...The concept of gender has become a debatable issue in the contemporary society and an important dimension in the design and analysis of social and economic development policies. These development concerns have brought about gender issues at the forefront of national and international agenda. During the 1990's, the gender issue continued to follow the historical trend by being one of the most popular themes of debates. The Human Development Report, (1995) posits that the number of women is greater than or equal to that of men, in today's society, yet females are still considered as a minority segment of the population. As a measure to redress gender inequalities, approaches by feminist movements, such as Women in Development (WID), were crafted but not much was achieved. Later, it was Women and Development (WAD) and lastly Gender and Development (GAD). It seems deep-rooted gender inequality still exists globally, despite substantial national and international measures that have been taken towards gender equality. This essay deliberates on the assertion that, “Gender equality is debatable: what is undebatable is the attempt to make it universally applicable.” The writer agrees to a greater extent that gender equality is a controversial issue basing on the multiplicity of societies that it is applied to. The fact that there is no universal culture, universal religion or universal ideology makes the whole issue arguable, ence, the need to degenderise gender. Definition...
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.../en/partnerships/businesses-and-foundations/womens-empowerment-principles Empowering women to participate fully in economic life across all sectors is essential to build stronger economies, achieve internationally agreed goals for development and sustainability, and improve the quality of life for women, men, families and communities. The private sector is a key partner in efforts to advance gender equality and empower women. Current research demonstrating that gender diversity helps businesses perform better signals that self-interest and common interest can come together. Yet, ensuring the inclusion of women’s talents, skills and energies— from executive offices to the factory floor and the supply chain—requires intentional actions and deliberate policies. The Women’s Empowerment Principles offer practical guidance to business and the private sector on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. Developed through a partnership between UN Women and the United Nations Global Compact, the Principles are designed to support companies in reviewing existing policies and practices—or establishing new ones—to realize women’s empowerment. In brief, the Principles are: 1. Establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality 2. Treat all women and men fairly at work—respect and support human rights and nondiscrimination 3. Ensure the health, safety and well-being of all women and men workers 4. Promote education, training and professional development for women 5. Implement...
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...Disch, and Chapter 1 and 2 Comparison “The personal is political” is a notion that can relate many readings on women’ studies including our readings in class. The readings from Estelle Disch, and Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of Women’s Voices Feminist Visions all discuss issues such as inequalities across different systems such as gender, race, education, sports, and more, how feminist ideas relate to inequality, intersecting identities, and the idea of privilege. There are inequalities across systems that can be seen in the way that women are viewed in society. An example of this is shown in chapter one in an article called “The Housewives Moment of Truth” by Jane O’Reilly. O’Reilly main point focuses on the notion that even through time women are still seen as being simple housewives. In today’s society women have obtained various professional jobs that go beyond the just being a teacher, and even with their success there are people that see women’s role as being in the household. O’Reilly article displays an example of gender inequality, and more importantly shows how there is still a lot progress that needs to be made. Besides gender inequality, the readings also point to other types of inequality like race. Race is very important when looking at women’s studies because everyone has to tackle their own problems every day. For instance, a black woman who is of a lower class, a single mother, a high school graduate, and tackling two jobs is viewed differently by people in society...
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...Gender Quota in European Companies Women are having a hard time reaching top positions in companies. The European Union recognizes this problem and decided to implement new laws that require quotas for women in businesses. According to the European Commission, women need to work an extra of 59 days to match the salary earned by men, which makes an average gender pay gap of 16.2% across the European Union in 2010. ("Equal pay day:," 2013). The reason why the quota system in Europe is not working is, because it has the status of a directive. Equality is one of five values on which the Union is founded. The Union is bound to strive for equality between women and men in all its activities. (3 Articles 2 and 3 TEU, Article 8 TFEU). Therefore, the EU has laws that forbid discrimination based on sex. Article two of the Maastricht Treaty (TEU) clearly states men and women are equal. (Van Ooik, & Vandamme, 2010, p. 5). In addition, article 121 of the TFEU states that men and women have the right for equal pay. Finally, article 21 of the Lisbon Treaty specifically prohibits discrimination based on sex (Van Ooik, & Vandamme, 2010, p. 161). This means that women in the EU are protected by law against discrimination based on their gender. However, in practice gender inequality still exists in European businesses. The European Union and its fight for gender equality has been a long battle. Despite EU law and directives the European Union has not been able to solve the problem....
