment by occupational type and economic sector and in earnings among men and women. The authors find that despite government policies to promote the advancement of the nation's titular majority, Kyrgyz, and to encourage the use of its language, the ethno‐linguistic economic inequalities inherited from the Soviet era — privileged positions of the European‐origin minority and of Russian‐speaking Kyrgyz — were still potently present in the earlier survey. While variations in types of occupation and employment sectors tended to diminish between the two surveys, the ethno‐linguistic differences in earnings remained very pronounced, even after controlling for other factors. The authors relate these findings to the extant scholarship and reflect on their implications for our understanding of post‐socialist transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the impacts of new mining projects in Africa is generally set in a normative debate about their possible contribution to development, which leads to a representation of African societies as divided between beneficiaries and victims of foreign investments. Based on research in the Congolese copperbelt, this article aims to examine in more detail the inequalities generated by the recent mining boom by taking the processes of labour market segmentation as a starting point. It shows that the labour market in the mining sector has progressively been organized along three intersecting lines that divide it: the first is between employment in industrial and artisanal mining companies, the second is between jobs for mining or subcontracting companies and the third is between jobs for expatriates, Congolese skilled workers and local unskilled workers. Far from simply reflecting existing social inequalities, the labour market has been actively involved in their creation, and its control has caused growing tensions in the Congolese copperbelt region. Although largely neglected in the literature on extractive industries, processes of labour market segmentation are key to making sense of the impacts of mining investments on the shape of societies in the global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Situated within workplace equality and discrimination scholarship, this article focuses on intersectional identity narratives. We seek to better understand the workplace experiences of British Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) professional women, and how these experiences impact on a range of wellbeing outcomes. The absence of research relating to BAME professional women reflects a failure to consider intersectional organizational identities and experiences. We aim to problematize the existence of single and static identity categories within intersectional analyses and the challenge they represent. We engage a non‐traditional methodological approach, conducting real‐time online written interviews with professional British BAME women. We consider the important interplays at the intersection of minority ethnicity, gender and nationality. The main themes to emerge were (i) experiences of misperceived identity imposition, whereby such social treatment had implications for participants' wellbeing and (ii) the use of strategic essentialism by participants on the basis of nationality, ethnicity and gender, an innovative finding in intersectional research. We conclude that a focus on identity categories such as ethnicity or race and gender alone may lead to the further constraining and classifying of certain individuals. To avoid this there is need to consider intersectional identity experiences in light of nationality and the disparate underpinning systems of domination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the increase in the percentage of female employees in correctional institutions, it is important to note that female correctional officers often hold different values relative to justice and fairness than their male counterparts. The current study attempts to understand whether gender differences would affect correctional officers' perceptions of organizational justice in Ghanaian prisons. Results indicate that women and men did differ in how they perceive distributive and procedural justice under a multivariate model controlling for demographics and job-related attitudes. This implies that the job model hypothesis might better explain female officers' perceptions of workplace justice than a gender model hypothesis in Ghanaian corrections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information about the legal protection of working women, along with mentions the future of employment and technology. It mentions that discrimination and inequality in the workplace, along with discusses the challenges faced by the employees due to the lockdown imposed amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Copyright of Revista Internacional y Comparada de Relaciones Laborales y Derecho del Empleo is the property of ADAPT University Press 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 Revista Internacional y Comparada de Relaciones Laborales y Derecho del Empleo is the property of ADAPT University Press 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 the article, the author discusses how to achieve a successful racially diverse workforce, particularly in the U.S. legal profession. Also cited are the efforts in the legal sector to ensure justice, equity and equality, how legal professionals will continue experiencing the bystander effect if they will not take action in advancing workplace diversity, and some diverse lawyers like Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Conner, and Sonia Sotomayor.

Copyright of Géneros: Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies is the property of Generos: Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies 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 authors examine trends in nonwage aspects of job quality in Europe. They focus on both the level and the dispersion of job quality. Theories differ in their predictions for these trends and for whether national patterns will converge. Data from the Fifth European Working Conditions Survey are used, in conjunction with earlier waves, to construct four indices of nonwage job quality: Work Quality, Work Intensity, Good Physical Environment, and Working Time Quality. Jobs are tracked from 1995 to 2010, across and within 15 European Union countries. The social corporatist countries had the highest Work Quality and lowest dispersion for all four indices. Work Quality and Work Intensity each rose in several countries, and Working Time Quality rose in most. The dispersion of Working Time Quality, Work Intensity, and Good Physical Environment each fell in many countries, and there was little sign of national divergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]