Gender Equality/Inequality

Citation:

Mukhopadhyay, Maitrayee, and Franz Wong. 2007. Revisiting Gender Training - The Making and Remaking of Gender Knowledge: A Global Sourcebook (Gender, Society and Development Series). Oxford: Oxfam Publishing.

Authors: Maitrayee Mukhopadhyay, Franz Wong

Abstract:

Gender training proliferated in the 1990s and gained ground with the emphasis on gender mainstreaming, a strategy adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference of Women in Beijing. At present gender training is increasingly being questioned as a tool and as a concept to engender development due to its disappointing performance to contribute to gender equality.

Bringing together case studies and analyses of gender training from different country and regional contexts, this book revisits much of the thinking behind gender education and training. Together, the book’s authors explore the explicit and, more often, implicit assumptions in gender training about the nature of knowledge (epistemology), imparting knowledge (pedagogy) and knowing (cognition).

This book, the tenth in the Gender, Society and Development: Global Sourcebooks Series, features case studies and an extensive and up-to-date annotated bibliography of international resources, in print and online, making it a truly global sourcebook on the topic.

Topics: Development, Education, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality

Year: 2007

Citation:

Dawson, Elsa. 2005. “Strategic Gender Mainstreaming in Oxfam GB.” Gender & Development 13 (2): 80–89.

Author: Elsa Dawson

Abstract:

This article describes and assesses a strategy to mainstream gender issues in the South America region of Oxfam GB, both in its programme and in the organisation's internal systems and procedures. The experience shows that relating gender equality to strategic thinking is key to its effective incorporation into a programme. If staff do not see gender equality as a central part of what they are meant to be working on, they are unlikely to dedicate time to it. This depends both on managerial clarity and written plans.

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Organizations

Year: 2005

Citation:

Kardam, Nüket. 2004. “The Emerging Global Gender Equality Regime from Neoliberal and Constructivist Perspectives in International Relations.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 6 (1): 85-109.

Author: Nüket Kardam

Abstract:

A global gender equality regime has emerged, identifiable by its norms, principles, legal instruments and compliance mechanisms, I suggest that neoliberal theories of international regimes provide insights into the identification of this regime and the conditions for its emergence. They acknowledge the role of transnational networks, international institutions and epistemic communities of experts in shaping state choices. Global women's networks, together with multilateral and bilateral development organizations, have been instrumental in shaping these global norms on gender equality by engaging in a learning process — framing issues, influencing negotiations by the information they provide and monitoring progress. But the neoliberal theories tell us nothing about the norms themselves, their contestation in different contexts and the structures that support them and give them meaning. A second theoretical framework in international relations, constructivism, opens the way to a crucial appreciation of gender as an analytical category, demonstrating how gender norms and identities are constructed, contested and reconstructed in historical, and sociopolitical contexts. It thus potentially allows us to examine how a 'gender equality regime', as defined by its principles, norms and decision-making mechanisms, needs to be further deconstructed and analyzed to reveal how global norms get interpreted, reinterpreted, filled in and contested on a continuing basis, within different and sometimes competing institutions. Otherwise, such norms are bound to remain superficial and may obfuscate rather than clarify.

Keywords: global gender equality regime, global women's networks, gender equality norms, constructivism and gender, neoliberal approach in international relations and gender

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Organizations

Year: 2004

Citation:

True, Jacqui, and Michael Mintrom. 2001. “Transnational Networks and Policy Diffusion: The Case of Gender Mainstreaming.” International Studies Quarterly 45 (1): 27-57.

Authors: Jacqui True, Michael Mintrom

Abstract:

How can we account for the global diffusion of remarkably similar policy innovations across widely differing nation-states? In an era characterized by heightened globalization and increasingly radical state restructuring, this question has become especially acute. Scholars of international relations offer a number of theoretical explanations for the cross-national convergence of ideas, institutions, and interests. We examine the proliferation of state bureaucracies for gender mainstreaming. These organizations seek to integrate a gender-equality perspective across all areas of government policy. Although they so far have received scant attention outside of feminist policy circles, these mainstreaming bureaucracies now in place in over 100 countries-represent a powerful challenge to business-as-usual politics and policymaking. As a policy innovation, the speed with which these institutional mechanisms have been adopted by the majority of national governments is unprecedented. We argue that transnational networks composed largely of nonstate actors (notably women's international nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations) have been the primary forces driving the diffusion of gender mainstreaming. In an event history analysis of 157 nation-states from 1975 to 1998, we assess how various national and transnational factors have affected the timing and the type of the institutional changes these states have made. Our findings support the claim that the diffusion of gender-mainstreaming mechanisms has been facilitated by the role played by transnational networks, in particular by the transnational feminist movement. Further, they suggest a major shift in the nature and the locus of global politics and national policymaking.

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Globalization, Governance, International Organizations, NGOs

Year: 2001

Citation:

Nyamu-Musembi, Celestine. 2006. “Ruling Out Gender Equality? The Post-Cold War Rule of Law Agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Third World Quarterly 27 (7): 1193-207.

Author: Celestine Nyamu-Musembi

Abstract:

The post-cold war rule of law agenda in sub-Saharan Africa has not translated into reforms that enhance gender equality. The focus of reform efforts has reflected a post-cold war emphasis on creating a suitable legal and institutional environment for the market. In this climate any gains for gender equality have been limited and hard won. The main shortcomings are: gains in constitutional rights have had limited practical reach; official discussion of gender inequality in property remains disconnected from relevant broader processes such as restructuring of financial institutions; the reform agenda has not engaged with informal institutions, yet these have significant impact on gender relations; there has been relative under-investment in non-commercial judicial reform; and changes to labour regulation have been effected through sub-legislative and non-transparent processes and have not been interrogated for their failure to benefit workers in general, and in sectors dominated by women in particular.