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...Workplace inequality has been claimed to be a substantial problem in workplaces across America. New York Times writer and author of the article “The Myth Of Male Decline”, Stephanie Coontz, introduces the idea that gender equality has occurred in high-end paying jobs, but has been on the decline in some aspects of the workplace. Although there is a common held idea that men and women alike are both beginning to receive the same job opportunities, pay , and so on, Coontz argues that this is not the case. In fact, she states, “Women’s real wages have been rising for decades… But women’s wages started from a much lower base, artificially held down by discrimination”(Coontz).The long held notion that women have been receiving the necessary equalities of men in the workplace seems to be evidently lacking basis. Coontz offers supporting evidence that many would have not even considered in our modern era. Many agree that women should...
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...Equalities Impact Assessment Corporate Communication Strategy and Action Plan Date: March 2009 EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT Equality Impact Assessment - Policies | | | |Title of policy being assessed: |Corporate Communication Strategy/Action Plan | |Department and Section: |Chief Executive’s | | |Public Relations | |Names and roles of officers completing this assessment: |Head of Public Relations | |Contact Telephone Numbers: |0116 305 6272 | |Date assessment completed: |5th March 2009 | |Defining the policy | | ...
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...Gender Equality and Women Empowerment Alessandra Gonzalez Human Sexuality SOP2772 4/4/2016 Abstract Over the past couple of years gender equality and women empowerment awareness has caught the attention of many. Discrimination and violence towards women has slowly risen across different parts of the world. Throughout urban community’s women are married at an early age, are given the automatic task of being a housewife, and become pregnant fairly young. Throughout this whole process they must respect their husband or face the consequences of abuse. With nowhere to run these women have no choice but to stay in the hands of their abuser. Decision making is commonly known to be the cause of the domestic violence. New methods are being used as preventatives to these outcomes, while various movements are coming together to raise a higher awareness on women. Introduction The topic that I chose was gender equality and women empowerment. While going deeper into the different aspects of gender equality, specifically women, it slowly became jaw dropping. When asked to describe women empowerment people usually have the automatic response of “feminism” or a “feminist”. But what is the actual meaning of women empowerment? A topic such as domestic violence can slowly fall into the mix. Psychologically, women facing domestic violence can be traumatizing. In India, 40% of a representative sample of Indian women of reproductive age had experienced physical (35%), sexual (10%), or...
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...LDP616: GENDER ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT Gender Mainstreaming The role of the state in mainstreaming gender issues and concerns in development Nyabochwa, Mary Mamo 1st February 2011 Lecture: Dr. Isaac Were. Table of Contents ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................... 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 5 1.0 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................. 6 1.1 Why gender issues .............................................................................................................................. 6 2.0 GENDER MAINSTREAMING .......................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Clarity on certain aspects of gender mainstreaming ......................................................................... 8 2.2 some key misconceptions................................................................................................................ 10 3.0 IMPLEMENTATION OF GENDER MAINSTREAMING ........................................................... 11 3.1 Definition of “gender mainstreaming” ............................................................................................. 11 3.2 Practical steps...
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...Canada is a great country and we have many good things here. There is also a huge void and as grade 9’s we need to get the message across to others - meaning no more racism, bullying, and gender equality. We need to have love, tolerance and respect for each other. We can make the choice to end these issues and make Canada even better! Racism has been going on forever! We need to stop hurting people just because of their color, heritage or beliefs. Immigrants are in constant fear of being the target of a hate crime. Global News reported that “The number of police-reported hate crimes targeting Muslim-Canadians more than doubled over a three-year period.” The hate crime rate across Canada is 3.7 per 100,000 people. Ontario has the highest...
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...Assignment Gender and Diversity in the Workplace A Research Proposal Overview The role of gender and ethnicity can shed light on how individuals react within a group. Greater social diversity implies a greater spread of experience, which could add to the collective knowledge of a group of office workers and makes the unit perform more effectively, research has shown and will show in the following information. Gender equality is achieved when people are able to access and enjoy the same rewards, resources and opportunities regardless of whether they are a woman or a man. Certain facilities that are located over sees have made tremendous effort and have achieve gender equality especially in education. Gender and Diversity in the workplace has always been a topic of sensitivity, this is because woman were thought of as caregivers and they put family first. In those times when a woman was pregnant it was always the assumption that they would not be returning back to work. Also, research has shown that now woman are returning to work and their careers and researchers are saying woman are putting family second and not first. This doesn’t mean that there is diversity in the workplace this means that we are on track. Now that a lot of men are taking the moms position when it was the women who had a hard time finding flexibility it seems that more men are having trouble with the flexibility that a lot of woman are granted...
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...While some differences between Lesbian, and Gays (Homosexuals) and Heterosexuals are evident, the similarities are striking. A recent survey of 121,000 Americans has shown that 3.4 percent of American citizens readily identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Although getting an exact measure of sexual orientation and gender identity in a poll is extremely difficult because the majority of Americans who are in the “closet” would not claim their sexual orientation in a survey. At one stage or another, every man woman or child will be faced with the issue of heterosexual vs. homosexual. Heterosexuals have no issue with owning their “straightness”. Everyone comes into this world the same way as everyone else. There are no other ways to come into this world. People can't just appear out of thin air and be alive. All people die and leave this world just like everyone else. The main issue being, are there any real differences or likenesses in these types of people? Here begins an in-depth analysis of the controversial subject of heterosexual vs. homosexual. Heterosexuals are people who are attracted to the opposite gender and have a sexual attraction between two people of the opposite sex. Years ago heterosexuals made up most of the world percentage and heterosexuals are meant to procreate. The straight community are heterosexuals who have the belief that people in relationships should be a man and a woman. Straight people’s view on their lives is mostly a man...
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...practice within “The Swedish National Curriculum” is their great value for gender equity within the early year’s education system. All Swedish early education establishments are in agreement with the values in which the Swedish society is based on (Ministry of Education & Science, 2010). Two of these values are; equality between the genders and equal rights of all people. They specify that both boys and girls should have the same opportunities to develop and explore their abilities/interests without limitations of stereotyped gender roles. Accordingly, early childhood professionals should work to counteract these traditional gender patterns and roles. This is handled in everyday practice in Swedish preschools by ensuring that all staff has a firm qualification enabling them to do so effectively within nurseries. The Swedish Government received indications that practitioners were found to not challenge conventional concepts of gender, but were contributing to them in different ways. So therefore, the Government funded a “gender pedagogue education program” in 2002. The purpose was to educate early childcare practitioners with unique awareness about gender theories and to provide a variety of training knowledge to improve quality processes. The idea was that all childhood education establishments in Sweden should have qualified gender pedagogues. The Government constituted a ‘Delegation for Equality in Preschool’ in 2003. This then started an official educational discussion;...
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...Enhancing Quality and Equality of Education “Literacy is the road to human progress and the means through which every man; woman and child can realize his or her full potential.”……………Kofi Annan. Access to education and learning is crucial for development but ‘equitable’ access and learning is vital for sustainable development. The various dimensions of inequality (gender, socio economic, rural – urban), if not taken into account can result in skewed and lopsided growth that has the potential to do more harm than good to the larger fabric of society. Such development stands the risk of strengthening the current power structures and relegating the already marginalized, further down the abyss. These inequalities do not exist in isolation- one form reinforces the other. This means that there are common causes, functioning through multiple mechanisms, inflating the gross inequalities in the education sector. The major challenge before the Indian education system is to enhance the quality and bring equality in education system. Quality education which is essential to learning and human development is influenced by factors both inside and outside the classroom. In addition to enabling the transfer of knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a profession and break the cycle of poverty, quality plays a crucial role in closing the gender gap in basic education. Quality Education includes:- * Learners who are healthy, well nourished and ready to participate and learn and supported...
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...Report No 55 Gender and Development: Concepts and Definitions Prepared for the Department for International Development (DFID) for its gender mainstreaming intranet resource by Hazel Reeves and Sally Baden February 2000 BRIDGE (development - gender) Institute of Development Studies University of Sussex Brighton BN1 9RE, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1273 606261 Fax: +44 (0) 1273 621202 Email: bridge@ids.ac.uk Website: http://www.ids.ac.uk/bridge/ © Institute of Development Studies ISBN 1 85864 381 3 Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 2. Quick Definitions ................................................................................................... 2 3. Detailed Explanations and Further Reading ....................................................... 4 Culture ..................................................................................................................... 4 Gender Analysis ...................................................................................................... 6 Gender Discrimination ............................................................................................. 7 Gender Division of Labour....................................................................................... 8 Gender Equality and Equity................................................................................... 10 Gender Mainstreaming ................
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...Gender Equality Women have faced major discrimination when it comes to work and sometimes in education. Women decades ago had a wide range of opportunities denied to them due to their sex. Women have always been looked upon as the weaker sex and men as stronger and as the rulers. Women years ago were not seen as individuals, they were basically their husband’s slaves. Women were the ones to stay home, make dinner for their cranky and tired husband, look after their children, clean the house and answer to their husband. It was pretty safe to say that women were never the ones that over ruled this society, but “there have been huge changes…” (182) in gender equality. Gender equality has changed dramatically over the years and the shift toward gender equality will continue over the next years to come. It all started in the 19th century something important was born and it was the birth of the women's rights movement. Women were tired of being the “caregiver[s]” (Gender Roles Within American Marriage) while the men were the “breadwinners” (Gender Roles Within American Marriage). Women had to do change things around because they could not live the same life they were living. Many of the “women were suffering under the dominance of men in their lives” (Gender Roles Within American Marriage). It was time for women to fight for “gender equality in family and society economics, social, cultural, and educational fields” (Gender Roles Within American Marriage). It was not easy for...
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