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Constitutions, International Law Regions: Africa

Year: 2006

Citation:

Cook, Rebecca J. 1995. “Enforcing Women’s Rights Through Law.” Gender & Development 3 (2): 8–15.

Author: Rebecca Cook

Abstract:

This article argues that protection of women's rights requires states to undertake gender planning not simply to achieve value of justice, but in order to conform to legally-binding international human-rights standards.

Keywords: human rights, law enforcement, international law, gender empowerment, gender equality

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Law, International Human Rights, Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 1995

Citation:

Goldblatt, Beth, and Sheila Meintjes. 1997. “Dealing with the Aftermath: Sexual Violence and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” Agenda, no. 36, 7–18.

Authors: Beth Goldblatt, Sheila Meintjes

Abstract:

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has completed its task of holding human rights violation hearings. Thousands of people have faced the Commission and the nation to tell their stories and air their pain. Many, who have listened to this testimony for the past two years, will understandably believe that the story of our past has now been completely told. It has not - violence against women is one of the hidden sides to the story of our past. While certain women bravely recorded their experiences, many others have not been able to come before the TRC. This has implications not only for our understanding of our history but also for current attempts to heal our society. In this article we suggest that past and present violence against women is located on a continuum. The process of rebuilding our society involves helping women survivors to deal with their trauma. The process of creating a new society based on human rights and justice demands serious efforts to create a society where women are free from fear and able to participate fully as citizens of the society. This article first examines the role of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in dealing with the issue of sexual violence against women and the evidence that did and did not emerge. The article then tries to explore the relationship between political and other sexual violence and the relationship between public and private violence. This leads us towards a preliminary understanding of the gendered nature of South African society both during and in the aftermath of apartheid. Finally, the article proposes certain reparation measures as the means to ensure positive social reconstruction. These must go hand-in- hand with state action to protect women's safety in terms of rights in the Bill of Rights, such as the right to bodily integrity and the right to citizenship. Such rights must however, be asserted and given content by women's organisations and others committed to gender equality.

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Justice, TRCs, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Sexual Violence, Rape, SV against Women Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: South Africa

Year: 1997

Citation:

Melander, Erik. 2005.  “Political Gender Equality and State Human Rights Abuse.” Journal of Peace Research 42 (2): 149–66.

Author: Erik Melander

Abstract:

Feminist theorists argue that more equal societies that are not based on gender hierarchies ought to be less plagued by collective violence. This study tests whether political gender equality is associated with lower levels of personal integrity rights abuse carried out by state agents, such as fewer political imprisonments, torture, killings, and disappearances. Two indicators of political gender equality are used: (1) a dummy indicating that the chief executive of a state is a woman; and (2) the percentage of women in parliament. The impact of political gender equality on personal integrity rights abuse is tested using multiple regression techniques and a dataset spanning most countries of the world during the period 1977–96. Female chief executives are rare, and their tenures are not significantly associated with the level of abuse. The percentage of women in parliament is associated with lower levels of personal integrity rights abuse. Results show both a direct effect of female representation in parliament and an effect in interaction with the level of institutional democracy. These results hold when controlling for the most important factors known or suspected to influence human rights behavior: democracy, leftist regime, military regime, British colonial experience, civil war, international war, wealth, population, ethnic heterogeneity, and regime transition and collapse.

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Political Participation, Rights, Human Rights

Year: 2005

Citation:

Vandana, Desai. 2005. "NGOs, Gender Mainstreaming, and Urban Poor Communities in Mumbai." Gender and Development 13 (2): 90-8.

Author: Desai Vandana

Abstract:

This article focuses on gender mainstreaming in small grassroots NGOs in the Indian city of Mumbai. It identifies some of the gaps in activities and challenges that these organisations face, and explores the links between gender mainstreaming and women's empowerment. NGOs working at community level can play an important role in supporting women to challenge customs, ideas, and beliefs which perpetuate unequal gender relations. This role of NGOs becomes particularly challenging in a context of rapid social and cultural change, such as Mumbai. The article argues that despite commitments to gender mainstreaming, NGOs have insufficient understanding that they can facilitate the process of empowerment of women in such a context.

Keywords: gender mainstreaming, NGO, empowerment

Topics: Economies, Poverty, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, NGOs Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2005

Citation:

Patkin, Terri Toles. 2004. “Explosive Baggage: Female Palestinian Suicide Bombers and the Rhetoric of Emotion.” Women and Language 27 (2): 79–88.

Author: Terri Toles Patkin

Abstract:

This paper examines the rhetoric of emotion surrounding the first female Palestinian suicide bombers. The influence of gender in recruitment, training and compensation by the terrorist organization are considered within the context of the tension between gender equality and tradition in Palestinian culture. The carefully-edited discourse of the bombers themselves is juxtaposed with the discounting of those statements by friends, family and the media in an attempt to understand the motivations for engaging in terror. Media coverage, particularly in the West, appears to actively search for alternate explanations behind women's participation in terror in a way that does not seem paralleled in the coverage of male suicide bombers, whose official ideological statements appear to be taken at face value.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Media, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups Regions: MENA, Asia, Middle East Countries: Palestine / Occupied Palestinian Territories

Year: 2004